As of September 2024, there have
been 106 amendments to the Constitution of India since it was first
enacted in 1950.There are three types of amendments to the Constitution of
India of which the second and third types of amendments are governed
by Article 368.
The first type of amendment includes
that can be passed by a "simple majority" in each house of the Parliament
of India.
The second type of amendments
includes that can be effected by the parliament by a prescribed "special
majority" in each house; and
The third type of amendments
includes those that require, in addition to such a "special majority"
in each house of the parliament, ratification by at least one half of the State Legislatures.
The third type amendments that are
made to the constitution are amendments No. 3, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 22, 23,
24, 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 38, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 51, 54, 61, 62, 70,
73, 74, 75, 79, 84, 88, 95, 99, 101 and 104.[3]
Although constitutional amendments
require the support of a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament (with
some amendments requiring ratification by a majority of state legislatures),
the Indian Constitution is the most amended national constitution in the world.[4] The
Constitution spells out governmental powers with so much detail that many
matters addressed by statute in other democracies must be addressed via
constitutional amendment in India. As a result, the Constitution is amended
roughly twice a year. The main purpose of the amendments is to become more
relevant.
List of Amendments
|
No. |
Amendments |
Enforced since |
Objectives |
||
|
15, 19, 85, 87, 174, 176, 341, 342, 372 and 376. |
18 June 1951[6] |
Added special provision for the advancement of any socially and
educationally[7] backward
classes or for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes (SCs and STs). To fully secure the constitutional validity of
zamindari abolition laws and to place reasonable restriction on freedom of
speech. A new constitutional device, called Schedule 9 introduced to protect
against laws that are contrary to the Constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights. These laws
encroach upon property rights, freedom of speech and equality before law. |
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|
Amend article 81(1)(b).[8] |
2 May 1953 |
Removed the upper population limit for a parliamentary
constituency by amending Article 81(1)(b). |
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|
Amend schedule 7.[9] |
22 February 1955 |
Re-enacted entry 33 of the Concurrent
List in the Seventh Schedule with relation to include trade and
commerce in, and the production, supply and distribution of four classes of
essential commodities, viz., foodstuffs, including edible oil seeds and oils;
cattle fodder, including oilcakes and other concentrates; raw cotton whether
ginned or unginned, and cotton seeds; and raw jute. |
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|
Amend articles 31, 31A, and 305. |
27 April 1955 |
Restrictions on property rights and inclusion of related bills in
Schedule 9 of the constitution. |
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|
Amend article 3.[11] |
24 December 1955 |
Empowered the President to prescribe a time limit for a State Legislature to convey its views
on proposed Central laws relating to the formation of new States and
alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States. Also permitted the
President to extend the prescribed limit. |
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|
Amend articles 269 and 286. |
11 September 1956 |
Amend the Union List and State List with
respect to raising of taxes. |
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|
Amend articles 1, 3, 49, 80, 81, 82, 131, 153, 158, 168, 170,
171, 216, 217, 220, 222, 224, 230, 231 and 232. |
1 November 1956 |
Reorganisation of states on linguistic lines, abolition of Class
A, B, C, D states and introduction of Union
territories. |
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|
Amend article 334.[14] |
5 January 1960 |
Extended the period of reservation of seats for the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Anglo-Indians in
the Lok
Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies till 1970. |
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|
Amend schedule 1.[15] |
28 December 1960 |
Minor adjustments to territory of Indian Union consequent to
