Article 330A was inserted into the Constitution by the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, popularly known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
It provides for reservation of seats for women in the House of the People, i.e. the Lok Sabha. The official Gazette text of the 106th Amendment inserted Article 330A along with Article 332A and Article 334A.
Core Provision
Article 330A says that seats shall be reserved for women in the Lok Sabha.
The reservation applies in two ways:
- One-third of the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha shall be reserved for women belonging to SC/ST categories.
- As nearly as may be, one-third of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in the Lok Sabha shall be reserved for women.
This means women’s reservation is not only in general seats. It also applies within the existing SC/ST reserved seats.
Link with Article 330
Article 330 already provides for reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha.
Article 330A builds on this structure by adding a gender-based reservation framework.
So, the relationship is:
- Article 330: reservation for SCs and STs in Lok Sabha
- Article 330A: reservation for women in Lok Sabha, including within SC/ST reserved seats
How Much Reservation?
The reservation is one-third, or around 33%, of the seats filled by direct election in the Lok Sabha.
The phrase “as nearly as may be” is important because the exact number may not always divide perfectly into one-third due to constituency numbers and category distribution.
So, the Constitution allows practical adjustment while maintaining the broad one-third principle.
When Will It Apply?
Article 330A does not start operating immediately by itself.
Its implementation is controlled by Article 334A.
Article 334A says that women’s reservation will come into effect after delimitation is undertaken on the basis of the first census conducted after the commencement of the 106th Amendment Act. This means actual implementation depends on a future census and delimitation exercise.
Recent reporting stated that the 106th Amendment Act was brought into force from 16 April 2026, but the actual reservation still depends on the census-delimitation sequence provided in Article 334A.
Rotation of Seats
The seats reserved for women under Article 330A will not remain permanently fixed.
Article 334A provides that reserved seats shall be rotated after each delimitation exercise, as Parliament may determine by law.
This means the constituencies reserved for women may change after delimitation.
Significance
Article 330A is important because it gives constitutional status to women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha.
Its significance lies in:
- increasing women’s representation in Parliament
- addressing gender imbalance in national law-making
- extending reservation within SC/ST seats also
- strengthening political empowerment of women
- moving women’s reservation from policy debate to constitutional framework
India has had women’s reservation in Panchayats and Municipalities through the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, but Article 330A extends the idea to the national legislature.
Concerns
The main concern is delayed implementation.
Although Article 330A creates the constitutional basis for reservation, Article 334A links its actual operation with future census-based delimitation. This has led to criticism that women’s reservation has been accepted in principle but postponed in practice.
Another concern is rotation of seats. If constituencies reserved for women keep changing, women MPs may find it difficult to build long-term political bases in the same constituency.
There is also debate over whether the law should have included a separate sub-quota for OBC women, since Article 330A specifically mentions reservation within SC/ST seats but not OBC seats.
