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The Union Law Ministry has officially notified the Women’s Reservation Act 2023 (also the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam) to take effect on April 16, 2026. The step is termed a technical move so as to operationalize the law arising as Parliament deliberates on the related constitutional amendments.

It is given under the Act that 33% of the females are to be reserved in the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Delhi Assembly. Nevertheless, in its actualization, it still involves the following census and delimitation exercise.

In the special three-day session of the Parliament (April 16-18, 2026), the government tabled the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, to enable initial implementation and add extra Lok Sabha seats. There were intense objections against the bill that the quota be linked to delimitation, and it was not passed in the Lok Sabha on April 17 with a majority of 298 out of the two-thirds majority.

The timing and method were criticized by the opposition parties, and the government insisted that women be more represented. The original act 2023 will stay in effect, yet practical reservation will be unlikely before 2029, most probably after.