The Indian Constitution has been amended many times to respond to changing political, social, economic and administrative requirements.
For UPSC, it is not necessary to memorise every Constitutional Amendment.
The focus should be on amendments that significantly changed:
Remember:
Amendment Number + Year + Key Provision + UPSC Significance
The First Amendment was an important early amendment to the Constitution.
It introduced:
Article 15(4)
which enabled special provisions for:
It also introduced:
Articles 31A and 31B
and created the:
Ninth Schedule
It modified the scope of:
Freedom of Speech and Expression
by expanding the grounds for reasonable restrictions.
1st Amendment → Article 15(4) + Ninth Schedule + Reasonable Restrictions
The Seventh Amendment was closely connected with the:
States Reorganisation
It implemented major changes following the States Reorganisation Commission.
It:
7th Amendment → States Reorganisation
The 24th Amendment was a response to the:
Golaknath judgment, 1967
It:
24th Amendment → Parliament's Amending Power
The 25th Amendment modified the:
Right to Property
and introduced:
Article 31C
It sought to give precedence to certain Directive Principles over Fundamental Rights in specified circumstances.
It was closely connected with the constitutional conflict that eventually reached the Supreme Court in:
Kesavananda Bharati
25th Amendment → Article 31C + DPSP vs Fundamental Rights
The 26th Amendment abolished the:
Privy Purse
and ended the official recognition of:
Former rulers of princely States
26th Amendment → Abolition of Privy Purse
The 36th Amendment made:
Sikkim
a full-fledged State of India.
It became:
The 22nd State of India
It inserted:
Article 371F
containing special provisions for Sikkim.
36th Amendment → Sikkim becomes a State + Article 371F
The 42nd Amendment is known as:
Mini-Constitution
It was one of the most extensive Constitutional Amendments.
It added three words to the Preamble:
It inserted:
Part IVA
containing:
Article 51A
and Fundamental Duties.
It expanded the Directive Principles.
It attempted to:
Several important provisions were later modified or struck down.
42nd Amendment → Mini-Constitution + Socialist + Secular + Integrity + Fundamental Duties
The 44th Amendment was introduced after the Emergency period.
It reversed or modified several provisions introduced during the Emergency.
It removed:
Right to Property
from the list of Fundamental Rights.
It became a:
Constitutional Legal Right
under:
Article 300A
It introduced important safeguards relating to:
National Emergency
For example, the term:
"armed rebellion"
replaced:
"internal disturbance"
as a ground for National Emergency.
The amendment strengthened safeguards relating to:
These rights cannot be suspended even during an Emergency.
44th Amendment → Right to Property + Emergency Safeguards
The 52nd Amendment introduced the:
Anti-Defection Law
It inserted:
Tenth Schedule
into the Constitution.
To prevent elected representatives from changing political parties in a manner that undermines political stability.
52nd Amendment → Anti-Defection Law + Tenth Schedule
The 61st Amendment reduced the voting age from:
21 years → 18 years
It amended:
Article 326
61st Amendment → Voting Age 18
The 69th Amendment gave special constitutional status to:
National Capital Territory of Delhi
It inserted:
Article 239AA
and:
Article 239AB
Delhi became:
National Capital Territory
with a:
Legislative Assembly
and:
Council of Ministers
subject to constitutional limitations.
69th Amendment → Delhi + Article 239AA
The 73rd Amendment constitutionalised:
Panchayati Raj Institutions
It inserted:
Part IX
and:
Eleventh Schedule
It provided for:
73rd Amendment → Panchayats + Part IX + 11th Schedule
The 74th Amendment constitutionalised:
Urban Local Government
It inserted:
Part IXA
and:
Twelfth Schedule
It provided a constitutional framework for:
It also provided for:
74th Amendment → Municipalities + Part IXA + 12th Schedule
The 86th Amendment introduced the:
Right to Education
as a Fundamental Right.
It inserted:
Article 21A
The State must provide free and compulsory education to children in the age group:
6–14 years
It also modified:
Article 45
and added a Fundamental Duty under:
Article 51A(k)
requiring parents or guardians to provide opportunities for education to children in the specified age group.
86th Amendment → Article 21A + Right to Education
The 91st Amendment strengthened the:
Anti-Defection Framework
It limited the size of:
Council of Ministers
to:
15% of the total strength of the House
For States, the Council of Ministers cannot be less than:
12 members
A person disqualified under the Anti-Defection Law cannot be appointed as a Minister for the specified period under the constitutional framework.
