The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 introduced a constitutional framework for:
Reservation of seats for women in legislatures.
It inserted:
It also amended:
Article 239AA
to provide women's reservation in the:
Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
106th Amendment, 2023 → Women's Reservation + Lok Sabha + State Legislative Assemblies + Delhi Legislative Assembly + SC/ST Women Reservation + Delimitation/Census Linkage.
Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023.
It is popularly associated with:
Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
The amendment seeks to increase:
Women's political representation
in India's representative institutions.
Political equality + Representative inclusion + Women's empowerment.
The amendment provides reservation of seats for women in:
It does NOT provide the same constitutional reservation framework for:
Rajya Sabha.
Nor does it create a corresponding reservation framework for:
State Legislative Councils.
The amendment inserted:
Article 330A.
It deals with:
Reservation of seats for women in the House of the People.
Under Article 330A:
Seats shall be reserved for women in the Lok Sabha.
The constitutional target is:
As nearly as may be, one-third of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election to the Lok Sabha.
Article 330A further provides that:
As nearly as may be, one-third of the seats reserved for SCs and STs under Article 330
shall be reserved for:
Women belonging to SC/ST communities.
This creates:
Reservation within reserved seats.
The constitutional formula means:
Approximately one-third.
The text uses:
"As nearly as may be"
rather than demanding an absolutely exact mathematical one-third in every circumstance.
The amendment inserted:
Article 332A.
It provides for:
Reservation of seats for women in the Legislative Assemblies of States.
Under Article 332A:
As nearly as may be, one-third of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every State Legislative Assembly shall be reserved for women.
This applies to:
State Legislative Assemblies.
Article 332A provides that:
As nearly as may be, one-third of the seats reserved for SC/ST under Article 332
shall be reserved for:
Women belonging to SC/ST communities.
The 106th Amendment also amended:
Article 239AA.
It provides reservation for women in the:
Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
The Delhi framework provides:
One-third of the directly elected seats
to be reserved for women, including the seats reserved for women belonging to:
SC communities.
Delhi is constitutionally:
A Union Territory with a special legislative framework.
The 106th Amendment therefore modified:
Article 239AA
rather than creating a separate ordinary State-level provision for Delhi.
The most important implementation provision is:
Article 334A.
It deals with:
When women's reservation takes effect and how long it operates.
A major UPSC point:
The 106th Amendment did NOT provide that:
One-third of legislative seats would automatically be reserved immediately upon enactment.
Instead, Article 334A links commencement to:
Women's reservation is to come into effect:
After a delimitation exercise is undertaken for this purpose after the relevant figures for the first census taken after commencement of the 106th Amendment have been published.
Therefore:
Census → Publication of relevant figures → Delimitation → Implementation of women's reservation.
The 106th Amendment:
❌ Did not immediately reserve one-third of the existing seats in 2023.
✅ Its implementation is linked to:
Census + subsequent delimitation.
Article 334A(4) ensures that:
Existing representation is not disturbed before the dissolution of the then-existing House or Assembly.
The reservation framework does not retroactively alter:
Existing elected Houses.
Article 334A provides that the constitutional provisions relating to women's reservation:
Shall cease to have effect after 15 years from the commencement of the 106th Amendment.
This is the constitutional sunset period specified for:
Women's reservation.
Article 334A also provides that:
Parliament may by law determine continuation of the reserved seats beyond the initial period.
15 years → Initial constitutional period.
Parliament → May provide for continuation through law.
Article 334A provides that:
Rotation of seats reserved for women shall take effect after each subsequent exercise of delimitation,
in the manner Parliament may determine by law.
Rotation is intended to:
Spread reserved representation across different constituencies.
Avoid permanently reserving:
The same constituencies
for women.
A key relationship is:
Delimitation → Reservation allocation → Rotation.
Rotation is not presented as:
An immediate 2023 constituency-wise exercise.
The amendment has a layered structure:
General legislative seats → One-third women reservation.
SC/ST reserved seats → One-third of those seats reserved for SC/ST women.
Suppose a State Assembly has:
100 seats.
The constitutional framework aims at approximately:
33 women-reserved seats.
If:
20 seats are reserved for SC/ST,
approximately one-third of those SC/ST-reserved seats would also be reserved for:
SC/ST women.
The example is illustrative.
The actual number of reserved seats depends on:
Women constitute approximately half the population, but historically have had:
Much lower representation in legislative bodies.
To address:
Political under-representation of women.
Women's reservation seeks to improve:
India already had constitutional reservation for women in:
Panchayats and Municipalities.
Through:
73rd and 74th Amendments.
Provided:
At least one-third reservation for women in Panchayats.
Provided:
At least one-third reservation for women in Municipalities.
The 106th Amendment extends the constitutional reservation principle to:
Parliament and State Legislatures.
73rd → Rural local bodies.
74th → Urban local bodies.
106th → Parliament + State Assemblies + Delhi Assembly.
Reservation can:
Increase descriptive representation.
