Lakshadweep: 36 islands, 12 atolls and 10 inhabited islands in the Arabian Sea
Background
Lakshadweep is a group of 36 islands with an area of 32 sq km, and is India's smallest Union Territory. The UT Administration describes it as a uni-district Union Territory comprised of 12 atolls, three reefs, five submerged banks and ten inhabited islands. Kavaratti is the capital and also the principal town of the UT. All the islands lie 220 to 440 km away from the coastal city of Kochi in Kerala, in the Arabian Sea. Andrott, with an area of 4.90 sq km, is the largest island, the nearest island to the mainland, and the only island having a very small lagoon area. Bitra is the smallest inhabited island, with a land area of 0.105 sq km but a lagoon area of 45.61 sq km. Minicoy is the southernmost island and the second largest; it lies near the 9° Channel, one of the busiest shipping routes, and the closest land to it is an island of the Republic of the Maldives about 100 km to the south. Kavaratti itself lies between Agatti Island on the west and Andrott Island on the east.
In plain words
Atoll Ring-shaped coral island — A ring of coral reef enclosing a shallow lagoon, with low sandy islands sitting on the ring.
Lagoon Sheltered water inside a reef — The calm shallow water held between an island's shore and the reef that rings it.
Submerged bank Shoal below the sea surface — A raised sea-floor platform that never reaches the surface, so it forms no island.