agreement with Pakistan for settlement of disputes by demarcation of border
villages, etc. |
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|
Amend article 240. |
11 August 1961 |
Incorporation of Dadra and Nagar
Haveli as a Union Territory, consequent to acquisition from
Portugal. |
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|
Amend articles 66 and 71.[17] |
19 December 1961 |
Election of Vice President by Electoral College
consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament, instead of election by a
Joint Sitting of Parliament. Indemnify the President and Vice President
Election procedure from challenge on grounds of existence of any vacancies in
the electoral college. |
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|
Amend article 240. |
20 December 1961 |
Incorporation of Goa, Daman and Diu as a
Union Territory, consequent to acquisition from Portugal. |
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|
Amend article 170. |
1 December 1962 |
Special protection under Article 371A for newly create State of
Nagaland. |
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|
Amend articles 81 and 240. |
28 December 1962 |
Incorporation of Pondicherry into the Union of India and creation
of Legislative Assemblies for Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur and Goa. |
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|
Amend articles 124, 128, 217, 222, 224, 226, 297, 311 and 316. |
5 October 1963 |
Raise retirement age of High Court judges from 60 to 62 and
other minor amendments for rationalising interpretation of rules regarding
judges etc. |
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|
Amend articles 19, 84 and 173. |
5 October 1963 |
Make it obligatory for seekers of public office to swear their
allegiance to the Indian Republic and prescribe the various obligatory
templates. |
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|
Amend article 31A. |
20 June 1964 |
To secure the constitutional validity of acquisition of Estates
and place land acquisition laws in Schedule 9 of the constitution. |
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|
Amend article 3.[24] |
27 August 1966 |
Technical Amendment to include Union Territories in Article 3 and
hence permit reorganisation of Union Territories. |
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|
Amend article 324.[25] |
11 December 1966 |
Abolish Election Tribunals and enable trial of election petitions
by regular High Courts. |
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|
Insert article 233A.[26] |
22 December 1966 |
Indemnify & validate judgments, decrees, orders and sentences
passed by judges and to validate the appointment, posting, promotion and
transfer of judges barring a few who were not eligible for appointment under
article 233. Amendment needed to overcome the effect of judgment invalidating
appointments of certain judges in the state of Uttar Pradesh. |
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|
Amend schedule 8.[27] |
10 April 1967 |
Include Sindhi as
an official language. |
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|
Amend article 275. |
25 September 1969 |
Provision to form Autonomous states within the State of Assam. |
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|
Amend articles 330, 332, 333 and 334.[29] |
23 January 1970 |
Discontinued reservation of seats for the Scheduled Tribes in
Nagaland, both in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assembly and
stipulated that not more than one Anglo-Indian could be nominated by
the Governor to any State Legislative Assembly.
Extend reservation for SCs and STs and Anglo-Indian members in the Lok Sabha
and State Assemblies for another ten years, i.e. up to 1980. |
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|
Amend articles 13 and 368.[30] |
5 November 1971 |
Article 13(4) added. Enable Parliament to dilute Fundamental
Rights through amendments to the Constitution. It was made compulsory for the President to give consent to the
Constitution Amendment Bill. |
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|
Amend article 31. |
8 December 1971 |
Restrict property rights and compensation in case the state takes
over private property. However, the Supreme Court quashed a part of
Article 31C (4) to the extent it took away the power of judicial review. This
was done in the landmark case of Kesavananda Bharati v. State
of Kerala (1973) 4 SCC 225 which for the first time enunciated
the Basic structure doctrine. |
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|
