The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is the popular name for the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, a landmark piece of legislation. It was passed by Parliament in September 2023 to address the problem of low political representation of women in India's legislative bodies. The legislative effort, known as the Women's Reservation Bill, has a long history, having been first introduced in Parliament in September 1996.
The Act mandates the reservation of one-third (33%) of the total seats for women in the Lok Sabha, the State Legislative Assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. To implement this, the Act inserts new Articles 330A and 332A into the Constitution, providing for reservation in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, respectively, and amends Article 239AA for the Delhi Assembly. The one-third quota also includes a sub-reservation for women belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The reservation is set to be in effect for a period of 15 years from its commencement, with the possibility of extension by Parliament. A key mechanism is the rotation of reserved seats to different constituencies after each delimitation exercise.
The Act's implementation is contingent on two preparatory steps: the completion of the next decennial Census and a subsequent delimitation exercise. This means the reservation will only come into effect after the census data is published and the constituencies are redrawn. This legislation connects directly to the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, which previously mandated a one-third reservation for women in local bodies (Panchayats and Municipalities). The new articles are inspired by the existing reservation provisions for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies under Articles 330 and 332.