Kadapa district (officially: YSR district; formerly: Cuddapah district) is one of the twenty six districts in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. On 19 August 2005 nomenclature of “Cuddapah” has been changed as “Kadapa” by the Government of A.P. It was renamed as Y.S.R District during the year 2010, in honour of Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, commemorating the former chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh. It is also one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region.

Kadapa Kadapa (colonial spelled Cuddapah) is a city in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the Rayalaseema region, and is the district headquarters of YSR Kadapa district. As of the 2022 Census of India, the city had a popul ...

is the administrative headquarters for this district.

History

Rock paintings

Paleolithic

rock painting In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...

s found at Chintakunta caves near

Muddanur Muddanur is a town in Kadapa district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Muddanur mandal of Jammalamadugu revenue division. Muddanur has its own train station connecting major cities. Education The primary and secondary sc ...

in Kadapa district are said to be the second largest group of paintings in India after Bhimbetika rock art paintings. The rock paintings with mystic figures are also found at Dappalle village near Mylavaram Dam in

Jammalamadugu Jammalamadugu is a Town in Municipality and Revenue Division in YSR Kadapa district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is in Jammalamadugu mandal of Jammalamadugu revenue division. It has many old historical sites and one of the top tou ...

Taluk of the district.

Prehistoric culture

Many Paleolithic sites were found in Kadapa district, as the surroundings of Jammalamadugu, Mailavaram Dam and Gandikota. Some megalithic burial sites were explored near Porumamilla, Sankhavaram and at Yellatur village near Kadapa. The surroundings of

Vontimitta Vontimitta (Telugu: ఒంటిమిట్ట) or Ekasilanagaram, is a village in Kadapa district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in the Vontimitta Mandal of the Kadapa revenue division. The village is well-known for the ...

are also noted as Megalithic cultural sites. The section of Rayachoti consists of many documented and undocumented Megalithic sites and stone circles. A noted megalithic site is at Devandlapalli in Tsundupalle taluk of the district.

Buddhism and Jainism

Kadapa has historical importance since the BC era. It was ruled by the Mauryan Empire and the Satavahana Empire (Andhras).

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

flourished for many years along the banks of the rivers Cheyyeru and Penna. Nandalur is an important Buddhist site in the district along with Tallapaka,

Rajampeta Rajampet is a Municipality in Annamayya district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located in the Rayalaseema Region formed on the banks of Cheyyeru River. The town has an average elevation of . Rajampet is a Grade II Municipality which u ...

, Konduru, Khazipeta in the district. Jainism also had a place in Kadapa district history; the remnants of a buried Jain temple were found at Danavulapadu village on the banks of the Penna.

Medieval history

The district is part of Rayalaseema, commemorating the name of ''Rayulu'' (Kings) of the

Vijayanagar Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and ...

, who ruled the area in the 16th century.

Gandikota Gandikota is a village and historical fort on the right bank of the Penna river, 15 km from Jammalamadugu in Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The fort was the centre of power for various dynasties, such as the Kalyani Chalukyas, Pe ...

fort located on the bank of the Penna river was the citadel of

Pemmasani Nayaks Pemmasani Nayaks were a ruling clan in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. They came into prominence during Vijayanagara times as rulers of Gandikota over 300 years.Gandikota, by Tavva Obul Reddy, 2016, Telugu Samajam publishmentMuthevi Rav ...