91st Amendment → Council of Ministers capped at 15% + Anti-Defection strengthening
The 93rd Amendment inserted:
Article 15(5)
It enabled the State to make special provisions for the advancement of:
Socially and Educationally Backward Classes
or:
SCs and STs
in relation to admission to educational institutions, including:
Private Educational Institutions
subject to constitutional limitations.
The provision does not apply to:
Minority Educational Institutions
protected under:
Article 30(1)
93rd Amendment → Article 15(5) + Educational Reservation
The 97th Amendment related to:
Co-operative Societies
It gave constitutional recognition to co-operative societies.
It:
The Supreme Court later struck down the amendment insofar as it applied to State co-operative societies without the required State ratification.
97th Amendment → Co-operative Societies
The 100th Amendment gave effect to the:
India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement
and related arrangements.
It dealt with:
Exchange of certain enclaves and boundary adjustments
between India and Bangladesh.
100th Amendment → India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement
The 101st Amendment introduced:
Goods and Services Tax (GST)
It created the constitutional framework for:
GST
It introduced:
Article 246A
giving Parliament and State Legislatures power to make GST laws, subject to constitutional provisions.
It also introduced:
Article 269A
relating to inter-State GST.
It created the:
GST Council
under:
Article 279A
101st Amendment → GST + Articles 246A, 269A, 279A
The 102nd Amendment gave constitutional status to the:
National Commission for Backward Classes
It inserted:
Article 338B
and:
Article 342A
and added:
Article 366(26C)
The amendment became central to the constitutional debate over the identification of:
Socially and Educationally Backward Classes
The Supreme Court later clarified the role of States in identifying SEBCs.
102nd Amendment → NCBC + Article 338B + Article 342A
The 103rd Amendment introduced:
10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)
It inserted:
Articles 15(6) and 16(6)
The reservation is available to:
Economically Weaker Sections
who are not covered by the existing reservation categories, subject to constitutional and statutory conditions.
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the EWS reservation in:
Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India, 2022
103rd Amendment → 10% EWS Reservation + Articles 15(6), 16(6)
The 104th Amendment:
Extended reservation of seats for:
SCs and STs
in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for another period.
At the same time, it ended the provision for:
Nomination of Anglo-Indian members
to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
104th Amendment → SC/ST Political Reservation Extended + Anglo-Indian Nomination Ended
The 105th Amendment clarified the power of:
State Governments
and:
Union Territories with legislatures
to identify and specify:
Socially and Educationally Backward Classes
for their own purposes.
It followed the constitutional interpretation arising from the:
102nd Amendment
and:
Maratha Reservation Case
105th Amendment → States' Power to Identify SEBCs
The 106th Amendment is popularly associated with:
Women's Reservation
It provides for reservation of seats for women in:
It provides for:
One-third reservation for women
including within the seats reserved for:
SCs and STs
It inserted:
Article 330A
Article 332A
and:
Article 334A
The implementation of the reservation is linked to:
Delimitation
after the relevant census process.
106th Amendment → Women's Reservation + 1/3 Seats
Article 15(4)
→ Special provisions for backward classes, SCs and STs
Panchayats
→ Reservation including women
Municipalities
→ Reservation including women
Article 16(4A)
→ Reservation in promotion for SCs and STs
Article 16(4B)
→ Backlog vacancies
Article 335
→ Relaxation in qualifying marks / standards for SCs and STs in certain matters
Consequential seniority
→ Reservation in promotion
Article 15(5)
→ Educational institutions
NCBC
EWS
State power to identify SEBCs
Women's reservation in legislatures
Panchayats
→ Part IX
→ Eleventh Schedule
Municipalities
→ Part IXA
→ Twelfth Schedule
73 → Rural
74 → Urban
Important amendments include:
Article 15(4)
→ Backward Classes, SCs and STs
Parliament's Amending Power
Article 31C
Right to Property removed from Fundamental Rights
Article 16(4A)
Article 16(4B)
Consequential Seniority
Article 21A
Article 15(5)
Articles 15(6) and 16(6)
Major constitutional restructuring
Anti-Defection Law
Voting Age 18
Council of Ministers 15%
SC/ST Political Reservation Extended
Women's Reservation
Important amendments affecting federal arrangements include:
States Reorganisation
Sikkim as State
Delhi as National Capital Territory
GST and Cooperative Federalism
State power to identify SEBCs
Expanded centralising provisions and altered several constitutional arrangements.
Introduced important safeguards after the Emergency.
