Amendment of the Constitution of India

Meaning of Amendment

• It is a formal change in the Constitution through addition, variation or repeal of its provisions.
• Article 368: Part XX gives Parliament the power and procedure to amend the Constitution.
• Flexible and Rigid: The Constitution combines flexible and rigid methods of amendment.
• Purpose: Amendments help the Constitution adapt to changing social, political and economic needs.
• 24th Amendment, 1971: Clarified Parliament’s power to amend any part of the Constitution, including Fundamental Rights, and made Presidential assent mandatory.
• First Amendment: The first Constitutional Amendment was enacted in 1951.
• Latest Amendment: The 106th Amendment Act, 2023 introduced provisions for women’s reservation in legislatures.

 

Procedure of Amendment under Article 368

• Introduction: Amendment Bill can be introduced in either House by a Minister or private member; no prior President’s permission is needed.
• Parliamentary Approval: Passed separately by both Houses with the required majority; no joint sitting.
• State Ratification: For federal provisions, at least half of the states must ratify the Bill.
• President’s Assent: The President must give assent and cannot return or withhold the Bill.
• Amendment: After assent, the Bill becomes an Act, amending the Constitution.

Amendment Procedure Borrowed From

Source	Feature taken
Constitution of South Africa	The procedure for amendment of the Constitution (Article 368) Election of the members of the Rajya Sabha

• The Constituent Assembly adopted a middle path in the amendment procedure so that the Constitution would be neither as rigid as that of the United States nor as flexible as that of the United Kingdom.
• The system of ratification by the states for the amendments affecting federal provisions follows the federal character of the Indian Union.

Important Amendments at a Glance

Amendment	Year	Subject
1st	1951	Ninth Schedule added. New restrictions on freedom of speech and expression. Special provisions for backward classes (Article 15(4)).
7th	1956	Reorganisation of states on linguistic basis. Classification of states into Parts A, B, C and D abolished. Union Territories created.
24th	1971	Parliament given power to amend Fundamental Rights. Assent of the President made compulsory.
42nd	1976	Called the “Mini Constitution”. Changes in the Preamble. Fundamental Duties added.
44th	1978	Right to property removed from Fundamental Rights. Safeguards against misuse of Emergency.
52nd	1985	Tenth Schedule added. Disqualification of members on the ground of defection.
61st	1988	Voting age reduced from 21 years to 18 years.
73rd	1992	Constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions (Part IX, Eleventh Schedule).
74th	1992	Constitutional status to urban local bodies (Part IXA, Twelfth Schedule).
86th	2002	Right to Education made a Fundamental Right (Article 21A).
91st	2003	Size of the Council of Ministers limited to 15 per cent of the strength of the House. Stricter anti-defection provisions.
97th	2011	Constitutional status to co-operative societies (Part IXB).
99th	2014	National Judicial Appointments Commission established. Struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015.
100th	2015	Land boundary agreement with Bangladesh. Exchange of enclaves.
101st	2016	Goods and Services Tax.
102nd	2018	Constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.
103rd	2019	Ten per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections.
104th	2019	Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes extended to 2030. Nomination of Anglo-Indians discontinued.
105th	2021	Power of states to prepare their own list of Other Backward Classes restored.
106th	2023	One-third reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

            PYQs

1. Which Article of the Indian Constitution provides the Parliament the power to amend the Constitution?   [Miscellaneous 2018]

(A) Article 360

(B) Article 368

(C) Article 390

(D) Article 356

Answer: (B) Article 368

2. Under which Prime Minister, and in which year, was the voting age in the Indian Constitution amended by reducing it from 21 to 18 years? [Miscellaneous 2019]

(A) Indira Gandhi, 1981

(B) Rajiv Gandhi, 1989

(C) P. V. Narasimha Rao, 1992

(D) Morarji Desai, 1978

Answer: (B) Rajiv Gandhi, 1989

3. The concepts ‘Secular’ and ‘Socialist’ were incorporated into the Preamble of the Constitution of India by which amendment? [Miscellaneous 2019]

(A) 44th Amendment

(B) 42nd Amendment, 1976

(C) 1st Amendment

(D) 52nd Amendment

Answer: (B) 42nd Amendment, 1976

4. Which right below no longer falls under the Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution following a constitutional amendment? [Miscellaneous 2012]

(A) Right to Education

(B) Right to Religious Freedom

(C) Right to Property

(D) Right to Equality

Answer: (C) Right to Property

5. By which amendment was the 9th Schedule introduced into the Constitution of India? [Miscellaneous 2014]

(A) 1st Amendment, 1951

(B) 3rd Amendment, 1954

(C) 10th Amendment, 1961

(D) 14th Amendment, 1962

Answer: (A) 1st Amendment, 1951