Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India, made up of 836 islands in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, of which 31 are inhabited. It covers 8,249 square kilometres and had a population of 380,581 at the 2011 census. The capital is Port Blair, officially Sri Vijaya Puram, about 1,190 kilometres from Chennai.

The territory was formed as a union territory on 1 November 1956. A Lieutenant Governor administers it on behalf of the Government of India, a post that replaced the Chief Commissioner as head of administration in 1982. It falls under the Calcutta High Court, which has a permanent seat at Port Blair.

Tourism is a major contributor to the economy, and agriculture employs nearly half of the population. Fishing is also significant, with 27,526 tonnes of fish produced in 2017, according to Wikipedia. The islands are in the news because the Fisheries Ministry has described them as the base of India’s plan to expand tuna, seaweed and ornamental fisheries, as covered in our report on the plan.

Sources: Wikipedia, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, citing the Census of India 2011.