UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Women’s political participation in India
Q1. Which one of the following Articles, as inserted by the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, specifically provides for the reservation of one-third of seats for women in the Legislative Assemblies of the States?
- A. Article 330A
- B. Article 331A
- C. Article 332A
- D. Article 334A
Q2. With reference to the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 and the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, consider the following statements:
1. The 2023 Act made the operationalisation of women's reservation contingent upon the first Census conducted after its commencement, whereas the 2026 Bill seeks to remove this Census-linked precondition.
2. The 2026 Bill proposes to increase the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha from 550 to 888 members.
3. Unlike the 2023 Act, the 2026 Bill extends one-third reservation for women to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha).
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The 2023 Act made the operationalisation of women's reservation contingent upon the first Census conducted after its commencement, whereas the 2026 Bill seeks to remove this Census-linked precondition.
- The 2026 Bill proposes to increase the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha from 550 to 888 members.
- Unlike the 2023 Act, the 2026 Bill extends one-third reservation for women to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha).
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q3. In the context of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, the term 'rotation' as applied to seats reserved for women refers to which one of the following?
- A. The reserved seats are re-allotted by rotation among different States in proportion to female population after every general election.
- B. The reserved seats are allotted by rotation to different constituencies within a State or Union Territory after each subsequent delimitation exercise, as Parliament may by law determine.
- C. Women candidates from reserved seats are rotated among recognised political parties by the Election Commission of India before every general election.
- D. One-third of reserved seats rotate between Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and general categories at five-year intervals.
Q4. Consider the following statements regarding the provisions of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023:
1. The reservation for women shall cease to have effect on the expiry of a period of fifteen years from its commencement, unless extended by a law made by Parliament.
2. Within the seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, one-third of the seats shall be reserved for women belonging to those categories.
3. The Act extends one-third reservation for women to the Council of States.
4. The Act inserts Article 330A to provide for the reservation of seats for women in the House of the People.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as provisions of the Act?
- The reservation for women shall cease to have effect on the expiry of a period of fifteen years from its commencement, unless extended by a law made by Parliament.
- Within the seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, one-third of the seats shall be reserved for women belonging to those categories.
- The Act extends one-third reservation for women to the Council of States.
- The Act inserts Article 330A to provide for the reservation of seats for women in the House of the People.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1, 2 and 4 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4