In a move that could fundamentally reshape India’s parliamentary landscape, the Union Cabinet is learnt to have cleared a draft bill on Wednesday to amend the Women’s Reservation Act. The proposed changes aim to fast-track the law’s implementation, ensuring it is in place for the 2029 general elections. Crucially, the plan involves expanding the Lok Sabha to 816 seats, with 273 of those reserved for women. Sources familiar with the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, say the amendments target the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
To accommodate the legislative work, the government has extended the current budget session, scheduling a special three-day sitting from April 16 to 18. The 2023 constitutional amendment originally mandated a 33 per cent quota for women, but its rollout was tied to a delimitation exercise following the first census conducted after 2026.
As per the current schedule, the implementation of the reservation would have been delayed till 2034. However, the proposed scheme entails the realignment of constituencies based on the 2011 census instead of waiting till 2027 for that purpose. As per the present timetable, the reservation would not have been implemented until 2034. But under the new proposal, the constituencies will be redrawn using the 2011 census data instead of waiting till 2027.
As per the current schedule, the implementation of the reservation would have been delayed till 2034. But under the new proposal, the constituencies will be redrawn using the 2011 census data instead of waiting till 2027. Expansion to 816 seats represents a roughly 50 pc increase from the current 543. Seats will be allocated for women on a "vertical basis," which includes specific quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. A similar pro-rata adjustment is expected for state assemblies. While one constitutional bill will modify the reservation act itself, a separate ordinary bill will be introduced to amend the Delimitation Act.
If passed, these laws will become effective on March 31, 2029. This would ensure the quota applies not only to the next national election but also to the assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha.
The Prime Minister has recently been vocal about the urgency of this transition. On April 4, while addressing in Kerala, he pointed out that women’s empowerment was an important question that could not be decided based on mere political considerations. He urged all political parties to back the Bill with an “open mind” since it is imperative for winning the confidence of the nation’s "mothers and sisters". The Bill, which got Presidential consent in September 2023, is known as the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act.
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