Prakasam district is an administrative district in the Coastal Andhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The headquarters of the district are located at Ongole. It is located on the west coast of Bay of Bengal and is bounded by Guntur district on the north, Kurnool district on the west, Kadapa and Nellore districts on the south. A part of north west region also borders the Mahabubnagar district of Telangana.[3] It is the 3rd largest district in the state with an area of 17,626 km2 (6,805 sq mi) and had a population of 3,392,764 as per 2011 census of India.The district was named after the patriot and first Chief Minister of Andhra State Tanguturi Prakasam, also known as Andhra Kesari (Lion of Andhra), who was born in the village of Vinodarayunipalem. It was accordingly renamed as Prakasam District in the year 1972.Prakasam district was originally constituted on 2 February 1970, carved out of Guntur, Nellore and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh.[6] It was carved out of three taluks of Guntur District, i.e. Addanki, Chirala, and Ongole, four taluks of Nellore district, i.e. Kandukur, Kanigiri, Darsi and Podili and three taluks of Kurnool district i.e. Markapur, Yarragondapalem and Giddaluru. It is one of the nine districts in the Coastal Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh. Prakasam District is a part of the Red Corridor.