, commanders of Vijayanagar army and who won the battles of

Raichur Raichur (formerly Raichore) is a city and municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, located between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It is located 409 km fr ...

and Gulbarga for the Vijayanagar kings. The old records of the district reveal that Kadapa previously called ''Gadapa'' which translated in Telugu to ''threshold''. The ancient village of Kadapa with its large tank and temple of Lord Venkateswara at Devuni Kadapa was convenient camping place for the myriads of pilgrims travelling to the holy shrine of Tirupathi. There was a belief that the pilgrims have to first visit Devuni Kadapa, before going to Tirupathi to pray to Saint Annamacharya and Saint Potuluri Veera Brahmam who foretold the future and advocated a classless society. The ancient temple at Vontimitta which inspired Pothana to compose Andhra Maha Bhagavatham is also in the district. In the olden days Kadapa was also called "Hiranyanagaram". Recent historical records reveal that Jyothi village located in

Siddavatam Siddhavatam is a village in Kadapa district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Siddavatam mandal of Kadapa revenue division. This village was initially under the rule of Matli Kings and was later transferred to Pemmasani ...

mandal has 108 Shiva lingas on the bank of the river. Nawabs of Kadapa

Modern history

After the

Treaty of Seringapatam The Treaty of Seringapatam (also called Srirangapatinam or Srirangapatna), signed 18 March 1792, ended the Third Anglo-Mysore War. Its signatories included Lord Cornwallis on behalf of the British East India Company, representatives of the Niz ...

, the Nizam of Hyderabad acquired the district. He ceded it to the British in 1800, and in 1808 it was divided to form Kadapa (spelt ''Cuddapah'' by the British) and

Bellary Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. History Bellary was a part of Rayalaseema (Ceded Districts) which was part of Madras Presidency till 1 November 1956. The Ballari ...

districts. The district headquarters were situated in

but moved to

in 1812.

Geography

Kadapa district occupies an area of , comparatively equivalent to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Prince Patrick Island A member of the Arctic Archipelago, Prince Patrick Island is the westernmost of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in the Northwest Territories of Canada, lying northwest of Melville Island. The area of Prince Patrick Island is , making it the 55th la ...

. The main rivers in this district are Penna, Kundu, Chitravathi, Kunderu, Papagni, Sagileru, Bahuda and Cheyyeru. This district is surrounded by North of

Nandyal district Nandyal district is a district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Nandyal as its administrative headquarters, it was formed on 4 April 2022 to become one of the resultant twenty-six districts and one of the district in Rayalaseema regio ...

,South of

Annamayya district Annamayya district is one of the twenty-six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region formed from Rajampeta Parliamentary Constituency. Rayachoti is the district administrative h ...

,East of SPSR Nellore district ,west of Sri Sathya Sai district, Anantapur district.This district is located in center of

Reservoirs

Kadapa district has several reservoirs, some of which are Brahmamsagar Reservoir, Mylavaram Dam Reservoir, Annamayya Project, Gandikota Reservoir.

Demographics

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, Kadapa district has a population of 2,884,524. This gives it a ranking of 132nd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

over the decade 2001–2011 was 10.87%. It has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species d ...

of 984

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 67.88%. After reorganization the district had a population of 20,60,654, of which 809,290 (39.27%) lived in urban areas. Kadapa district had a sex ratio of 985 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 3,37,860 (16.40%) and 40,994 (1.99%) of the population respectively. At the time of the 2011 census, 84.66% of the population spoke Telugu and 14.37%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Economy

Besides its historical importance, the district has occupied an important place in the industrial map of Andhra Pradesh with its valuable mineral resources. The Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP) of the district is and contributes 5% to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). For the FY 2013–14, the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

at current prices was . The primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the district contribute , and respectively. Black corson soil lands are 24%, black soil 19%, sandy soil lands 4%, red soil lands 25%. The first variety lands are very fertile, sand soil lands less so. 'Korra', orange, lime and betel leaf are the special crops. They are cultivated near river beds. Starting at Sunkesula Dam on Tungabadra river K. C. Canal flows through Kadapa and Kurnool districts providing water to of cultivable land. The main source of drinking water to this district is Galeru Nagari Sujala Sravanthi Project Canal. This district is the repository of mineral wealth. As per the 1983 survey of geological survey of India 3 million tons of lead, 74,000,000 tons of barytes, and 27000 tons of asbestos deposits are there. It is estimated that 70 million tons of barytes deposits might be in Mangampet. There are clay deposits in Rajampet. This is used to make stone implements.