But representation alone does not guarantee:
Equal political influence or substantive empowerment.
Means:
Legislatures contain more members from the represented demographic group.
→ More women legislators.
Means:
Legislators actively promote issues and interests affecting women and society.
More women in legislatures:
≠
Automatic achievement of all gender-equality goals.
The amendment can create:
More opportunities for women to enter electoral politics.
This can strengthen:
The amendment applies to:
State Legislative Assemblies
through:
Article 332A.
Implementation affects:
Union and State legislative representation.
Delhi receives its provision through:
Article 239AA.
The amendment recognises:
Delhi's special constitutional status.
The 106th Amendment does not provide:
One-third reservation for women in the Rajya Sabha.
This is a major Prelims trap.
It also does not establish the same constitutional women's-seat reservation mechanism for:
State Legislative Councils.
Article 330A.
Article 332A.
Article 239AA.
239AA → Delhi.
330A → Lok Sabha.
332A → State Assemblies.
334A → Commencement, duration and rotation.
Originally:
Article 334 dealt with duration of SC/ST legislative reservation and Anglo-Indian special representation.
The 106th Amendment inserted:
Article 334A
specifically for:
Women's reservation.
→ Continued SC/ST political reservation.
→ Created women's legislative reservation.
The 104th deals with:
Existing SC/ST political reservation.
The 106th introduces:
A separate women's reservation framework.
→ Articles 330 and 332.
→ Articles 330A and 332A.
→ One-third of the SC/ST reserved seats under the new women's framework.
→ EWS reservation in education/public employment.
→ Women's reservation in legislatures.
→ State/UT SEBC identification.
→ Women's legislative representation.
→ Local-government women's reservation.
→ National and State legislative women's reservation.
The 106th Amendment makes implementation dependent on:
A delimitation exercise undertaken after the relevant post-commencement census figures are published.
The constitutional arrangement allows Parliament to:
Determine the constituencies in which women's reservation will operate,
within the delimitation framework.
Delimitation is fundamentally connected with:
Representation based on population.
Women's reservation is linked to:
Future constituency restructuring.
The 106th Amendment itself:
❌ Did not conduct delimitation.
❌ Did not identify the final list of women-reserved constituencies.
✅ Created the constitutional framework for doing so later.
A central constitutional condition is:
Relevant figures for the first census taken after commencement of the 106th Amendment must be published before the relevant delimitation exercise for women's reservation.
Do not simply say:
"Reservation starts after the 2021 Census."
The Constitution does not specifically name:
2021 Census
as the trigger.
It refers to:
The first census taken after commencement of the 106th Amendment and publication of its relevant figures.
106th Amendment → Post-commencement relevant census → Publication of figures → Delimitation → Women's reserved seats become operational.
The 106th Amendment:
Has been constitutionally enacted.
But its women-reservation provisions are:
Implementation-linked rather than automatically operative immediately upon enactment.
The amendment can:
Increase women's numerical presence in legislatures.
This may influence:
It advances:
Inclusive representative democracy.
The measure reflects:
Substantive equality rather than merely formal equality.
Women's participation at:
Local-government level
can potentially feed into:
State and national political leadership.
→ Experience at grassroots.
106th → Legislative representation.
Greater women's representation may strengthen attention to:
Reservation creates:
A guaranteed minimum floor of representation.
It does not prohibit women from winning:
Additional non-reserved seats.
The reserved-seat framework does not prevent women from:
Contesting general/unreserved constituencies.
Women's total representation can exceed:
The number of constitutionally reserved seats.
One-third reservation:
❌ Does not mean only one-third of women can contest elections.
✅ It means approximately one-third of specified seats are reserved for women.
Reserved constituencies for women mean:
Eligible candidates must satisfy the reservation condition.
The Constitution does not create:
A separate men's reservation.
A major criticism is that:
Actual implementation is linked to future census and delimitation.
Women do not automatically receive:
One-third reserved seats immediately after enactment.
Because delimitation timing is consequential:
The exact constituency-level outcome is not immediately fixed by the amendment.
Frequent rotation can potentially:
Reservation does not automatically guarantee:
Decision-making autonomy.
Party leadership and political structures continue to matter.
At local-government level, debates around:
"Proxy" representation
have raised concerns that formal women's representation may sometimes be mediated by family or local political elites.
This is a governance concern, not a constitutional rule that all women representatives act as proxies.
Women's experiences differ based on:
The amendment addresses some intersectionality by reserving:
A share of SC/ST reserved seats for women belonging to SC/ST communities.
This prevents women's reservation from being designed as:
A purely non-SC/ST category.
Gender + existing political reservation categories.
General women-reserved seats:
Approximately one-third of directly elected seats.
SC/ST women:
Approximately one-third of SC/ST reserved seats.
Article 334A specifies:
Fifteen years from commencement.
This should not be confused with:
The 10-year extension applicable to SC/ST political reservation under the 104th Amendment.
SC/ST political reservation:
Extended to 2030.
Women's reservation:
Initial constitutional period of 15 years from commencement of the relevant provisions.
