Rayagada district is a district in southern Odisha, a state in India, which became a separate district in October 1992. Its population consists mainly of tribes, primarily the Khonds and the Soras. In addition to Odia, Kui and Sora are spoken by the district's indigenous population. It was founded by Maharajah Biswanatha Deba Gajapati of the Surjyabansha dynasty of Jeypore. Rayagada covers an area of , and is divided into eleven blocks. Agriculture is the chief source of income, and paddy, wheat, ragi, green and black gram, groundnut, sweet potato and maize are the district's major crops. Administrative setup The 11 Blocks and Tahasils in Rayagada district under two administrative Sub-Divisions are listed in the following table. There are 17 Police Stations under the three Police Sub-Divisions in Rayagada district are listed in the following table. History In the third century BC, during the reign of Ashoka, Odisha was part of the Kalinga empire. The hilly track between the Vamshadhara and Nagavali Rivers was known for its spices. The Rastriks were defeated by Kharvela, the emperor of Kalinga, during the battle of Chawpagada. Vishwanath Dev Gajapati (1527 - 1571 CE), the suryavanshi king of Nandapur (later Jeypore) established his capital on the bank of Nagavali and named it Rayagada or Rai-gadh. Under his rule the place flourished economically which proved beneficial to the vast kingdom that stretched from the confines of Jharkhand and West Bengal to River Godavari in south. During his reign he fought a war with Quli Qutb Mulk, the first Qutb Shahi Sultan of Golconda and successfully stopped his advance towards his kingdom. However, he had to surrender the rich fertile land located in the middle of Godavari-Krishna Delta to execute a peace treaty which made Godavari the border of the two kingdoms. Rayagada remained under the Kingdom of Jeypore until the dissolution act of 1947. During the British Raj, Rayagada was under the then-newly demoted Jeypore Samasthanam and was part of Koraput district; it was carved from the district on 2 October 1992 as part of Odisha's district-expansion plan. Economy The district is reportedly rich in bauxite and silicon. In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Rayagada one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 19 districts in Odisha receiving aid from the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF). Constituencies The district has three Odisha