Which of the following States is the first State to fix minimum qualification…

Article 243F of the Constitution allows a State Legislature to prescribe additional qualifications and disqualifications, beyond the constitutional minimum, for a person to contest elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). Using this power, individual States can add extra eligibility conditions — such as a minimum educational qualification — through their own State Panchayati Raj Act.

In December 2014, Rajasthan amended its Panchayati Raj Act to require candidates to hold a minimum educational qualification to contest panchayat elections: Class 10 pass (Class 8 pass for women and SC/ST candidates) to contest for Zila Parishad member or Panchayat Samiti member, and Class 8 pass (Class 5 pass for women/SC/ST candidates in Scheduled Areas) to contest for Sarpanch. This made Rajasthan the first State in India to fix such a minimum educational qualification for Panchayat elections.

Contrast with the other options, by value:

• Andhra Pradesh was among the states that implemented the original three-tier Panchayati Raj system early on (1959), but it has not enacted a minimum educational-qualification requirement for contesting panchayat elections.

• Uttar Pradesh conducts large, closely watched panchayat elections, but it has not introduced any minimum educational-qualification bar for candidates.

• Punjab raised women's reservation in panchayats to 50% in 2011 — a reservation reform, not an educational-qualification reform — and has not fixed any minimum educational qualification for panchayat candidates.

Haryana later followed with a stricter version of the same idea in 2015 (upheld by the Supreme Court in Rajbala v. State of Haryana), but that came after Rajasthan's move — confirming Rajasthan's position as the first State to do so.