What is Women's Reservation Bill? Check Key Features and 2026 Updates

The Women Reservation Bill formally known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam or Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill 2023 is a Bill in India to increase gender equality in politics by allowing one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies to be occupied by women. 

Enacted by Parliament in September 2023, it deals with the underrepresentation of women, at present of approximately 14-15 percent of the Lok Sabha. The Special Sitting of Parliament officially commenced today, April 16, 2026, for a three-day session (April 16–18) dedicated to fast-tracking the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam).

The Indian demand of women political quota dates back to the 1930s freedom struggle and was given impetus by the 73 rd and 74 th Constitutional Amendments of 1992-93, which provided 33 percent quota in panchayats and the urban local bodies. 

There were several failures of the bill in 1996 by Geeta Mukherjee Committee to lapses in 1998-2008 over merit, voter choice, and inclusion of OBC in the bill. It was revived in 2023, and passed with a majority in both chambers, becoming law as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.

Key Features of Women Reservation Bill

• The bill introduces Articles 330A (Lok Sabha), 332A (state assemblies) and 334A (implementation) into the Constitution. It requires 33 percent women seats, one third SC/ST seats through horizontal reservation and seats will rotate among constituencies after delimitation. 

• Extends to the assembly of Delhi as well, through tweaks in Article 239AA; has an initial duration of 15 years, renewable by Parliament.

• Delinked to immediate effect, reservation commences after publication and delimiting of the census pursuant to Articles 82 and 170(3) makes it later than 2029 at the earliest. 

• Critics observe no OBC quota, possible proxy candidacies and disincentivizing rotation to do development work.

Latest Developments in the Bill

In April 2026 PM Modi cabinet passed bills amending the constitution to speed up implementation through a special session of Parliament (April 16-19), which suggested increasing Lok Sabha seats to approximately 816 (reserving 273 to women) and a delimitation commission in 2029. 

This goes round census delays, with an operationalization being pursued prematurely in the face of the NDA activities of two-thirds majority backing. By mid-April 2026, the debate is ongoing on seat hikes and consensus-building.

Significance

Increasing women to 14% will increase attention to gender concerns such as violence and workforce participation, which reflects panchayat achievements. Rwanda (61%), and Cuba (53%) are the worst worldwide; India has the lowest score of 149 according to IPU data. 

The political score of India in Global Gender Gap (0.267, rank 48th) could be closed with success.

Also Read: Full List of 33 Questions for First Phase of Census 2027