Amend article 366. |
28 December 1971 |
Abolition of privy purse paid to former rulers of
princely states which were incorporated into the Indian Republic. |
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|
Amend articles 239A and 240. |
(i)30 December 1971 & (ii) 15 February 1972[6] |
Reorganisation of Mizoram into a Union Territory with a
legislature and council of ministers. |
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|
Insert article 312A. |
29 August 1972 |
Rationalise Civil Service rules to make it uniform across those
appointed prior to Independence and post Independence. |
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|
Amend schedule 9.[35] |
9 June 1972 |
'Kerala land reform acts' and amendments to these act placed
under Schedule 9 of the constitution. |
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|
Amend article 133.[36] |
9 June 1972 |
Change the basis for appeals in Supreme Court of India in case of
Civil Suits from value criteria to one involving substantial question of law. |
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|
Amend articles 81, 330 and 332.[37] |
17 October 1973 |
Increase size of Parliament from 525 to 545 seats. Increased
seats going to the new states formed in North East India and minor adjustment
consequent to 1971 Delimitation exercise. |
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|
Amend article 371. |
1 July 1974 |
Protection of regional rights in Telangana and Andhra regions of
State of Andhra Pradesh. Supreme Court in P. Sambamurthy v. State
of Andhra Pradesh 1987 SCC (1) 362 held clause (3) and (5) along
with its Proviso of Article 371D as unconstitutional and void. It was found
to be violative of basic structure doctrine, against the concept of justice
and the principle of the rule of law.[39] |
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|
Amend articles 101 and 190.[40] |
19 May 1974 |
Prescribes procedure for resignation by members of parliament and
state legislatures and the procedure for verification and acceptance of
resignation by house speaker. |
|||
|
Amend schedule 9.[41] |
7 September 1974 |
Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule
9 of the constitution. |
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|
Amend articles 80 and 81. |
1 March 1975 |
Terms and Conditions for the Incorporation of Sikkim into
the Union of India. |
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|
Amend articles 80 and 81. |
26 April 1975 |
Formation of Sikkim as a State within the Indian Union. |
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|
Amend articles 239A and 240.[44] |
3 May 1975 |
Formation of Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly. |
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|
Amend articles 123, 213, 239B, 352, 356, 359 and 360.[45] |
1 August 1975 |
Enhances the powers of President and Governors to pass
ordinances. |
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|
Amend articles 71 and 329. |
10 August 1975 |
Amendment designed to negate the judgement of Allahabad HC in State of Uttar Pradesh v. Raj
Narain 1975 SCR (3) 333 invalidating PM Indira Gandhi's election to
parliament. Amendment placed restrictions on judicial scrutiny of post of
Prime Minister.[47] Irrespective
of electoral malpractice, no case can be filed against president, vice
president, speaker of lok sabha and prime minister. Later, clauses (4) and (5) of Article 329A were struck down by
the Supreme Court in Indira Nehru Gandhi
v. Raj Narain 1976 (2) SCR 347, for being in violation of basic
structure. |
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|
Amend article 297. |
27 May 1976 |
Enable Parliament to make laws with respect to Exclusive Economic
Zone and vest the mineral wealth with Union of India. Place land reform & other acts and amendments to these act
under Schedule 9 of the constitution. |
|||
|
Amend article 316.[49] |
7 September 1976 |
Raise Retirement Age Limit of Chairmen and Members of Joint
Public Service Commissions and State Public Service Commissions from sixty to
sixty two. No case can be filed against prime minister, governor, president,
even after they demit office (which was later struck down by supreme court) |
|||
|
Amend articles 31, 31C, 39, 55, 74, 77, 81, 82, 83, 100, 102,
103, 105, 118, 145, 150, 166, 170, 172, 189, 191, 192, 194, 208, 217, 225,
226, 227, 228, 311, 312, 330, 352, 353, 356, 357, 358, 359, 366, 368 and
371F. |
3 January, 1 February & 1 April 1977[6] |
Amendment passed during internal emergency by Indira Gandhi.
