RAS question
How many Gram Panchayats exist in Rajasthan currently?
Correct answer: (D) 11,194.
Rajasthan presently has 11,194 Gram Panchayats in its Panchayati Raj system.
Explanation
The Government of Rajasthan's Economic Review 2024-25 places this figure in the section on strengthening Panchayati Raj and rural governance. Rajasthan's three-level Panchayati Raj structure has the Gram Panchayat as the first elected body and basic unit of democracy, the Panchayat Samiti as the link between Gram Panchayats and Zila Parishads, and the Zila Parishad at the district level. Rajasthan's present institutional count is 33 Zila Parishads, 365 Panchayat Samities and 11,194 Gram Panchayats. The current number of Gram Panchayats is therefore 11,194.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 9,500 understates the official count because the Economic Review gives Rajasthan's present Gram Panchayat total as 11,194.
- (B) 10,500 is still short of the official figure of 11,194 Gram Panchayats, not a rounded lower count.
- (C) 12,000 overstates the count because Rajasthan's present number is 11,194 Gram Panchayats.
Concept
This tests Panchayati Raj institutions in Rajasthan, especially the numerical profile of the three-tier rural local-government structure. Such figures recur in RAS because they connect polity, administration and current state governance.