VIDEO EXPLAINER | 30 OCTOBER 2026
The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam) reserves about one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly for women. It received assent on 28 September 2023 but came into force only on 16 April 2026, by a notification issued as Parliament debated the 131st Amendment Bill. Even now the reservation starts only after a delimitation based on the first census taken after commencement (Census 2027), and it lasts 15 years. The 131st Bill, which would have removed that census condition, was defeated on 17 April 2026. Women are 13.6% (74) of the 18th Lok Sabha.
What happened
The 18th Lok Sabha (elected 2024) has 74 women MPs, 13.6% of the elected members.
Women made up 14.4% of the Lok Sabha after the 2019 election (17th Lok Sabha), the highest share so far; it fell to 13.6% in 2024.
In 1957 (2nd Lok Sabha) women were 5.4% of the House; the lowest point was 3.4% in 1977.
PRS noted that the next Lok Sabha election is due in 2029 and a delimitation based on the 2027 census is unlikely to be finished by then, so the reservation would not apply in 2029 under the 2023 scheme.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told the Lok Sabha that at 815 seats, 272 would be reserved for women, and that SC and ST women would have reservation within the women’s quota.
Congress MP Manish Tewari called the notification a ‘desperate attempt’ to save the 106th Act in case the 131st Amendment failed.
The 106th Amendment has no sub-quota for OBC women; the SC/ST sub-quota exists only within SC/ST reserved seats.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union ranks India 147th in the world for women’s representation in parliament (as reported April 2026).
Background and the rules behind it
The 106th Amendment inserted Art. 330A (women’s seats in the Lok Sabha), Art. 332A (women’s seats in State Assemblies) and Art. 334A (when the reservation takes effect).
For Delhi, it inserted clauses (ba), (bb) and (bc) in Art. 239AA(2), reserving seats for women in the Legislative Assembly of the NCT of Delhi.
Art. 334A(1): the reservation takes effect after a delimitation based on the first census taken after the Amendment commences, and ceases 15 years from that commencement.
The reservation covers only the Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly; it does not cover the Rajya Sabha or State Legislative Councils.
The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1993) reserve at least one-third of seats for women in panchayats (Art. 243D) and municipalities (Art. 243T).
Art. 243D(4) also reserves at least one-third of panchayat chairperson offices at each level for women.
Key terms
- Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam: Popular name of the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, reserving about one-third of legislative seats for women.
- Commencement: The date a law actually starts operating; can be later than assent if the Act leaves it to notification.
- Rotation: Moving reserved seats to different constituencies after each delimitation, so no seat is permanently reserved.
- Horizontal sub-quota: A quota inside another category, e.g. one-third of SC/ST seats reserved for SC/ST women.
Constitutional / Legal / Institutional framework
- Art. 330A: Seats reserved for women in the Lok Sabha: one-third of all directly elected seats, including one-third of SC/ST seats for SC/ST women.
- Art. 332A: Same one-third reservation for women in every State Legislative Assembly.
- Art. 334A: Takes effect after delimitation on the first census after commencement; lasts 15 years (extendable by Parliament); seats rotate after each delimitation.
- Art. 239AA(2)(ba)-(bc): Women’s reservation in the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
- Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, s.1(2): Commencement by Central notification: appointed day 16 April 2026.
- Arts. 243D and 243T: Not less than one-third of seats for women in panchayats and municipalities (73rd/74th Amendments, 1993).
CLAT angle
- Passed ≠ in force: assent 28 Sep 2023, in force 16 Apr 2026, reservation operative only after a post-commencement census and delimitation.
- Article matching: 330A (Lok Sabha), 332A (State Assemblies), 334A (commencement and 15-year term), 239AA (Delhi).
- Chronology: Bills of 1996, 1998, 1999, 2008 → RS passage 9 Mar 2010 → 106th Amendment 2023 → in force 16 Apr 2026 → 131st Bill defeated 17 Apr 2026.
- Data questions: 74 women (13.6%) in 2024 vs 14.4% in 2019; IPU rank 147.
- LR: does Art. 15(3) support reservation for women in legislatures? The OBC-women sub-quota debate.
Key facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| 1993 | 73rd/74th Amendments: one-third seats for women in panchayats and municipalities |
| 1993-07-09 | India ratifies CEDAW |
| 1996 | First women’s reservation Bill introduced (lapsed) |
| 2010-03-09 | Rajya Sabha passes the 108th Amendment Bill, 2008; it later lapses |
| 2023-09-19 | 128th Amendment Bill introduced in Lok Sabha |
| 2023-09-20 | Lok Sabha passes it 454-2 |
| 2023-09-21 | Rajya Sabha passes it 214-0 |
| 2023-09-28 | Presidential assent: Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 |
Mnemonic / memory hook
Remember the trap.
Main correction to the leads: the 106th Amendment is no longer ‘passed but not in force’ — it was brought into force on 16 April 2026 (Law Ministry notification). What remains pending is the reservation itself, which waits for a delimitation on the first census after commencement (Census 2027). The 2008 Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 9 March 2010, not in 2008. It was introduced as the 128th Amendment Bill and enacted as the 106th Amendment; do not confuse Bill numbers with Act numbers.
Sources
Primary documents and reporting listed in the fact base: indianexpress.com, telanganatoday.com, indiatoday.in, theconversation.com, prsindia.org, cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in. Lead image: no ASSET-MANIFEST.json.
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