Country
UN Women Region
Electoral system type
Electoral system sub-type
First-past-the-post
Type of legislated quotas
Method of filling seats
Lottery-selected wards elect women for researved seats
Ranking/ placement
Sanctions for non compliance
Quota for input only OR input and output (quota on results as corrective measure)
Date
Quota target (level) in %
40.00
Women's representation in single/lower house in %
44.40
Legal Source (name) - Constitution
Constitution of India, 1949 (amended through 2023)
Legal provisions - Constitution
• Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved for Schedules Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Panchayat shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat. Not less than one-third of the total number of offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at each level shall be reserved for women. (Constitution, article 243D)
• Of the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in every Municipality, not less than one-third shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Municipality shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality. (Constitution, article 243T)
• Of the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in every Municipality, not less than one-third shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Municipality shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality. (Constitution, article 243T)
M49 Code
Intersectionality
Constitutionally, seats are reserved in every Panchayat and Municipality for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the proportion of which is determined by the proportion of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the population of the respective Panchayat or Municipality. Of these seats, one-third must be reserved for women belonging to the respective Scheduled Casted or Scheduled Tribes.
Provisions on gender quotas (Yes/No) - Constitution
Provisions on gender quotas (Yes/No) - Electoral Law
Provisions on gender quotas (Yes/No) - Parity Law
Provisions on gender quotas (Yes/No) - Party Law
M49 Region
Local Level
true
Provisions on gender quotas (Yes/No) - Local Government Law
Legal Source (name) - Local Government Law
State constitutions
Legal provisions - Local Government Law
• Regarding rural local governments (3 tiers of the Panchayat system), the following 21 states have adopted a stronger quota system with 50% of seats being reserved for women: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
• Regarding urban local governments, at least five states have also reserved 50% of seats for women: Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tripura.
• Regarding urban local governments, at least five states have also reserved 50% of seats for women: Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tripura.