Provides for curtailment of fundamental rights, imposes fundamental
duties and changes to the basic structure of the constitution by
making India a "Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic". However, the Supreme Court, in Minerva Mills v. Union of India 1980
SCC (3) 625, quashed the amendments to Articles 31C and 368 as it was in
contravention with the basic structure of the Constitution. |
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|
Amend articles 145, 226, 228 and 366. |
13 April 1978 |
Amendment passed after revocation of internal emergency in the
Country. Repeals some of the more 'Anti-Freedom' amendments enacted through
Amendment Bill 42. |
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|
Amend articles 19, 22, 30, 31A, 31C, 38, 71, 74, 77, 83, 103,
105, 123, 132, 133, 134, 139A, 150, 166, 172, 192, 194, 213, 217, 225, 226,
227, 239B, 329, 352, 356, 358, 359, 360 and 371F. |
20 June, 1 August & 6 September 1979[6] |
Amendment passed after revocation of internal emergency in the
Country. Article 19(1)(f) right to property was omitted. Provides for
human rights safeguards and mechanisms to prevent abuse of executive and
legislative authority. Annuls some Amendments enacted in Amendment Bill 42. |
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|
Amend article 334.[53] |
25 January 1980 |
Extend reservation for SCs and STs and nomination of Anglo Indian
members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to
1990. |
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|
Amend articles 269, 286 and 366. |
2 February 1983 |
Amendment to negate judicial pronouncements on scope and
applicability on Sales Tax. |
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|
Amend schedule 9.[55] |
26 August 1984 |
Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule
9 of the constitution. |
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|
Amend article 356.[56] |
1 April 1985 |
Article 356 amended to permit President's rule up to two years in
the state of Punjab. |
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|
Amend article 244. |
11 September 1984 |
Recognise Tripura as a tribal state and enable the creation of
a Tripura Tribal Areas
Autonomous District Council. |
|||
|
Amend article 33.[58] |
11 September 1984 |
Technical Amendment to curtailment of Fundamental Rights as per
Part III as prescribed in Article 33 to cover Security Personnel protecting
property and communication infrastructure. |
|||
|
Amend articles 330 and 332.[59] |
16 June 1986 |
Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya,
Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh in Loksabha, similarly for Meghalaya and
Arunachal in their Legislative Assemblies. |
|||
|
Amend articles 101, 102, 190 and 191. |
1 March 1985 |
Anti Defection Law – Provide disqualification of members from
parliament and assembly in case of defection from one party to other. However, para 7 of the 10th Schedule was struck down by the
Supreme Court in the case of Kihoto Hollohan v.
Zachillhu 1992 SCR (1) 686, for being in contravention with Article
368 of the Constitution. |
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|
Insert article 371G.[61] |
20 February 1986 |
Special provision with respect to the State of Mizoram. |
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|
Amend articles 125 and 221. |
1 April 1986 |
Increase the salary of Chief Justice of India & other
Judges and to provide for determining future increases without the need for
constitutional amendment. |
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|
Insert article 371H.[63] |
20 February 1987 |
Special powers to Governor consequent to formation of state of
Arunachal Pradesh. |
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|
Insert article 371I.[64] |
30 May 1987 |
Transition provision to enable formation of state of Goa. |
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|
Amend article 332.[65] |
21 September 1987 |
Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya,
Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assemblies. |
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|
Insert article 394A. |
9 December 1987 |
Provision to publish authentic Hindi translation of constitution
as on date and provision to publish authentic Hindi translation of future
amendments. |
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|
Amend article 356. |
30 March 1988 |
Article 356 amended to permit President's rule up to three years
in the state of Punjab, Articles 352 and Article 359A amended to permit
imposing emergency in state of Punjab or in specific districts of the state of
Punjab. |
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|
Amend article 276.[68] |
20 December 1988 |
Profession Tax increased from a maximum of Rs. 250/- to a maximum
of Rs. 2500/-. |
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|
Amend article 326.[69] |
28 March 1989 |
Reduce age for voting rights from 21 to 18. |
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|
Amend article 334.[70] |
25 January 1990 |
Extend reservation for SCs and STs and nomination of Anglo Indian
members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to
2000. |
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|
Amend article 356. |
6 January 1990 |
Emergency powers applicable to State of Punjab, accorded in
Article 359A as per amendment 59 repealed. |
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|
Amend article 356.[72] |
16 April 1990 |
Article 356 amended to permit President's rule up to three years
and six months in the state of Punjab. |
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|
Amend article 338.[73] |
12 March 1992[6] |
National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
formed and its statutory powers specified in The Constitution. |
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|
