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New Delhi: The Centre on Friday, April 17, notified the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act 2023 which provides a 33 per cent quota for women in legislatures, Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territories (UTs).

In a notification issued for Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Act, 2023 (38 of 2023), the Central Government hereby appoints the 17th day of April, 2026 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.”

The Ministry also issued another notification for Union Territories (UTs) implementing the Act.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Act, 2023 (39 of 2023), the Central Government hereby appoints the 17th day of April, 2026 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force,” it said.

The move comes as Parliament debates amendments to the Act, which was passed in 2023.

In September 2023, Parliament passed the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, commonly known as the Women’s Reservation Act, in a significant step towards enhancing women’s representation in legislative bodies.

The act provided for the reservation of one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.

Under the 2023 law, the reservation would not become enforceable before 2034, as it was tied to the completion of the delimitation exercise post 2027 Census.

The three bills currently being debated in the Lok Sabha were introduced by the government to implement the women’s quota in 2029.