GS Paper 2
Syllabus: Reservation
Source: TOI
Context: This is in continuation of the article published two days back. The author (Surjit Bhalla (an Indian economist, author and columnist) suggests further reforms to make women’s reservations meaningful.
Suggestions to further improve the women’s reservation in India:
| Recommendation | Description |
| Quotas for Political Parties | Every political party should nominate 33% or 50% women candidates for all types of elections, from local to national levels. |
| Countries like Rwanda, Norway, South Africa and Sweden have successfully implemented such quotas. | |
| Dual Member Constituencies | Dual member constituencies where some constituencies shall have two candidates, one being a woman |
| In the past, India had multi-member constituencies with SC/ST representation. In 1961, these constituencies were changed to single-member ones due to their large size, and this change was seen as a way to increase the significance of SC/ST members in reserved constituencies. |
Analysis of Reservation in Political Parties:
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Provide more democratic choices to voters | No guarantee that a significant number of women will get elected |
| Allow more flexibility for parties in candidate selection | Political parties may assign women candidates to weak constituencies |
| Can promote women from minority communities strategically | Might lead to resentment if women are chosen over stronger male candidates |
Advantages of Dual-Member Constituencies:
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Does not decrease the democratic choice for voters | Sitting members may have to share their political base |
| Does not discriminate against male candidates | Women may become secondary or add-on representatives |
| Easier for members to manage smaller constituencies | To achieve 33% women representation, half of the seats must be dual constituencies, increasing the total number of MPs by 50% and potentially complicating deliberations in Parliament. |
Additional Information:
Comparison of the key changes between the 2008 Bill and the Bill introduced in 2023:
| Aspect | 2008 Bill | 2023 Bill |
| Reservation in Lok Sabha | One-third of Lok Sabha seats in each state/UT to be reserved for women | One-third of seats to be reserved for women |
| Rotation of Seats | Reserved seats are to be rotated after every general election to Parliament/legislative assembly | Reserved seats are to be rotated after every delimitation exercise |
| Anglo-Indians | Reservation for SC/ST and Anglo Indian | Reservation for only SC and ST (not Anglo Indians) |
Errata: In the Infographic for Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023 (released previously and not corrected), it was mentioned that “The Bill provide sub reservation for SC, ST and ANGLO INDIANS among women candidates”.
However, in the new version of the bill, the reservation for the ANGLO INDIANS has been dropped.
In January 2020, the Anglo-Indian reserved seats in the Parliament and State Legislatures of India were abolished by the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019.
