Rajasthan Current Affairs 4 September 2026

Welcome to the Ujiyari Rajasthan Current Affairs notes for 4 September 2026, prepared for RAS and other Rajasthan government examinations. Election symbols were allotted today in the municipal elections, with 38,891 candidates left in the field across 10,245 wards after withdrawals, ahead of polling on 9 and 11 September. The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended a new Chief Justice for the Rajasthan High Court. The Chief Minister reviewed rural development and set out road-building targets under the fourth phase of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. The ruling party released an urban development manifesto for the civic polls, and the monsoon break over the state has ended. Each item carries a Prelims fact set and a Mains angle, followed by five practice MCQs.

1. Municipal Election Field Finalised and Symbols Allotted

Why in News: Election symbols were allotted on 4 September 2026 in Rajasthan’s municipal elections, after the withdrawal deadline on 3 September 2026 left 38,891 candidates in the field across 10,245 wards.

The arithmetic of the field.

The bodies and the calendar.

Read the two numbers correctly, because they measure different things. 69,929 is a count of nomination papers, and a single candidate may file more than one. The candidate count is 58,379, of whom 49,080 survived scrutiny and 38,891 remain after withdrawals. Attrition at the municipal level commonly turns on incomplete affidavits, defective no-dues certificates from civic bodies, proposer errors and reservation-category documentation, and confusing papers with candidates is the standard error in reporting on it.

The constitutional machinery. Municipal elections are conducted by the State Election Commission, not by the Election Commission of India. Article 243ZA vests the superintendence, direction and control of municipal elections in the State Election Commission; the corresponding provision for panchayats is Article 243K. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 created the municipal framework, inserted Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule of 18 functions, and provided for the three categories of urban local body: a Nagar Panchayat for a transitional area, a Municipal Council for a smaller urban area, and a Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area.

Rajasthan Relevance:

• Prelims: Symbols were allotted on 4 September 2026; the withdrawal deadline was 3 September 2026.
• Prelims: 38,891 candidates remain across 10,245 wards, from 69,929 nomination papers filed by 58,379 candidates.
• Prelims: 49,080 candidates survived scrutiny, 10,112 withdrew and 77 were elected unopposed.
• Prelims: Polling covers 309 civic bodies: 10 corporations, 51 councils and 248 municipal bodies.
• Prelims: Polling is on 9 and 11 September 2026, counting on 14 September, with mayor and chairperson elections on 21 September.
• Prelims: Article 243ZA vests control of municipal elections in the State Election Commission; Article 243K is the panchayat equivalent.
• Prelims: The 74th Amendment, 1992 inserted Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule of 18 functions.
• Mains: Nomination rejection rates as a measure of local election administration quality (GS2 local government).

2. A New Chief Justice Recommended for the Rajasthan High Court

Why in News: The Supreme Court Collegium, in resolutions dated 31 August 2026 and published that evening, recommended the transfer of Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal from the Chhattisgarh High Court to the Rajasthan High Court and his elevation as its Chief Justice.

The wider round. The same set of resolutions covered four High Courts: Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Justice Dr Pushpendra Singh Bhati, a judge of the Rajasthan High Court, was recommended for elevation as Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

The court itself, which RAS asks about directly. The Rajasthan High Court was established in 1949 and has its principal seat at Jodhpur, with a bench at Jaipur. The dual-seat arrangement is a standing feature of the court’s structure and a recurring examination point.

The appointment machinery. Article 217 governs the appointment of High Court judges and Article 222 their transfer. For a High Court Chief Justice, the Collegium comprises the Chief Justice of India and the two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. A recommendation is not an appointment: the President appoints by warrant, and the process runs through the Memorandum of Procedure.

Rajasthan Relevance:

• Prelims: Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal was recommended for transfer from the Chhattisgarh High Court and elevation as Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court.
• Prelims: Justice Dr Pushpendra Singh Bhati of the Rajasthan High Court was recommended as Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.
• Prelims: The resolutions are dated 31 August 2026, were published that evening, and covered four High Courts.
• Prelims: The Rajasthan High Court was established in 1949, with its principal seat at Jodhpur and a bench at Jaipur.
• Prelims: Article 217 governs appointment and Article 222 governs transfer of High Court judges.
• Mains: The Collegium and the Memorandum of Procedure as the unsettled interface between judiciary and executive (GS2 judiciary).

3. Rural Development Review Sets PMGSY-IV Road Targets

Why in News: At a rural development review at his residence on 2 September 2026, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma stated that about 3,219 km of roads will be built in Rajasthan under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana Phase IV, with a target of 1,500 km in 2026-27 and the balance in the following year.

