India: 5 key takeaways from Women's Reservation Bill aka 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam'

Marking the first day of the session in its new Parliament building, India on Tuesday (September 19th) introduced the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam or the Women's Reservation Bill.

Lauding the bill, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on social media platform X said,"This day has been immortalised forever in Indian parliamentary democracy. While today the inauguration of the new Parliament House has taken place, today in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Shri @narendramodiji has started writing a new chapter by announcing the introduction of'Nari Shakti Vandan Act'."

Parliamentary discussions on the bill

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The bill which was introduced by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in the first sitting of Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building is set to be taken up for discussion in Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian parliament on Wednesday (September 20).

Quoting sources, news agency ANI reports that the bill will be taken up in Rajya Sabha the following day, on September 21st.

Five key takeaways from the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam bill

1. TheConstitution (One Hundred and Twenty Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to meet a long-pending demand. If passed, it will provide 33 per cent reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

While introducing the bill, Union Minister Meghwal said that once the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is passed, the number of seats for women in Lok Sabha will increase to 181.

2. The bill proposes that the above-mentioned reservation will continue for a period of 15 years and that within the reserved seats for women, there will be a quota for SC/STs.

Congress General Secretary in-charge of Communication, Jairam Ramesh, as per news agency PTI, has pointed out that the reservation will come into effect only after the publication of the next census and the subsequent delimitation exercise.

3. The reservation of "as nearly as may be, one-third of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election" will come into effect after a delimitation exercise is undertaken.

The delimitation exercise involves the redrawing of boundaries of Lok Sabha and state assembly seats to appropriately represent changes in population. These exercises seek to provide equal representation to the various segments of society.

4. As per the government, the bill will enable greater participation of women in policymaking at the state and national levels. It also said that the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' will help achieve the goal of making India a developed country by 2047.

5. For the bill to be passed, it will require the ratification of at least 50 per cent of the states. This is necessary as the bill will affect their rights.

(With inputs from agencies)

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