The special category status was introduced in 1969 to benefit certain backward states having hilly terrains, strategic international borders and economic and infrastructural backwardness. Eleven states -- Assam, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Uttarakhand and Telangana -- have been accorded the special category state status.
