Central India

Group of centrally located Indian states
a region in North India

Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in almost all definitions. Like some other definitions this takes the part of northern India that is "central" on an east–west axis. Thus the Central Zonal Council set up by the Indian government includes both these states, plus Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to the north, the last taking the region to the border with Tibet/China in the Himalayas.

The Bhimbetka caves show evidence of paleolithic settlements in present day Madhya Pradesh. Stone age tools have also been discovered at various places along the Narmada river valley. Chalcolithic sites have been discovered at a number of places including Eran, Kayatha, Maheshwar, Nagda, and Navdatoli. Rock shelters with cave paintings, the earliest of which can be dated to 30,000 BCE, have also been discovered at a number of places. The settlements of humans in present day Madhya Pradesh developed primarily in the valleys of rivers such as Narmada, Chambal, and Betwa. During the early Vedic period, the Vindhya mountains formed the southern boundary of the Indo Aryan territory. The Holkars of Indore, Scindias of Gwalior, Puars of Dewas Junior, Dewas Senior and Dhar State were powerful families of the Maratha Empire which were based in Central India. The territories that now comprises Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were ruled by numerous princes who entered into subsidiary alliance with the British. After independence, the states of Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh, and Bhopal were merged into Madhya Pradesh in 1956. In 2000, the new state of Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh.

The region is part of the Hindi Belt, and Modern Standard Hindi is the predominant language. Other Hindi belt languages such as Chhattisgarhi are also common regionally. Besides these Indo Aryan languages, the Munda family language Korku is also spoken in Central India.