The Women’s Reservation Bill: From 1996 to the 2023 Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam

What it says

• The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam reserves one-third of seats for women.
• It covers the Lok Sabha, all State Legislative Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly.
• It does not cover the Rajya Sabha or the State Legislative Councils.
• Within the seats reserved for SC and ST, one-third go to women of those groups.
• The reservation lasts 15 years from commencement. Parliament can extend it.

The long road to 2023

• 1996: the 81st Amendment Bill was introduced under the Deve Gowda government. It lapsed.
• 1998 and 1999: later versions were introduced but not passed.
• 2008: a fresh bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
• 9 March 2010: the Rajya Sabha passed it. The Lok Sabha never took it up.
• The 2010 bill stayed alive because the Rajya Sabha is a permanent House. But the Lok Sabha never passed it.
• The 2023 Act came as a fresh bill instead.

How it passed

• It was brought as the 128th Constitution Amendment Bill.
• It became the 106th Amendment Act, because earlier bills were still pending.
• The Lok Sabha passed it on 20 September 2023 by 454 votes to 2.
• The Rajya Sabha passed it unanimously on 21 September.
• President Droupadi Murmu gave assent on 28 September 2023.

A delayed start

• The reservation starts only after the next Census and a fresh delimitation.
• So it did not apply to the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
• Seats will rotate. No seat stays reserved for women forever.

The sub-quota fight

• Earlier versions of the bill were blocked by parties wanting a quota inside the quota for OBC and minority women.
• The 2023 Act has no such sub-quota.

Where women stand today

• The world average for women in parliaments is roughly 27%.
• Local bodies already have reservation since 1992, under the 73rd and 74th Amendments.

Quotas elsewhere

• Rwanda has the world’s highest share of women in parliament, at nearly 64%.
• Its 2003 constitution set only a 30% quota, and women went well above it.
• So a quota can act as a floor, not a ceiling.

Criticism

• Critics say tying the quota to Census and delimitation delayed it for years.
• Some say rotation weakens an MP’s incentive to nurse a seat.
• Supporters say it breaks a long deadlock and will raise women’s voice in law-making.

April 2026

• On 16 April 2026, the government introduced the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill.
• It would have raised the Lok Sabha to as many as 850 seats and made women’s reservation workable from 2029.
• Many parties backed reservation but objected to linking it to delimitation. They feared a loss of southern and north-eastern weight.
• On 17 April 2026 it failed in the Lok Sabha, 298 for and 230 against. A Constitution amendment needs two-thirds of members present and voting.
• So the 2023 Act still waits on a Census and delimitation.
• Sources: PRS India and SCC Online.