Women-reserved seats are to be rotated:
After each subsequent delimitation exercise,
as Parliament may by law determine.
Parliament may determine by law:
Provides:
Reservation principle and framework.
Provides:
Detailed implementation through law.
The amendment does not disturb:
Existing Houses until their dissolution.
No retrospective reallocation of seats in currently existing legislatures.
The amendment relates to:
Reserved seats in direct-election constituencies.
It does not change:
The 106th Amendment does not create:
A new election commission.
Elections continue under:
Existing constitutional and statutory electoral institutions.
Women's reservation in legislatures may also influence:
Women's representation can be strengthened through:
Reservation ensures:
Representation opportunity.
It does not automatically ensure:
Equal participation in party decision-making.
More women legislators can improve:
Descriptive representation.
But policy outcomes depend on:
2023.
Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
Lok Sabha. State Legislative Assemblies. Delhi Legislative Assembly.
Lok Sabha women's reservation.
State Assembly women's reservation.
Commencement, duration and rotation.
Delhi women's reservation.
As nearly as may be one-third.
One-third of SC/ST reserved seats.
Not covered by this reservation framework.
Not covered.
Linked to census figures + delimitation.
15 years from commencement.
After subsequent delimitation exercises, as Parliament provides by law.
Not disturbed before their dissolution.
The 106th Amendment immediately reserved one-third of existing Lok Sabha and Assembly seats.
❌ Wrong.
Implementation is linked to:
Relevant post-commencement census figures + delimitation.
The 106th Amendment reserves one-third of Rajya Sabha seats for women.
❌ Wrong.
Rajya Sabha is:
Not covered.
The 106th Amendment applies only to Lok Sabha.
❌ Wrong.
It covers:
Lok Sabha + State Assemblies + Delhi Assembly.
Article 330A concerns State Assemblies.
❌ Wrong.
330A:
Lok Sabha.
Article 332A concerns Delhi.
❌ Wrong.
332A:
State Legislative Assemblies.
Delhi:
Article 239AA.
Article 334A creates the reservation itself.
❌ Incomplete.
330A/332A/239AA:
Create the reservation framework.
334A:
Deals with when it takes effect, duration and rotation.
Women's reservation is permanent.
❌ Wrong.
Article 334A specifies:
15-year initial constitutional period.
The first delimitation after the 2021 Census automatically triggers reservation.
❌ Not what the constitutional text says.
It refers to:
The first census taken after commencement of the 106th Amendment and publication of relevant figures.
The 106th Amendment conducts the delimitation itself.
❌ Wrong.
It creates the:
Constitutional framework for later implementation.
All SC/ST reserved seats become reserved for SC/ST women.
❌ Wrong.
Approximately:
One-third of SC/ST reserved seats
are reserved for SC/ST women.
Women can only contest women-reserved constituencies after the amendment.
❌ Wrong.
Women can continue to contest:
Unreserved/general seats.
The amendment replaced the 104th Amendment's SC/ST reservation.
❌ Wrong.
It creates:
A separate women's reservation framework.
Article 334A extends Anglo-Indian representation.
❌ Wrong.
It deals with:
Women's reservation.
The 106th Amendment abolished Article 332.
❌ Wrong.
It inserted:
Article 332A
after Article 332.
The 106th Amendment applies to State Legislative Councils.
❌ Wrong.
It applies to:
Legislative Assemblies.
Constitution:
Universal adult suffrage and equality framework.
73rd Amendment:
Women's reservation in Panchayats.
74th Amendment:
Women's reservation in Municipalities.
104th-era extension:
SC/ST political reservation.
104th Amendment:
SC/ST reservation extended to 2030; Anglo-Indian nomination not extended.
106th Amendment:
Women's legislative reservation framework.
73rd → Women in Panchayats.
74th → Women in Municipalities.
104th → SC/ST reservation continues.
106th → Women in Lok Sabha + State Assemblies + Delhi Assembly.
330 → SC/ST Lok Sabha.
330A → Women Lok Sabha.
332 → SC/ST State Assemblies.
332A → Women State Assemblies.
334 → Existing special representation duration.
334A → Women reservation implementation.
239AA → Delhi Assembly.
239AA + 106th → Women's reservation in Delhi Assembly.
1/3 Lok Sabha
1/3 State Assemblies
1/3 Delhi Assembly
1/3 of SC/ST reserved seats for SC/ST women
Census → Delimitation → Implementation
Rotation after subsequent delimitation.
→ Greater women's representation.
→ Political empowerment.
→ Substantive equality.
→ Leadership pipeline.
The 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023 marks a major step in India's constitutional journey toward gender-balanced political representation. It creates a framework for reserving approximately one-third of directly elected seats for women in the Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies and the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
The 106th Amendment represents a major constitutional shift toward gender-balanced legislatures. Its success will ultimately depend not merely on the number of reserved seats but on whether women gain effective political voice, leadership opportunities and substantive influence in legislative decision-making.
