FREE PREVIEW Week 1-2 3 lessons

State and Territorial Administration and Panchayat Raj

How Karnataka is governed: Governor, Chief Minister, Legislature, High Court and Lokayukta; district and revenue administration and land records; and Panchayat Raj and urban local bodies.

Lessons in this module

How the Karnataka Government Works

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

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District and Revenue Administration and Land Records

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

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Panchayat Raj and Urban Local Bodies

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

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Lesson notes

1. How the Karnataka Government Works

Karnataka, like every Indian state, has three organs: the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. Exams ask about the number of seats, the role of the Governor and Chief Minister, and the High Court benches. Learn the numbers well.

The executive: Governor and Chief Minister

The Governor is the constitutional head of the state and is appointed by the President of India (Article 155). Sudha Yadav took oath as Governor of Karnataka on 16 October 2026, succeeding Thaawarchand Gehlot (Governor from July 2021). She is the second woman Governor of Karnataka, after V. S. Ramadevi.
The Governor's official residence in Bengaluru, earlier called Raj Bhavan, was renamed Lok Bhavan in late 2025.
The Chief Minister is the real head of the executive and is appointed by the Governor (Article 164). The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly.
D. K. Shivakumar was sworn in as Chief Minister on 3 June 2026, succeeding Siddaramaiah, who resigned on 28 May 2026. G. Parameshwara became Deputy Chief Minister.
The Chief Secretary is the senior-most civil servant and heads the state administration. The state secretariat works from the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.

The legislature: two Houses

Karnataka has a bicameral (two-House) legislature. It is one of six states with a Legislative Council.
Legislative Assembly (Vidhana Sabha): 224 elected members, for a five-year term. Its presiding officer is the Speaker.
Legislative Council (Vidhana Parishat): 75 members. It is a permanent House; one-third of members retire every two years. Its presiding officer is the Chairman.
Council members: 25 elected by MLAs, 25 by local authorities, 7 by graduates, 7 by teachers, and 11 nominated by the Governor.
The Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru (completed in 1956, under Chief Minister Kengal Hanumanthaiah) is the seat of the legislature. The Suvarna Vidhana Soudha at Belagavi hosts the winter session.
Karnataka sends 28 members to the Lok Sabha and 12 to the Rajya Sabha.

Judiciary and watchdogs

The High Court of Karnataka sits in Bengaluru. It has permanent benches at Dharwad and Kalaburagi.
High Court judges are appointed by the President (Article 217). Each district has a District and Sessions Court.
The Karnataka Lokayukta was set up under the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984. It inquires into complaints of corruption and maladministration against public servants.
The Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruits for many state posts, while KEA conducts many other recruitment and entrance exams.
The State Election Commission conducts elections to panchayats and municipalities. Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India.

Quick facts

Legislative Assembly: 224 members; presided over by the Speaker
Legislative Council: 75 members; permanent House; presided over by the Chairman
High Court: Bengaluru; benches at Dharwad and Kalaburagi
Governor: Sudha Yadav (since 16 October 2026); before her, Thaawarchand Gehlot (2021-2026)
Chief Minister: D. K. Shivakumar (sworn in 3 June 2026)
Lokayukta Act: Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984
Parliament seats: Lok Sabha 28, Rajya Sabha 12

💡 Remember '224 - 75 - 28 - 12': Assembly, Council, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha seats of Karnataka.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

2. District and Revenue Administration and Land Records

For a Village Administrative Officer, this lesson is close to the job itself. Revenue administration in Karnataka runs from the district down to the village, and land records are now maintained online. Karnataka has 31 districts.

The revenue chain: district to village

District: headed by the Deputy Commissioner (DC), usually an IAS officer, who is also the District Magistrate and District Election Officer.
Sub-division: headed by the Assistant Commissioner (AC). A district has one or more sub-divisions.
Taluk: headed by the Tahsildar, who is also the Taluk Executive Magistrate. Large taluks may also have a Grade-2 Tahsildar.
Hobli: a group of villages within a taluk, supervised by a Revenue Inspector (RI).
Village (or a group of villages): the Village Administrative Officer (VAO), earlier called the Village Accountant, keeps village revenue records and is the first point of contact for people.
The Revenue Department is headed at the state level by the Revenue Minister; land records and survey are managed by the Survey, Settlement and Land Records department.

Duties of a Village Administrative Officer

Maintains village land records and updates crop and ownership details.
Collects land revenue and other government dues of the village.
Conducts spot inspections and reports to the Revenue Inspector and Tahsildar.
Verifies details for certificates such as caste, income and residence, and for pensions and other welfare schemes.
Reports and helps during natural disasters such as floods and drought, including assessment of crop loss.

