Dharmavaram, a name synonymous with silk sarees, has been a revenue division ever since the formation of Anantapur district 69 years ago after it was carved out of Ballari district in the erstwhile Madras State. However, with the formation of Sri Sathya Sai district, Puttaparthi has been made a revenue division, scrapping Dharmavaram.
Now, the residual Anantapur district will have an additional revenue division (Guntakal), along with the existing Anantapur and Kalyandurg.