Women’s Quota Act of 2023 comes into force

NEW DELHI: While the Lok Sabha debated three Bills, including a Constitutional amendment Bill, to enable the rollout of women’s reservation in the 2029 general election, the law ministry on Thursday notified April 16, 2026 as the date on which the provisions of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act 2023 — popularly called the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam — shall come into force.Sources in the government said the commencement of the 2023 Act was notified as it was a “technical” requirement for seeking further amendments to the very constitutional provisions it had inserted/amended. The Lok Sabha is currently debating three Bills, including the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 that seeks to amend Article 330A, 332A and 334A inserted through the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth) Amendment) Act, 2023. The 2023 Constitution amendment Act had contemplated women’s reservation to become operative after the first delimitation undertaken on the basis of the relevant census after the commencement of the Act. However, the government, reasoning that the next census (Census 2027) and consequential delimitation will take considerable time and delay the participation of women in the polity, introduced on Thursday the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill to enable delimitation exercise to be undertaken on the basis of population figures of the latest published census, which is Census 2011.