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

is available in Yerraguntla.

National Mineral Development Corporation NMDC Limited, formerly National Mineral Development Corporation, is a central public sector undertaking. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Steel, Government of India. It is involved in the exploration of iron ore, copper, rock phosphat ...

is extracting asbestos in Brahman palli and barytes in Mangampet. Kadapa is also famous for its stone called "kadapa stone" used in building construction and for slabs especially in south India. In Tummalapalle, there are 49,000 tonnes of confirmed uranium deposits which are mined and processed locally. Apart from these minerals and industries

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

also forms a part district economy. Rayalaseema Thermal Power Station

Industries

In 2006 the Indian government named Kadapa district as one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the thirteen districts in Andhra Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).

Administrative divisions

Divisions

Kadapa district has four Revenue Divisions viz.

Badvel Badvel is a Municipality in Kadapa district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and t ...

Pulivendula Pulivendula (2008) is a town located in the YSR Kadapa district, a district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a small town which became 3rd grade municipality in 2008 from nagar Panchayat. Proddatur is the biggest town which is ne ...

and

divisions. The district has 36 mandals under these revenue divisions. It also has a

Municipal Corporation A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally ...

and six

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

namely

Mydukur Mydukur is a Municipality in YSR Kadapa district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Mydukur mandal of Badvel revenue division. Mydukur is located on Main Junction of NH-40 and NH-67. It is a junction point for Kurnool, Kad ...

Proddatur Proddatur (1915) is a city in the YSR Kadapa District of Andhra Pradesh, located on the banks of the Penna River. The city is a municipality, and also the mandal headquarters of Proddatur mandal. It is the second-largest town in former Kadap ...

Yerraguntla Yerraguntla is town and Nagar Panchayat in YSR Kadapa District. It is an industrial area in YSR Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Yerraguntla mandal of Kadapa revenue division. Geography Yerraguntla is located at 7GJ5+XJ9 Yerr ...

Mandals

The mandals are listed with respect to their revenue divisions in the following table: Before the formation of mandals, Administration was done through Taluka system. Erstwhile Talukas in Kadapa district were:

Parliament constituenciy

Kadapa (Lok Sabha constituency)

Assembly constituencies

Cities & Towns

The population of towns in Kadapa district is as follows:

Transport

Kadapa district is well-connected by road, rail and airways with neighbouring districts of Andhra Pradesh.

Roadways

The total road length of state highways in the district is . National Highway 40, National Highway 716 and National Highway 67 pass through the district.

Railways

The district has railway administration under

Guntakal railway division Guntakal Railway Division is one of the three divisions of South Coast Railway zone (SCoR) of the Indian Railways. The headquarters of the division is at Guntakal and its zonal headquarters is at Visakhapatnam. This division is second in ter ...

, Yerraguntla Junction,

are some of the main railway stations in the district.

Airways

Kadapa Airport Kadapa Airport is a regional airport serving Kadapa (formerly Cuddapah) in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located from the city, and is spread over of land and has been upgraded at a cost of Rs. 42 crore. The upgraded airport was inaugurated ...

is located north west to Kadapa city.

Education

The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the ''School Education Department'' of the state. the school information report for the academic year 2015–16, there are a total of 4,488 schools. They include, 22 government, 3,094 mandal and zilla parishads, 1 residential, 1,181 private, 10 model, 29 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), 88 municipal and 63 other types of schools. The total number of students enrolled in primary, upper primary and high schools of the district are 416,782. There are junior colleges for (10+2) education, among which 25 are under government, 13 are social welfare, 26 private aided, 83 are private unaided and also there are a few incentive, co-operative, government model colleges. For the purpose of imparting and the students sit for the certificate of Board of Intermediate Education. The government colleges of Kadapa, Proddatur, Pulivendula, Rayachoti, Jammalamadugu, and Rajampet are the oldest government colleges of the district, established in 1969. The higher education colleges have various fields of study like medical, nursing, degree, post graduate, polytechnic, law, teaching, pharmacy, engineering, veterinary, etc. The Yogi Vemana University is a state university which has one autonomous college as per the Universities Grant Commission. Sri Venkateswara College of Veterinary Sciences. The engineering colleges of the district are,

KSRM College of Engineering K.S.R.M. College of Engineering (Kandula Srinivasa Reddy Memorial College of Engineering, autonomous) is an engineering institute in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located within the Kadapa Kadapa (colonial spelled Cuddapah) is a city in the s ...