Important changes included:
42nd → Centralisation
44th → Safeguards
If time is limited, prioritise these:
| Amendment | Year | Key Point |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1951 | Article 15(4), Ninth Schedule |
| 7th | 1956 | States Reorganisation |
| 24th | 1971 | Parliament's amending power |
| 25th | 1971 | Article 31C |
| 26th | 1971 | Privy Purse abolished |
| 36th | 1975 | Sikkim becomes State |
| 42nd | 1976 | Mini-Constitution |
| 44th | 1978 | Emergency safeguards, Right to Property |
| 52nd | 1985 | Anti-Defection |
| 61st | 1988 | Voting age 18 |
| 69th | 1991 | Delhi, Article 239AA |
| 73rd | 1992 | Panchayats |
| 74th | 1992 | Municipalities |
| 86th | 2002 | Right to Education |
| 91st | 2003 | 15% Council of Ministers |
| 93rd | 2005 | Article 15(5) |
| 97th | 2011 | Co-operative Societies |
| 101st | 2016 | GST |
| 102nd | 2018 | NCBC |
| 103rd | 2019 | EWS reservation |
| 104th | 2020 | SC/ST reservation extension |
| 105th | 2021 | States' SEBC identification |
| 106th | 2023 | Women's reservation |
15(4) + Ninth Schedule
States Reorganisation
Amending Power
Article 31C
Privy Purse
Sikkim
Mini-Constitution
Emergency Safeguards + Right to Property
Anti-Defection
Voting Age 18
Delhi
Panchayats
Municipalities
Right to Education
15% Ministry Limit
Article 15(5)
GST
NCBC
EWS
State SEBC Power
Women's Reservation
The 42nd Amendment is known as the Mini-Constitution.
True
The 44th Amendment introduced Fundamental Duties.
False
Fundamental Duties were introduced by:
42nd Amendment
The 44th Amendment abolished the Right to Property completely.
False
It removed it from Fundamental Rights and made it a:
Constitutional Legal Right under Article 300A
The 52nd Amendment introduced the Ninth Schedule.
False
The Ninth Schedule was introduced by:
1st Amendment
The 52nd Amendment introduced the:
Tenth Schedule
The 61st Amendment reduced the voting age from 21 to 18.
True
The 73rd Amendment deals with Municipalities.
False
73rd → Panchayats
74th → Municipalities
The 86th Amendment introduced Article 21A.
True
The 101st Amendment introduced GST.
True
The 103rd Amendment introduced reservation for OBCs.
False
The 103rd Amendment introduced:
EWS reservation
The 102nd Amendment gave constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.
True
The 105th Amendment introduced the NCBC.
False
The:
102nd Amendment
gave constitutional status to the NCBC.
The:
105th Amendment
clarified State power to identify SEBCs.
The 106th Amendment immediately implemented one-third reservation for women in legislatures.
Not exactly
Its implementation is linked to:
Delimitation
following the relevant census process.
For rapid revision:
1 → Reservation + Ninth Schedule
7 → States
24 → Amending Power
25 → Article 31C
26 → Privy Purse
36 → Sikkim
42 → Mini-Constitution
44 → Emergency Safeguards
52 → Anti-Defection
61 → Voting Age
69 → Delhi
73 → Panchayats
74 → Municipalities
86 → Education
91 → Ministry Size
93 → Educational Reservation
101 → GST
102 → NCBC
103 → EWS
105 → State SEBC Power
106 → Women
Constitutional Amendments demonstrate that the Indian Constitution is:
Neither completely rigid nor completely flexible.
Different amendment procedures allow Parliament to respond to changing circumstances while protecting constitutional stability.
Important amendments have strengthened:
Social Justice
through reservation provisions,
Democratic Decentralisation
through Panchayats and Municipalities,
Economic Federalism
through GST,
Educational Rights
through Article 21A,
Political Stability
through the Anti-Defection Law,
and:
Gender Representation
through the Women's Reservation framework.
At the same time, amendments such as the:
42nd and 44th Amendments
demonstrate the importance of maintaining a balance between constitutional change and constitutional safeguards.
The amendment process therefore reflects:
Constitutional Adaptability + Democratic Change + Federalism + Social Justice + Constitutional Continuity
1st → Reservation + Ninth Schedule
7th → States Reorganisation
24th → Amending Power
25th → Article 31C
26th → Privy Purse
36th → Sikkim
42nd → Mini-Constitution + Fundamental Duties
44th → Emergency Safeguards + Article 300A
52nd → Anti-Defection
61st → Voting Age 18
69th → Delhi
73rd → Panchayats
74th → Municipalities
86th → Right to Education
91st → 15% Ministry Limit
93rd → Article 15(5)
101st → GST
102nd → NCBC
103rd → EWS
105th → State SEBC Power
106th → Women's Reservation
