Cabinet clears draft amendment Bill over women’s reservationPOLITY – BILL/ACT

Cabinet clears draft amendment Bill over women’s reservation

9 APRIL 2026

The Union Cabinet approved a draft amendment Bill to implement the Women’s Reservation Act by the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
The amendment seeks to revise the implementation framework of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, formally known as the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, passed in 2023.
Under the proposal, the strength of the Lok Sabha is set to rise from 543 to 816, following a fresh delimitation exercise.
Of the expanded House, 273 seats, around one-third will be reserved for women.
The quota will be applied vertically, providing reservation for women within the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories as well.
In a significant departure from the existing law, the government plans to carry out delimitation based on the 2011 Census, rather than waiting for Census data from 2027.
The Bill will be taken up for debate at the Budget Session from April 16-18.