Government of Karnataka

The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed for five years appoints the chief minister and on the advice of the chief minister appoints their council of ministers. Even though the governor remains the ceremonial head of the state, the day-to-day running of the government is taken care of by the chief minister and their council of ministers in whom a great amount of legislative powers are vested.

Karnataka State has been divided into 4 revenue divisions, 31 districts, 49 subdivisions, 237 taluks, 747 hoblies/ revenue circles and 6,022 villages for land revenue administrative purposes. The state has 281 towns and 7 municipal corporations. Bangalore is the largest urban agglomeration. It is among the fastest growing cities in the world.

The state is divided into four administrative divisions for land revenue administration—Bengaluru, Mysuru, Belagavi, and Kalaburagi—each headed by a Regional Commissioner (formerly known as Divisional Commissioner, a senior IAS officer). Each division comprises multiple districts.

These divisions are subdivided into districts, each administered by a Deputy Commissioner (DC), an IAS officer. There are a total 31 districts in the state. Within a district, there are one or more revenue sub-divisions, overseen by an Assistant Commissioner. The Assistant Commissioners are designated as the Sub-Divisional Officers and Sub-Divisional Magistrates of the sub-division.

Each sub-division contains multiple taluks, administered by Tahsildars. There are a 236 Taluks in the state. Taluks are further divided into Hoblis, which are clusters of villages managed by Revenue Inspectors. At the grassroots level, each village is the smallest administrative unit and is managed by a Village Accountant.

In Karnataka, rural governance is managed through a three-tier Panchayati Raj system: 5,958 Gram Panchayats at the village level, 233 Taluk Panchayats at the taluk level, and 31 Zilla Panchayats at the district level. These bodies collectively form the Panchayati Raj Institutions, responsible for local self-governance and rural development.

Urban governance in Karnataka is administered through Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), which are classified according to the population and size of the urban area. These include Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), City Corporations, City Municipal Councils, Town Municipal Councils, and Town Panchayats.

Karnataka has a total of 278 Urban Local Bodies, including 1 BBMP, 11 City Corporations, 57 City Municipal Councils, 114 Town Municipal Councils, and 95 Town Panchayats, responsible for urban governance across the state.