{"id":71781,"date":"2026-04-17T18:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T13:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=71781"},"modified":"2026-04-17T18:47:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T13:17:08","slug":"constitution-amendment-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/17-04-2026\/constitution-amendment-bill","title":{"rendered":"How is a Constitution Amendment Bill passed?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Governance&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Lok Sabha is currently debating the<strong> Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026<\/strong>, which proposes changes to increase the size and composition of the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Constitution Amendment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is a legislative proposal introduced in Parliament to <strong>modify, add, or repeal provisions of the Constitution of India<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Constitution Amendment Bill can be introduced in either House of Parliament (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Only Parliament has the power to initiate (States cannot introduce such Bills).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Types of Constitutional Amendments<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Constitution of India provides for <strong>three types<\/strong> of amendment procedures depending on the nature of the provision being amended:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Simple Majority (Outside the scope of Article 368): <\/strong>Amended by a simple majority of Parliament (more than 50% of members present and voting) \u2014 like ordinary legislation.<strong> Example:<\/strong> Changes related to creation of new states, boundary changes, etc. (e.g., Article 4).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Special Majority (Main procedure under Article 368): <\/strong>Most constitutional amendments require Majority of total membership of each House, and At least 2\/3rd of members present and voting.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This is the most commonly used amendment route and forms the backbone of Article 368.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Special Majority + State Ratification (Under Article 368): <\/strong>Some important federal provisions require Special majority in Parliament and Approval by at least half of the State Legislatures.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These relate to the federal structure (e.g., powers of states, judiciary, representation).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-dominant-color=\"c9d8df\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c9d8df;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"404\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-95.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-71782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-95.png 404w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-95-300x135.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 404px) 100vw, 404px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Importance of Constitutional Amendments<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Democratic Adaptation: <\/strong>It\u00a0 keeps the Constitution relevant to changing socio-political realities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Federal Balance<\/strong>: It ensures representation aligns with population shifts (e.g., delimitation based on latest Census).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social Justice: <\/strong>It Enables reforms like reservation for women in legislatures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Integration:<\/strong> It Facilitates initiatives such as \u201cOne Nation, One Election\u201d for synchronized polls.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Institutional Strengthening<\/strong>: It Provides mechanisms to expand Parliament and Assemblies to reflect India\u2019s demographic growth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges in the Amendment Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Political Consensus: <\/strong>Sometimes\u00a0 Securing two-thirds majority is difficult in a fragmented polity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Federal Sensitivities:<\/strong> States may resist amendments perceived as centralizing power.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Risk of Overuse:<\/strong> Frequent amendments could dilute constitutional stability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Judicial Scrutiny:<\/strong> Amendments must respect the basic structure doctrine upheld by the Supreme Court.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Population-Based Representation: <\/strong>Delimitation may create regional imbalances, with populous states gaining more seats at the expense of smaller ones.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion and Way Ahead&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Constitutional amendments should be <strong>guided by consensus building, where dialogue with the opposition and state governments <\/strong>ensures broad-based support.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The process should involve transparent deliberation through public consultations and meaningful parliamentary debate to strengthen legitimacy.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At the same time, amendments must <strong>safeguard federalism by promoting cooperative relations<\/strong> between the Centre and states rather than weakening them.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There should also be a provision for <strong>periodic review of constitutional provisions <\/strong>to keep pace with social and technological changes.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The reforms must strike a balance between modernization of governance and the preservation of constitutional stability and core values.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source :<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/bill-amendment-rajya-sabha-lok-sabha-vote-needed-indian-parliament-delimitation-exercise-article-368-constituion\/article70868249.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> In News <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Lok Sabha is currently debating the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which proposes changes to increase the size and composition of the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About Constitution Amendment <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> It is a legislative proposal introduced in Parliament to modify, add, or repeal provisions of the Constitution of India. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Constitution Amendment Bill can be introduced in either House of Parliament (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha). <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Only Parliament has the power to initiate (States cannot introduce such Bills). <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/17-04-2026\/constitution-amendment-bill \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71781"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71785,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71781\/revisions\/71785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}