The other figures reported from the review. About 7.22 lakh workers are currently employed under Viksit Bharat G RAM G, about 2.30 lakh more than in the previous year, generating over 215 lakh person-days in two months, with women making up more than 72 per cent of those employed. Targets were also set for farm ponds.

PMGSY, which is examined every year in some form. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was launched on 25 December 2000 as a fully centrally sponsored scheme to provide all-weather road connectivity to unconnected habitations. PMGSY-IV was approved for the period 2024-25 to 2028-29, to connect about 25,000 unconnected habitations with roughly 62,500 km of all-weather roads.

Why the connectivity threshold matters in Rajasthan. PMGSY eligibility has historically been defined by habitation population thresholds, which differ for plain areas, hill states, tribal areas and desert areas. Rajasthan’s desert districts have a settlement pattern of small, widely separated dhanis, so a population threshold designed for a densely settled plain excludes proportionally more habitations here. That is the specific Rajasthan angle on a national scheme, and it is the sort of state-specific observation that distinguishes an RAS answer.

Rajasthan Relevance:

• Prelims: About 3,219 km of roads are to be built in Rajasthan under PMGSY Phase IV, with 1,500 km targeted in 2026-27.
• Prelims: The review was chaired by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on 2 September 2026.
• Prelims: About 7.22 lakh workers were stated to be employed under Viksit Bharat G RAM G, about 2.30 lakh more than the previous year.
• Prelims: PMGSY was launched on 25 December 2000 as a fully centrally sponsored scheme.
• Prelims: PMGSY-IV covers 2024-25 to 2028-29, targeting about 25,000 habitations and about 62,500 km.
• Mains: Population-threshold eligibility and the dispersed dhani settlement pattern of desert Rajasthan (GS2 rural development, GS1 settlement geography).

4. Ruling Party Releases an Urban Development Manifesto for the Civic Polls

Why in News: The Bharatiya Janata Party released its Shahri Vikas Sankalp Patra 2026, an urban development manifesto for the municipal elections, at the state party headquarters in Jaipur on 2 September 2026, in the presence of state president Madan Rathore and Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.

This is a party manifesto, not a government decision. Treat every item in it as a promise and not as policy, and say so in an answer. The examination value lies in what the promises reveal about the functional domain of urban local bodies, not in the promises themselves.

The announced promises.

Map the promises to the Twelfth Schedule. Water supply, public health and sanitation, and urban amenities are functions listed in the Twelfth Schedule for devolution to municipalities. Electricity distribution and piped natural gas are not municipal functions; they sit with state distribution companies and city gas distribution licensees regulated by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board. A manifesto for a civic poll that leads with promises outside municipal competence is itself evidence of the incomplete devolution that the 74th Amendment left unresolved, and that is the argument to make.

Rajasthan Relevance:

• Prelims: The Shahri Vikas Sankalp Patra 2026 was released at Jaipur on 2 September 2026.
• Prelims: State party president Madan Rathore and Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma were present.
• Prelims: The promises include 7 lakh PNG connections, 1 lakh residential plots and 2,000 pink toilets.
• Prelims: Water supply and sanitation are Twelfth Schedule functions; electricity distribution and city gas are not municipal functions.
• Mains: Incomplete functional devolution to urban local bodies under the 74th Amendment (GS2 local government).

5. The Monsoon Break Ends Over Rajasthan

Why in News: A rain break of about a week over Rajasthan ended on 2 September 2026 with rainfall across parts of eastern Rajasthan, and the India Meteorological Department forecast wider rainfall from 4 to 7 September 2026, with isolated heavy to very heavy falls in Kota division.

The reported measurement. Roopwas in Bharatpur district recorded the highest rainfall in the spell, at about 27 mm, followed by Balghat in Karauli at 18 mm and Bari in Dholpur at 12 mm. Heavy to very heavy rain was forecast for the Kota and Bharatpur divisions between 5 and 7 September.

What a break in the monsoon is. A break monsoon is a spell of markedly reduced rainfall over central and northern India during the southwest monsoon season, associated with the northward shift of the monsoon trough toward the Himalayan foothills. It is a normal feature of the season rather than a failure of it, and its duration and timing are what determine whether it becomes agriculturally damaging.

The rainfall gradient that defines Rajasthan. Rainfall falls sharply from south-east to north-west. Eastern Rajasthan, including Kota, Jhalawar and Banswara, receives substantially more rain than the western desert districts of Jaisalmer and Bikaner. The Aravalli range runs south-west to north-east and lies roughly parallel to the monsoon current, so it fails to intercept it effectively, which is a principal reason western Rajasthan is arid.

