What the Cabinet has decided
The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has cleared a set of amendments to enable the long‑delayed 33% women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies to be implemented for the 2029 general elections. The plan centres on tweaking the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women’s Reservation Act, 2023) and related delimitation laws, in effect gearing up for a constitutional overhaul that will reserve one‑third of seats for women once the delimitation process tied to the 2026 census is complete.
Key legal and structural changes
To unblock the rollout, the government will introduce two main Bills:
- one to amend the 2023 Nari Shakti Vandan Act, which currently makes the 33% quota dependent on the delimitation exercise after the next census; and
- another to amend the 84th Constitution Amendment, which freezes delimitation until 2026, so that a fresh delimitation can start earlier.
The government also plans to increase the total strength of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by about 50% each, using the 2011 Census as the base, so that the 33% quota applies on the enlarged seat‑matrix, giving women representation on a larger legislative platform.
How the reservation will work
Under the amended framework, 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha and in state assemblies will be reserved for women, including 33% of reserved SC and ST seats, i.e., one‑third of those segments will also be reserved for women. Reserved seats are expected to be allocated via rotation (lottery) across constituencies, and the quota is likely to remain in place for 15 years, after which the list of reserved seats will be reshuffled.
Political and symbolic stakes
The 33% reservation Bill, first proposed in the 1990s and finally passed unanimously in 2023, has long been a symbol of India’s stalled progress on gender parity in politics. By targeting implementation from 2029, the government aims to present the 2029 Lok Sabha elections as the first truly “women‑inclusive” contest, while also trying to build consensus among opposition parties on the delimitation and seat‑enhancement package.