Amend schedule 9.[74] |
7 June 1990 |
Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule
9 of the constitution. |
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|
Amend article 356.[75] |
4 October 1990 |
Article 356 amended to permit President's rule up to four years
in the state of Punjab. |
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|
Amend article 356.[76] |
12 March 1991 |
Article 356 amended to permit President's rule up to five years
in the state of Punjab. |
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|
Insert articles 239AA and 239AB.[77] |
1 February 1992[6] |
To provide for a legislative assembly and council of ministers
for National Capital Territory of
Delhi. Delhi continues to be a Union Territory. |
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|
Amend articles 54 and 239AA.[78] |
21 December 1991 |
Include National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory
of Pondicherry in Electoral College for presidential
election. |
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|
Amend schedule 8.[79] |
31 August 1992 |
||||
|
Amend article 332.[80] |
5 December 1992 |
Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Tripura State
Legislative Assembly. |
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|
Insert part 9. Insert schedule 11.[81] |
24 April 1992 |
Statutory provisions for Panchyat Raj as third level of
administration in villages. |
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|
Insert part 9A, insert schedule 12, amend article 280.[82] |
1 June 1992 |
Statutory provisions for Local Administrative bodies as third
level of administration in urban areas such as towns and cities. |
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|
Amend article 323B.[83] |
15 May 1994 |
Provisions for setting up Rent Control Tribunals. |
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|
Amend schedule 9.[84] |
31 August 1994 |
Enable continuance of 69% reservation in Tamil Nadu by including
the relevant Tamil Nadu Act under 9th Schedule of the constitution. |
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|
Amend article 16.[85] |
17 June 1995 |
A technical amendment to protect reservation to SCs and STs
Employees in promotions. |
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|
Amend schedule 9.[86] |
30 August 1995 |
Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule
9 of the constitution. |
|||
|
Amend article 334.[87] |
25 January 2000 |
Extend reservation for SCs and STs and nomination of Anglo Indian
members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to
2010. |
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|
Amend articles 269 and 270. |
9 June 2000 |
Implement Tenth Finance Commission recommendation to simplify the
tax structures by pooling and sharing all taxes between states and the
centre. |
|||
|
Amend article 16.[89] |
9 June 2000 |
Protect SCs and STs reservation in filling backlog of vacancies. |
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|
Amend article 335.[90] |
8 September 2000 |
Permit relaxation of qualifying marks and other criteria in
reservation in promotion for SCs and STs candidates. |
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|
Amend article 243M.[91] |
8 September 2000 |
Exempt Arunachal Pradesh from reservation for Scheduled Castes in
Panchayati Raj institutions. |
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|
Amend articles 55, 81, 82, 170, 330 and 332.[92] |
21 February 2002 |
Extend the usage of 1971 national census population figures for
statewise distribution of parliamentary seats. |
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|
Amend article 16.[93] |
4 January 2002 |
A technical amendment to protect Consequential seniority in case
of promotions of SCs and STs Employees. |
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|
Amend articles 45 and 51A. |
12 December 2002 |
Provides Right to Education until the age of fourteen. |
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|
Amend articles 81, 82, 170 and 330.[95] |
22 June 2003 |
Extend the usage of 2001 national census population figures for
statewise distribution of parliamentary seats. |
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|
Amend article 270. |
15 January 2004 |
To extend statutory cover for levy and utilisation of Service
Tax. |
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|
Amend article 338. |
28 September 2003 |
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
was bifurcated into The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and The
National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. |
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|
Amend article 332.[98] |
28 September 2003 |
Reservation in Assam Assembly relating to Bodoland Territory
Area. |
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|
Amend articles 75 and 164. |
1 January 2004 |
Restrict the size of council of ministers to 15% of legislative
members & to strengthen Anti Defection laws. |
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|
Amend schedule 8.[100] |
7 January 2004 |
Include Bodo, Dogri, Santali and Mathili as official languages. |
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|
Amend article 15.[101] |
20 January 2006 |
To enable provision of reservation (27%) for Other Backward Class(OBCs) in government as
well as private educational institutions. |
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|
Amend article 164.[102] |
12 June 2006 |
To provide for a Minister of Tribal Welfare in newly created
Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh States including Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. |
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|
Amend article 334.[103] |
25 January 2010 |
To extend reservation for SCs and STs and nomination of Anglo
Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e.
