A high-stakes three-day special sitting of the Indian Parliament is currently underway, running from April 16 to April 18, 2026. The government has introduced three major bills during this session:
- Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026: Aims to implement 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies starting from the 2029 general elections. Crucially, it seeks to delink this reservation from the 2027 Census requirement, allowing it to proceed based on existing population data.
- Delimitation Bill, 2026: Proposes the creation of a new Delimitation Commission to redraw constituency boundaries and significantly expand the Lok Sabha’s strength from 543 to 850 seats.
- Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026: Designed to apply similar legislative changes to Union Territory assemblies
1) The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on April 16, 2026. It aims to fundamentally restructure the delimitation process in India by removing long-standing freezes on seat allocation.
Key Provisions
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Lifting the Seat Freeze: Since 1976 and 2001, the number of seats each state holds in the Lok Sabha has been frozen. This Bill removes that freeze, returning to the principle that states should have seats in proportion to their actual population.
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Increase in Total Seats: The Bill proposes a significant expansion of the Lok Sabha:
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Total Seats: Increased from 550 to 850.
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State Representatives: Increased from 530 to 815.
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Union Territory Representatives: Increased from 20 to 35.
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Flexible Census Selection: It removes the requirement to perform delimitation strictly after every census. Instead, Parliament will determine which published census data to use. The accompanying Delimitation Bill, 2026, suggests the 2011 Census will be used for the upcoming exercise.
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Women’s Reservation: The Bill fast-tracks the implementation of the 106th Constitutional Amendment (the 33% women’s quota). It removes the specific requirement that this reservation must wait for a delimitation based on the “first census after 2023,” allowing it to proceed sooner.
Why this matters
This move addresses the long-standing disparity where states with higher population growth were under-represented relative to their current numbers. By expanding the house to 850 members, the government aims to ensure that “all Lok Sabha constituencies across states will have roughly the same population.”
Delimiation Bill, 2026:
The Delimitation Bill, 2026, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on April 16, 2026. Its primary goal is to establish a new Delimitation Commission to redraw the boundaries of parliamentary and assembly constituencies based on the latest census data.
1. The Delimitation Commission
The Bill allows the Central Government to form a Commission consisting of:
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A Chairperson: A retired or serving Supreme Court Judge.
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The Chief Election Commissioner (or a nominated Election Commissioner).
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The State Election Commissioner of the state being reviewed.
2. Composition and Associate Members
To assist the Commission, 10 associate members will be appointed for each state:
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Five Lok Sabha MPs from that state.
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Five members of the State Legislative Assembly (MLAs).
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Note: Associate members are nominated by their respective Speakers and can participate in discussions, but they cannot vote or sign off on final decisions.
3. Key Objectives & Criteria
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Readjustment of Seats: The Commission will determine the number of seats for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
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Geographic Logic: All constituencies must be geographically compact, respecting administrative boundaries (like districts), physical features, and public convenience.
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Consistency: Every assembly constituency must fall entirely within a single parliamentary constituency.
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Population Base: Delimitation will be based on the latest published census figures available at the time the Commission is formed.
4. Reservation of Seats
The Commission is responsible for identifying seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Women.
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SC Seats: Distributed across the state in areas where their population is relatively large.
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ST Seats: Located in areas where their population concentration is the highest.
5. Transparency and Process
The Commission must publish its draft proposals and any dissenting opinions from associate members in official gazettes. It is required to hold public sittings to listen to objections and suggestions before finalizing the new boundaries.
Impact: If passed, this Bill will repeal the Delimitation Act, 2002, and set the stage for a significant shift in India’s electoral map based on current population trends.
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- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)