The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 is a Constitutional Amendment Act, also known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which aims to increase the representation of women in legislative bodies. The origin of this legislation is a long-standing demand, with similar Women's Reservation Bills having been introduced and lapsed multiple times since 1996. The Act was passed in September 2023 to solve the problem of underrepresentation of women, who constituted less than 15% of the Lok Sabha members at the time.
The Act works by mandating the reservation of, as nearly as may be, one-third 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. This reservation includes one-third of the seats already reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It introduces Article 330A for the Lok Sabha, Article 332A for State Assemblies, and amends Article 239AA for the Delhi Assembly. A new Article 334A specifies that the reservation will only come into effect after the first census conducted following the Act's commencement and the subsequent delimitation exercise. The reservation is set to endure for a period of 15 years from its commencement, with a provision for extension by Parliament. This amendment connects to the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments of 1992, which previously mandated one-third reservation for women in local bodies under Article 243D(2) and Article 243T(2).