former french colony in india's puducherry region
Puducherry (/ pʊdʊˈtʃɛri /, literally New Town in Tamil), formerly known as Pondicherry (/ pɒndɪˈtʃɛri /; French: Pondichéry), is a union territory of India. It was formed out of four exclaves of former French India, namely Pondichéry (Pondicherry; now Puducherry), Karikal (Karaikal), Mahé and Yanaon (Yanam). It is named after the largest district, Puducherry. Historically known as Pondicherry (Pāṇṭiccēri), the territory changed its official name to Puducherry (Putuccēri) on 20 September 2006.