73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments
Women's Reservation in Local Bodies
The 73rd Amendment (Panchayati Raj) and the 74th Amendment (Urban Local Bodies) were enacted together in December 1992 and came into force on April 24, 1993 and June 1, 1993, respectively. These amendments are landmark legislation for grassroots democracy and women's political empowerment.
- 73rd Amendment added Part IX (Articles 243–243O) to the Constitution; 74th Amendment added Part IXA (Articles 243P–243ZG).
- Mandatory one-third reservation for women in seats across all PRIs (village, block, district panchayats) and one-third of chairperson positions.
- One-third of SC/ST-reserved seats within PRIs are also reserved for women from those communities.
- Rotation principle: reserved seats rotate among different constituencies in each election cycle.
- Both amendments required states to enact conforming legislation — all states have done so.
- 20 states have gone beyond the constitutional minimum, reserving 50% of PRI seats for women.
- Current PRI elected representatives: approximately 31 lakh total; 14.5 lakh (46%) are women — the largest number of elected women at any level in the world.
● Tracked since April 02, 2026 · last seen April 16, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
See it in today’s brief.
Daily current affairs with every static concept explained in place.
Read the daily brief