Rajasthan Relevance:

• Prelims: The monsoon break over Rajasthan ended on 2 September 2026; wider rainfall was forecast from 4 to 7 September 2026.
• Prelims: Roopwas in Bharatpur recorded about 27 mm, the highest in the spell.
• Prelims: Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall was forecast for Kota division.
• Prelims: A break monsoon is associated with the northward shift of the monsoon trough toward the Himalayan foothills.
• Prelims: Rajasthan’s rainfall declines from south-east to north-west.
• Prelims: The Aravalli range lies roughly parallel to the monsoon current and so does not effectively intercept it.
• Mains: The Aravalli orientation as the structural explanation for western Rajasthan’s aridity (GS1 geography).

Practice MCQs

1. The superintendence, direction and control of elections to municipalities is vested by the Constitution in the State Election Commission under:

a) Article 243K b) Article 243ZA c) Article 324 d) Article 243ZD

Answer: b Explanation: Article 243ZA, inserted by the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, vests the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections to municipalities in the State Election Commission. Article 243K is the corresponding provision for panchayats, inserted by the 73rd Amendment; Article 324 vests equivalent powers for Parliament and State legislatures in the Election Commission of India; Article 243ZD concerns the District Planning Committee. Rajasthan’s municipal polls cover 309 bodies and go to the vote on 9 and 11 September 2026.

2. Under the framework created by the 74th Constitutional Amendment, a Nagar Panchayat is constituted for:

a) A larger urban area with a population above ten lakh b) An area predominantly occupied by scheduled tribes c) An area in transition from a rural area to an urban area d) A cantonment area administered by a defence board

Answer: c Explanation: The 74th Amendment provides for three categories of urban local body: a Nagar Panchayat for a transitional area, that is an area in transition from rural to urban; a Municipal Council for a smaller urban area; and a Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area. It inserted Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule, which lists 18 functions for devolution to municipalities, including water supply, public health and sanitation. Rajasthan’s current polls cover 10 municipal corporations, 51 municipal councils and 248 municipal bodies.

3. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, under whose fourth phase Rajasthan is to build about 3,219 km of roads, was launched in which year and with what funding pattern?

a) 2000, as a fully centrally sponsored scheme b) 2005, on a fifty-fifty Centre-state sharing basis c) 2014, as a centrally sponsored scheme with a sixty-forty split d) 1995, as a state-funded programme later subsumed by the Centre

Answer: a Explanation: PMGSY was launched on 25 December 2000 as a fully centrally sponsored scheme to provide all-weather road connectivity to unconnected habitations, with eligibility defined by habitation population thresholds that differ for plain, hill, tribal and desert areas. PMGSY-IV covers 2024-25 to 2028-29 and targets about 25,000 unconnected habitations with roughly 62,500 km of roads. On 2 September 2026 the Chief Minister stated a Rajasthan target of about 3,219 km under this phase, with 1,500 km in 2026-27.

4. Western Rajasthan is arid in significant part because the Aravalli range:

a) Is too heavily forested to permit rainfall to reach the plains beyond it b) Blocks the Bay of Bengal branch of the monsoon entirely c) Lies at too low an elevation to influence any air mass d) Runs roughly parallel to the monsoon current rather than across it

Answer: d Explanation: The Aravalli range trends south-west to north-east, which places it broadly parallel to the path of the Arabian Sea branch of the southwest monsoon rather than athwart it. A range oriented parallel to a moisture-bearing current does not force that air to rise, so it produces little orographic rainfall and does not shield or water the country beyond. Rainfall therefore declines from south-east to north-west across Rajasthan, with eastern districts such as Kota, Jhalawar and Banswara receiving far more than Jaisalmer or Bikaner.

5. In Rajasthan’s municipal elections, the number of candidates remaining in the field after the withdrawal deadline was:

a) 49,080 across 309 civic bodies b) 58,379 across 10,245 wards c) 38,891 across 10,245 wards d) 10,112 across 690 wards

Answer: c Explanation: 69,929 nomination papers were filed by 58,379 candidates, of whom 49,080 survived scrutiny and 10,112 subsequently withdrew, leaving 38,891 candidates contesting across 10,245 wards, with 3,366 in Jaipur district and 77 elected unopposed. Symbols were allotted on 4 September 2026 and polling takes place in two phases on 9 and 11 September 2026, with a public holiday in the areas polling that day, and counting on 14 September. Note that papers and candidates are different counts: a single candidate may file more than one nomination paper.