, Annamacharya Institute of Technology and Sciences, etc. KSRM Eng College, Kadapa

Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Kadapa The Government Medical College, Kadapa (formerly known as Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences) is located in Putlampally village, near Kadapa City. It is affiliated to NTR University of Health Sciences. The institute is spread over . His ...

* Yogi Vemana University * Sri Venkateswara Veterinary College * YSR Engineering College of YVU, Proddatur *

JNTUA College of Engineering, Pulivendula The College of Engineering, Pulivendula is a constituent college of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Anantapur (JNTUA) in India. The college was established in 2006, and is 3 kilometres north of Pulivendula, Andhra Pradesh. Ove ...

Notable people

Annamacharya Tallapaka Annamacharya ( Telugu : తాళ్ళపాక అన్నమాచార్య) ( IAST: taḷḷapāka annamācārya; 22 May 1408 – 4 April 1503), also popularly known as Annamayya, was a 15th-century Hindu saint and the e ...

, Hindu saint and musician * Charles Philip Brown, Telugu author, district Collector *

P. Kannamba Pasupuleti Kannamba (''Pasupulēţi Kannāṃba'') (5 October 1911 – 7 May 1968) was an Indian actress, playback singer and film producer of Telugu language, Telugu cinema, of Andhra Pradesh, India. She acted in more than 170 films and produce ...

, actress and producer * P. Jaya Kumar, filmmaker, screenwriter * Atukuri Molla, poet * Neelakanta (director), director *

B. Padmanabham Basavaraju Venkata Padmanabha Rao (20 August 1931 – 20 February 2010), known Mononymous person, mononymously as Padmanabham, was an Indian actor, comedian, producer, and director who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. H ...

, actor, comedian and producer *

Allasani Peddana Allasani Peddana (15th and 16th centuries CE) was a famous Telugu poet and was ranked as the foremost of the '' Ashtadiggajalu'', the title for the group of eight poets in the court of King Krishnadevaraya, a ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire. ...

, one of the poets in Astdiggajalu in Srikrishnadevarayalu * B. N. Reddy, film director * B. Nagi Reddy, film producer * K. Jayachandra Reddy, Justice and former Supreme Court Judge * V. N. Reddy, cinematographer * Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, former chief minister of

combined Andhra Pradesh Combined may refer to: * Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event ** Super combined (skiing) * Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event * T ...

* Janamanchi Seshadri Sarma, poet *

Santha Kumari Santha Kumari (born Vellaala Subbamma; 17 May 1920 – 16 January 2006) was an Indian musical artist and actress. She was married to the Telugu film director and producer P. Pullayya. Early years Vellaala Subbamma was born in Proddatur town, ...

, musical artist and film actress * Vavilikolanu Subbarao, poet *

Vemana Vemana, popularly known as Yogi Vemana, was an Indian philosopher and poet in the Telugu language. His poems are known for their use of simple language and native idioms. They discuss the subjects of yoga, wisdom and morality. Early life and ...

, philosopher and poet * Potuluri Veerabrahmam, saint and astrologer *

Y. Vijaya Yenigandla Vijaya (born 8 February 1957) is an Indian actress and classical dancer. She has appeared in more than 1000 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages. Early life and education Y. Vijaya was born on 8 February 1957 in Ku ...

, character artist in Telugu and Tamil films

References

External links

* {{Authority control Districts of Andhra Pradesh Rayalaseema 1808 establishments in British India