Land record terms

RTC (Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops), also called Pahani: shows the owner, area, type of land, crops grown and loans on a piece of land.
Survey number: the unique number given to each plot of land during a survey. Sub-divisions of it are called hissa numbers.
Mutation: the change of ownership in the revenue records after sale, inheritance, gift or partition.
Khata: a record of a property in the local body's register, used for paying property tax.
Bhoomi: Karnataka's project to computerise RTCs, one of the first of its kind in India, completed across the state in 2002. RTCs can now be obtained online.
Kaveri (now Kaveri 2.0): Karnataka's online system for property registration in sub-registrar offices, under the Department of Stamps and Registration.

Quick facts

District: Deputy Commissioner (DC)
Sub-division: Assistant Commissioner (AC)
Taluk: Tahsildar
Hobli: Revenue Inspector (RI)
Village: Village Administrative Officer (formerly Village Accountant)
RTC / Pahani: Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops
Bhoomi: Computerised RTC project, statewide by 2002
Kaveri 2.0: Online property registration system

💡 Learn the chain in order: DC, AC, Tahsildar, Revenue Inspector, VAO. Questions often ask 'who heads the hobli?' or 'who heads the sub-division?'.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

3. Panchayat Raj and Urban Local Bodies

Local self-government brings decisions closer to the people. Panchayat Raj is a core part of the KEA Paper 1 syllabus. Karnataka was one of the early states to build a strong three-tier panchayat system.

Constitutional base

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, came into force on 24 April 1993. It added Part IX (Articles 243 to 243O) and the Eleventh Schedule with 29 subjects.
It made a three-tier panchayat system, regular elections every five years, and reservation for SCs, STs and women compulsory.
National Panchayati Raj Day is observed on 24 April every year.
The 74th Amendment Act, 1992, did the same for urban local bodies. It added Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule with 18 subjects.
Article 243K provides for a State Election Commission to conduct panchayat elections; Article 243I provides for a State Finance Commission.

Panchayat Raj in Karnataka

The present law is the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, now called the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act, 1993.
Three tiers: Gram Panchayat (village), Taluk Panchayat (taluk) and Zilla Panchayat (district).
Karnataka reserves 50% of seats in panchayats for women, more than the one-third required by the Constitution.
The Zilla Panchayat's administrative head is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), an IAS officer. A Taluk Panchayat has an Executive Officer (EO), and a Gram Panchayat has a Panchayat Development Officer (PDO).
Gram Panchayats prepare development plans, look after drinking water, sanitation, street lights and village roads, and implement schemes such as rural employment works.
Elections to Zilla and Taluk Panchayats have been pending since their terms ended in 2021.

Gram Sabha and urban bodies

The Gram Sabha is the body of all registered voters of a Gram Panchayat area. It approves plans, selects beneficiaries and reviews spending (social audit).
In Karnataka, Ward Sabhas are also held in each ward of a Gram Panchayat before the Gram Sabha.
Urban local bodies include Municipal Corporations (large cities), City Municipal Councils, Town Municipal Councils and Town Panchayats.
Bengaluru: the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024 replaced the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in 2025 with the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), chaired by the Chief Minister.
Under the GBA, five city corporations were formed in 2025: Bengaluru Central, North, South, East and West.
In 2026 the Supreme Court extended the deadline for holding elections to the five corporations to 31 December 2026.

Quick facts

73rd Amendment: Panchayats; Part IX; 11th Schedule (29 subjects); in force 24 April 1993
74th Amendment: Urban local bodies; Part IXA; 12th Schedule (18 subjects)
Karnataka law: Karnataka (Gram Swaraj and) Panchayat Raj Act, 1993
Women's reservation: 50% in Karnataka panchayats
Officers: ZP: CEO; TP: Executive Officer; GP: PDO
Gram Sabha: All voters of the Gram Panchayat area
Bengaluru: Greater Bengaluru Authority (2025) with five city corporations

💡 Do not mix up Article 243K (State Election Commission for panchayats) with Article 324 (Election Commission of India).

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

Other modules in KEA Paper 1: General Knowledge for Karnataka Govt Exams

Start Here: The KEA Exam Pattern and How to PrepareFREE PREVIEW → Ancient IndiaFREE PREVIEW → Medieval IndiaFREE PREVIEW → Colonial Rule and the Freedom StruggleFREE PREVIEW → Geography of India and KarnatakaFREE PREVIEW → The Constitution of IndiaFREE PREVIEW → How India Is GovernedFREE PREVIEW → Karnataka Economy, Rural Development and Co-operativesFREE PREVIEW → General ScienceFREE PREVIEW → Environment and Ecology (Karnataka focus)FREE PREVIEW → Karnataka Current Affairs 2025–2026FREE PREVIEW → Final AssessmentFREE PREVIEW →

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