Explained: Govt formula on Women’s Reservation Bill

The Narendra Modi government is in discussion with the Opposition parties to amend the Women's Reservation Bill for its early implementation. Sumit Pande explains the proposed changes that delink the existing bill from the 2027 census and the next delimitation of the Lok Sabha and legislative assembly constituencies.

When was the women's reservation first implemented in India?

The Constitution, when it was drafted, provided for the reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. There was no provision to reserve seats for women. The reservation for women was first introduced through the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments by introducing a women's quota in the three-tier local body elections. The law also provided for a 33% horizontal quota for women in the seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Of the total number of seats to be filled by direct elections, one-third were reserved for women.

When was a bill to reserve seats in Parliament and the state assemblies first introduced?

The H D Deve Gowda government introduced the 81st Constitution Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha in 1996, but it lapsed upon the dissolution of the house in 1998. There were four more attempts to get the legislation passed over the next six years, but on each occasion the proposal was dropped in the face of stiff opposition. Ten years later, the UPA government introduced the bill in the Rajya Sabha and managed to get it passed amid strong opposition from regional parties from the heartland states. The bill, however, could not get the consent of the Lower House of the Parliament and lapsed upon dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.

When was the bill reserving seats for women in the central and state assemblies passed by the Parliament?

The Modi government, in 2023, introduced the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, or the 128th Constitution Amendment Bill, and got it unanimously passed by both houses of the Parliament. The bill reserved one-third of the seats for women in the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Delhi Assembly. This quota is also applicable to the existing SC and ST reservations. The law, however, does not apply to the Rajya Sabha and state legislative councils.

How does the law link delimitation and census with the reservation for women?

The 2023 law says women's reservation will be based on the first census conducted after the passage of the bill. It will be applicable for 15 years, with parliament having the right to grant an extension. The delimitation exercise will govern the rotation of seats allocated for women. In other words, the basis for the implementation of women's reservation would be the 2027 census data and the subsequent delimitation of the seats.

What are the proposed changes in the Women's Reservation Bill now?

The government has initiated a discussion with the Opposition to bring in two bills. The objective is to use the Census 2011 data instead of the 2027 numbers for the delimitation of seats. Increasing the total number of Lok Sabha seats by 50% in each state to take the cumulative strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816, and setting aside the quantum increment of 273 seats for women. This means in Karnataka, the total number of seats can go up from 28 to 42, and the additional 14 seats are reserved for women.

Using this formula, the government argues, the proportional representation of seats of each state in the Lower House would remain unchanged.

When will the new bill come into being?

The government wants to implement the women’s reservation for the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. However, it is not clear whether the formula proposed for the increase of the seats in the LS will also be applicable to the state legislative assemblies. The Opposition parties have asked the Centre to officially share the proposal for better understanding of the formula proposed by the government.