How many amendments are there in the Indian Constitution? There are 106 amendment acts as of September 2023 that are made in the Indian Constitution over time. All these amendments have brought significant changes in the course of Indian Polity. The topic, ‘Important Amendments in Indian Constitution,’ comes under the GS-II syllabus of the IAS Exam. Get the list of major amendments to the Indian Constitution in this article.
Candidates can also complement their Indian Polity preparation for the UPSC Exam with the following related articles:
List of Major Amendments of the Indian Constitution for UPSC
Important amendments brought in the Indian Constitution are mentioned below (Amendment of Indian Constitution):
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First Amendment Act, 1951
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| The state was empowered to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and backward classes |
| The Ninth Schedule was added
Note:
- Fourth Amendment Act, 1955 included some more Acts in the Ninth Schedule
- 17th Amendment Act, 1964 included 44 more Acts in the Ninth Schedule
- 29th Amendment Act, 1972 included two Kerala Acts on land reforms in the Ninth Schedule
- 34th Amendment Act, 1974 included twenty more land tenure and land reforms acts of various states in the Ninth Schedule
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Three more grounds of restrictions on Article 19 (1) [Freedom of speech and expression] were added:
- Public order
- Friendly relations with foreign states
- Incitement to an offence
Note: Restrictions were made reasonable and justiciable. |
| Introduced the validity of the state’s move to nationalize any business or trade and the same to not be invalid on the grounds of violation of the right to trade and business |
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Second Amendment Act, 1952
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| The scale of representation in the Lok Sabha was readjusted stating that 1 member can represent even more than 7.5 lakh people. |
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Seventh Amendment Act, 1956
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| The provision of having a common High Court for two or more states was introduced
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| Abolition of Class A, B, C and D states – 14 States and 6 Union Territories were formed |
| Introduction of Union Territories |
| Ninth Amendment Act, 1960 |
Adjustments to Indian Territory as a result of an agreement with Pakistan (Indo-Pak Agreement 1958):
- Cession of Indian territory of Berubari Union (West Bengal) to Pakistan
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| Tenth Amendment Act, 1961 |
| Dadra, Nagar, and Haveli incorporated in the Union of Indian as a Union Territory |
| 12th Amendment Act, 1962 |
| Goa, Daman and Diu incorporated in the Indian Union as a Union Territory |
| 13th Amendment Act, 1962 |
| Nagaland was formed with special status under Article 371A |
| 14th Amendment Act, 1962 |
| Pondicherry incorporated into the Indian Union |
| Union Territories of Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Daman and Diu and Puducherry were provided the legislature and council of ministers |
| 19th Amendment Act, 1966 |
| System of Election Tribunals was abolished and High Courts were given the power to hear the election petitions |
| 21st Amendment Act, 1967 |
| Sindhi language was language into 8th Schedule of Indian Constitution |
| 24th Amendment Act, 1971 |
| The President’s assent to Constitutional Amendment Bill was made compulsory |
| 25th Amendment Act, 1971 |
| Fundamental Right to Property was curtailed |
| 26th Amendment Act, 1971 |
| Privy Purse and privileges of former rulers of princely states were abolished |
| 31st Amendment Act, 1972 |
| Lok Sabha seats were increased from 525 to 545 |
| 35th Amendment Act, 1974 |
| The status of Sikkim as protectorate state was terminated and Sikkim was given the status of ‘Associate State’ of India |
| 36th Amendment Act, 1975 |
| Sikkim was made a full-fledged state of India |
| 40th Amendment Act, 1976 |
| Parliament was empowered to specify from time to time the limits of the territorial waters, the continental shelf, the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the maritime zones of India. |
| 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 |
Since the 42nd Amendment Act is the most comprehensive amendment of the Indian Constitution, called the ‘Mini-Constitution,’ candidates can read about it in detail in the linked article. |
| 44th Amendment Act, 1978 |
It is also one of the important amendments in the Indian Constitution, enacted by the Janata Government. Candidates can read about the 44th Amendment Act in detail in the linked article. |
| 52nd Amendment Act, 1985 |
| A new tenth Schedule was added providing for the anti-defection laws. Candidates can read in detail about the Tenth Schedule in the linked article. |
| 61st Amendment Act, 1989 |
| The voting age was decreased from 21 to 18 for both Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies elections |
| 65th Amendment Act, 1990 |
| Multi-member National Commission for SC/ST was established and the office of a special officer for SCs and STs was removed.
