What Happened
- The Union Cabinet cleared a draft Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies ahead of the 2029 general elections.
- The move seeks to amend the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023) to delink implementation from a post-2027 Census-based delimitation, instead using the 2011 Census for redrawing constituencies.
- Under the revised plan, Lok Sabha seats would be increased to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women.
- A special three-day Parliament session is scheduled for April 16–18, 2026, to pass the amendment bill.
- Once enacted, the reservation is set to come into force on March 31, 2029, covering the next Lok Sabha elections and assembly elections in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim.
Static Topic Bridges
The 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam)
Passed by Parliament on September 20–21, 2023, the 106th Amendment inserted Article 330A (Lok Sabha), Article 332A (state assemblies), and Article 334A (sunset clause) into the Constitution. It guaranteed 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the NCT of Delhi assembly. The original Act conditioned implementation on: (i) completion of a Census after 2026, and (ii) a fresh delimitation exercise based on that Census — effectively deferring implementation to 2032–33 or later. Lok Sabha passed it with 454 votes in favour and 2 against; Rajya Sabha passed it unanimously with 214–0.
- Reservation is vertical, meaning seats for SC/ST women are carved out of the 33% women's quota.
- Seats will rotate after each delimitation, as determined by Parliament.
- The 15-year sunset clause means the reservation will lapse unless Parliament renews it.
- The bill was signed into law by President Droupadi Murmu on September 28, 2023.
Connection to this news: The 2026 amendment bill removes the Census–delimitation conditionality by allowing delimitation based on the 2011 Census, enabling implementation by 2029 rather than the mid-2030s.
Historical Journey of Women's Reservation — From 1996 to 2023
The demand for women's reservation in legislatures has a 27-year legislative history. The first Women's Reservation Bill was introduced in 1996 under the H.D. Deve Gowda government but lapsed. Subsequent attempts in 1998, 1999, and 2008 also failed to pass due to opposition from parties demanding sub-quotas for OBC women. The bill finally passed in 2023 under the BJP government, though the Census–delimitation conditionality drew criticism as an indefinite deferral.
- Women currently constitute approximately 15% of Lok Sabha members (82 out of 543 seats in 2024).
- India ranks poorly on global indices of women's political representation.
- The bill does not extend reservation to the Rajya Sabha or state legislative councils.
Connection to this news: The 2026 amendment directly addresses the core criticism of the 2023 Act — that the Census conditionality made implementation indefinitely delayed.
Delimitation and Its Constitutional Basis
Delimitation refers to the process of redrawing the boundaries of Lok Sabha and state assembly constituencies. Under Article 82, a Delimitation Commission is constituted after each Census to determine the number of seats and their boundaries. The Delimitation Commission Act, 2002 governs the current exercise. Delimitation was frozen after the 1971 Census (through the 42nd Amendment, 1976) until 2026 to prevent states with lower population growth from losing seats — the freeze extended by the 84th Amendment (2001) until the first Census after 2026.
- The Delimitation Commission has quasi-judicial powers; its orders cannot be challenged in court.
- The 2026 amendment proposes using the 2011 Census data instead of awaiting the next Census.
- Using 2011 data allows the process to begin immediately, enabling seat reservation ahead of 2029 elections.
Connection to this news: The amendment decouples women's reservation from the delayed 2027 Census, using the readily available 2011 Census as the basis for the delimitation exercise.
Key Facts & Data
- 106th Amendment Act, 2023: Inserted Articles 330A, 332A, and 334A into the Constitution.
- Seats to be reserved: 273 out of 816 proposed Lok Sabha seats (33%).
- Existing women MPs: ~15% of Lok Sabha (82/543 in 2024).
- Parliament session for passage: April 16–18, 2026.
- Effective date of reservation: March 31, 2029.
- Sunset clause: 15 years from implementation.
- Lok Sabha passage of 2023 Act: 454–2; Rajya Sabha: 214–0.
- Previous attempts: 1996, 1998, 1999, 2008 — all lapsed or failed.