UPSC Prelims 2024 Q81: Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam — Explained

Consider the following statements regarding 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam':

1. Provisions will come into effect from the 18th Lok Sabha.

2. This will be in force for 15 years after becoming an Act.

3. There are provisions for the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes Women within the quota reserved for the Scheduled Castes.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1, 2 and 3
1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only

Answer: (c) 2 and 3 only

Statement-wise explanation

1: incorrect — The Act does not name any Lok Sabha. Under the new Article 334A, the reservation comes into effect only after a delimitation exercise. That delimitation must be based on the first census taken after the Act commences, once its figures are published. No such census or delimitation had been done when the 18th Lok Sabha was elected in 2024, so that House was elected without women's reservation.
2: correct — Article 334A says the reservation 'shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of fifteen years' from the commencement of the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023. Parliament can extend it by law. Strictly, the 15 years run from the Act's commencement, not from the President's assent on 28 September 2023. The official key still treats the statement as correct.
3: correct — Article 330A (Lok Sabha) and Article 332A (State Assemblies) both reserve, as nearly as may be, one-third of the seats already reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for women of those groups. The amended Article 239AA does the same for the SC seats in the Delhi Assembly. These women's seats are carved out of the existing SC/ST quota. They are not added on top of it. There is no separate quota for OBC women.

How to eliminate

Statement 1 is the one to test. The government said it in public and the papers reported it widely in 2023: the quota depends on a census and then a delimitation. The census due in 2021 had not been held, and the 2024 general election that formed the 18th Lok Sabha ran without the quota. If you knew that, Statement 1 is false. That removes every option containing 1, which leaves only '2 and 3 only'. Statement 3 can also be reasoned out. Earlier women's quota models, in panchayats under Article 243D and in the 2008 Bill, reserved seats for SC/ST women inside the SC/ST quota. A new law following the same pattern is likely. The 15-year figure in Statement 2 has to be remembered. Learn these three numbers together: one-third of seats, 15 years, and a start after census plus delimitation.

Know more

Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 — Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam

The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on 20 September 2023 (454 for, 2 against). The Rajya Sabha passed it on 21 September 2023, and the President gave assent on 28 September 2023. It reserves one-third of directly elected seats for women in three houses: the Lok Sabha, the State Legislative Assemblies and the Delhi Legislative Assembly.

Article	What it does
239AA (amended)	Women's reservation in the Delhi Assembly, including one-third of SC seats
330A (new)	Women's reservation in the Lok Sabha, including one-third of SC/ST seats
332A (new)	Women's reservation in State Assemblies, including one-third of SC/ST seats
334A (new)	Start date (after census + delimitation), 15-year life, rotation of seats

What the Act does not cover

The Rajya Sabha and State Legislative Councils, because their members are indirectly elected.
A separate sub-quota for OBC women.

Rotation. Seats reserved for women rotate after each later delimitation, as Parliament provides by law.

Background. Women have had at least one-third of seats in panchayats (Article 243D) and municipalities (Article 243T) since the 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992). Earlier attempts to extend this to legislatures did not pass: the 1996 Bill (examined by the Geeta Mukherjee Committee) and the 108th Amendment Bill, 2008. The 2008 Bill passed the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but lapsed in the Lok Sabha.

Why delimitation matters. The seats to be reserved can only be identified when constituencies are redrawn. That makes the women's quota depend on the post-2026 delimitation and on the census before it. This link is still disputed: in 2026 the government brought an amending Bill to implement the quota by the 2029 election, and it was debated in Parliament.

In the news

Parliament passed the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in September 2023, in the first session held in the new Parliament building. It was a major current-affairs topic for the 2024 Prelims, especially its link to the census and delimitation ahead of the 2024 general election.

NCERT Concepts to Revise

106th Constitutional Amendment Act 2023: The question tests three features of this Act: its start date, its duration and how it treats SC/ST seats.
Delimitation: Statement 1 depends on when the Act takes effect, and that is tied to a fresh delimitation of constituencies.
Delimitation Commission: The body that will redraw constituencies and identify which seats are reserved for women once the Act is triggered.
Women's reservation in local bodies: The panchayat and municipal quota is the older model whose SC/ST sub-quota design helps you judge Statement 3.
Women's Reservation Bill 2008: The 2008 Bill is the direct forerunner. Comparing its design with the 2023 Act helps you judge the statements.
Geeta Mukherjee Committee (1996): This committee examined the 1996 Bill and raised issues such as OBC women and the Rajya Sabha that the 2023 Act left out.