Candidates can read about these National Commissions from the links provided below:
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| 69th Amendment Act, 1991 |
| Union Territory of Delhi was given the special status of ‘National Capital Territory of Delhi.’ |
| 70-member legislative assembly and a 7-member council of ministers were established Delhi |
| 71st Amendment Act, 1992 |
| Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali languages were included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. |
| Total number of official languages increased to 18 |
| 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 |
| Panchayati Raj institutions were given constitutional status. |
| A new Part-IX and 11th Schedule were added in the Indian Constitution to recognize Panchayati Raj Institutions and provisions related to them |
| 74th Amendment Act, 1992 |
| Urban local bodies were granted constitutional status |
| A new Part IX-A and 12th Schedule were added to the Indian Constitution |
| 86th Amendment Act, 2002 |
| Elementary Education was made a fundamental right – Free and compulsory education to children between 6 and 14 years |
| A new Fundamental Duty under Article 51 A was added – “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between the age of six and fourteen years”
Read about Fundamental Duties in detail in the linked article. |
| 88th Amendment Act, 2003 |
| Provision of Service Tax was made under Article 268-A – Service tax levied by Union and collected and appropriated by the Union and the States |
| 92nd Amendment Act, 2003 |
| Bodo, Dogri (Dongri), Maithili and Santhali were added in the Eighth schedule |
| Total official languages were increased from 18 to 22 |
| 95th Amendment Act, 2009 |
| Extended the reservation of seats for the SCs and STs and special representation for the Anglo-Indians in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies for a further period of ten years i.e., up to 2020 (Article 334). |
| 97th Amendment Act, 2011 |
Co-operative Societies were granted constitutional status:
- Right to form cooperative societies made a fundamental right (Article 19)
- A new Directive Principle of State Policy ( Article 43-B) to promote cooperative societies
- A new part IX-B was added in the constitution for cooperative societies
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| 100th Amendment Act, 2015 |
| To pursue land boundary agreement 1974 between India and Bangladesh, exchange of some enclave territories with Bangladesh mentioned |
| Provisions relating to the territories of four states (Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya) in the first schedule of the Indian Constitution, amended. |
| 101st Amendment Act, 2016 |
| Goods and Service Tax (GST) was introduced. Read more about GST in the linked article. |
| 102nd Amendment Act, 2018 |
| Constitutional Status was granted to National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) |
| 103rd Amendment Act, 2019 |
| A maximum of 10% Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections 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.
IAS Exam aspirants might want to learn about EWS Criteria for UPSC which they can check in the linked article. |
| 104th Amendment Act, 2020 |
| Extended the deadline for the cessation of seats for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies from seventy years to eighty. Removed the reserved seats for the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. |
| 105th Amendment Act, 2021 |
| Restored state governments’ power to prepare the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) list. |
| 106th Amendment Act, 2023 |
| This was the women’s reservation bill which reserves one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha, State legislative assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, including those reserved for SCs and STs. |
The topic, ‘Important Amendments in Indian Constitution’ is important for UPSC Polity subject which you may check in the linked article.
Aspirants must remember that Polity constitutes an integral part of the IAS Syllabus, be it for the prelims exam or the mains phase. Thus, candidates must focus on the topics included under this section.
IAS aspirants preparing for UPSC 2024, may also check the linked article to know more about the upcoming examination and prepare for the civil services examination accordingly.
Polity has increased the overall scores of candidates in the past as well. This has also been stated by many toppers from the past. Aspirants must go through the success stories and the IAS toppers list to get motivated and excel in the upcoming recruitment.
UPSC candidates can check important articles that are relevant to the CSE exam in the table below:
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