Quota implementation may go beyond '29

How census and delimitation are connected to the quota

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PROVISIONS FOR DELIMITATION AND CASTE CENSUS

The women's reservation bill, which returned to Parliament after 13 years, was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, with both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress backing the landmark legislation. It looks set to clear the Rajya Sabha as well. But even after the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is passed in the ongoing special session of Parliament, it will take time till India implements quotas for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, perhaps beyond the 2029 deadline that some reports have suggested - unless this government and the one elected in 2024 push for more constitutional amendments, and expedite not just the next census, but also the process of delimitation.

The 128th Constitution Amendment Bill states that political reservation for women will only come into effect after the relevant census figures are published and the delimitation - an exercise comprising the revision of seat numbers in Parliament and the redrawing of constituency boundaries is done on the basis of that.

How census and delimitation are connected to the quota

It's important to understand two articles of the Constitution for this. One is Article 332, on reservation. Changes will need to be made to this, and the constituencies reserved for women identified. As Home Minister Amit Shah said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, it makes sense to have the delimitation commission do this -- because that is its job.