Uttaranchal is carved out of 13 districts of northern Uttar Pradesh. The state has an area of 51, 125 sq.km, governed from the popular hill station of Nainital. The state is bordered by Nepal to the east, while the lower Himalayas separate China in the north. The states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh border it in the west and northwest respectively.

The state earns most of its revenues from tourism, for long its main and often the only source of income, bringing in Rs 250 crore every year. The other source of income for most families in this region is the money order remittance from migrants to other states. Indeed, the region has been, for long, a popular draw for tourists, trekkers and pilgrims alike.

But the legislators to the new assembly will try and develop the IT industry, and set up power projects to generate revenue. Fruit processing units and medicinal plants too have potential for development.

In the colonial period, the numerous districts of present Uttaranchal were ruled over by petty hill princes, who owed their allegiance to the British. Some of the earliest educational institutes like the Roorkee engineering college and schools like Sherwood College and Doon school draw many students here. With independence in 1947, they were made a part of the much larger state of Uttar Pradesh. Among the prominent nationalist figures who emerged from this region, that of Gobind Vallabh Pant stands out. The town of Pantnagar in Nainital district has been named after him. Since the 80s, the region has been at the forefront of the environmental movement, spearheaded by Sunderlal Bahuguna and Chandi Prasad Bhatt. There has also been much opposition to the proposed Tehri Dam in the district of Tehri Garhwal that threatens to wipe away entire villages.