up to 2020. |
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|
Amend schedule 8.[104] |
23 September 2011 |
Substituted "Odia" in the place of "Oriya". |
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|
Amend Art 19 and added Art 43B and Part IXB.[105] |
12 January 2012 |
Added the words "or co-operative societies" after the
word "or unions" in Article 19(l)(c) and insertion of article 43B
i.e., Promotion of Co-operative Societies and added Part-IXB i.e., The
Co-operative Societies. In July 2021 Supreme Court Struck Part of the
amendment as it was not ratified by the states.[106] The amendment objective is to encourage economic activities of
cooperatives which in turn help progress of rural India. It is expected to
not only ensure autonomous and democratic functioning of cooperatives, but
also the accountability of the management to the members and other
stakeholders.[107] |
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|
To insert Article 371J in the Constitution[108] |
1 January 2013 |
To empower the Governor of Karnataka to take steps to develop the
Hyderabad-Karnataka Region.[108] |
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|
Insertion of new articles 124A, 124B and 124C. Amendments to
Articles 127, 128, 217, 222, 224A, 231.[109] |
13 April 2015[110] Struck
down on 16 October 2015 |
Formation of a National Judicial
Appointments Commission. 16 State assemblies out of 29 States
including Goa, Rajasthan, Tripura, Gujarat and Telangana ratified
the Central Legislation, enabling the President of India to give assent to
the bill.[111] The
amendment was struck down by the Supreme Court on 16 October 2015. |
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|
Amendment of First Schedule to Constitution[112] |
31 July 2015 |
Exchange of certain enclave territories with Bangladesh and
conferment of citizenship rights to residents of enclaves consequent to
signing of Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) Treaty between India and Bangladesh. |
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|
Addition of articles 246A, 269A, 279A. Deletion of Article 268A. Amendment of articles 248, 249, 250, 268, 269, 270, 271, 286,
366, 368, Sixth Schedule, Seventh Schedule.[113] |
1 July 2017 |
Introduced the Goods and Services Tax. |
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|
Addition of articles 338B, 342A, and Added Clause 26C. Modification of articles 338, 366.[114] |
11 August 2018 |
Constitutional status to National Commission for
Backward Classes |
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|
Amendment to Article 15, added Clause [6], Amendment to Article 16, added Clause [6].[115] |
12 January 2019 |
A maximum of 10% Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs)
of citizens of classes other than the classes mentioned in clauses (4) and
(5) of Article 15, i.e. Classes other than socially and educationally
backward classes of citizens or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes. Inserted Clause [6] under Article 15 as well as Inserted Clause [6]
under Article 16. |
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|
Amend article 334.[116] |
25 January 2020 |
To extend the reservation of seats for SCs and STs in the Lok
Sabha and states assemblies for another 10 years i.e. up to 2030. Removed
the reserved seats for the
Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by not
extending it further.[117] |
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|
Amended Article 338B, 342A and 366[118] |
10 August 2021 |
To restore the power of the state governments to identify Other
Backward Classes (OBCs) that are socially and educationally backward. This
amendment annulled the Supreme Court judgement of 11 May 2021, which had
empowered only the Central government for such identification.[119] |
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|
Amended article 239AA. Insertion of articles 330A, 332A, 334A. |
28 September 2023[120] |
To reserve one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha(330A), state legislative assemblies(332A)
and Delhi Legislative Assembly(239AA) for
women for a period for 15 years after coming effect.(334A) |