Women’s Bill Gets Cabinet Nod, Set For 2029 Rollout
The Centre has extended the budget session of Parliament and a three-day sitting will be held from April 16 to 18, where the amendment bill is expected to be passed.
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet is learnt to have cleared on Wednesday draft bills which seek to implement the Women’s Reservation Act before the 2029 parliamentary polls and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 with 273 reserved for women.
Sources privy to the development said a meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the draft bills for the amendments to the law, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, commonly known as the Women’s Reservation Act.
While a Constitution amendment bill will tweak the Adhiniyam, another ordinary bill will amend the Delimitation Act — to pave the way for redrawing of constituencies.
The Centre has extended the budget session of Parliament and a three-day sitting will be held from April 16 to 18, where the amendment bill is expected to be passed.
The provision to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023, but it would have come into effect after the completion of the delimitation exercise on the basis of the 2027 Census. Therefore, it was expected to come into force only in 2034 if the present law remains as it is.
According to the broad contours of the available information, the number of Lok Sabha seats would be increased from the present 543 to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women. The reservation will also be done on a “vertical basis” with seats allocated for SCs and STs.
The redrawing of the constituencies will be done on the basis of the 2011 Census rather than the proposed 2027 Census.
