List of Important Amendments of Indian Constitution for UPSC

The Indian Constitution has undergone numerous amendments over the decades. Some amendments have been minor in nature. Others have significantly altered the core framework and principles of the Constitution. Together, they reflect the evolution of India after independence. This article on the total amendments in Indian Constitution provides a list of important Constitutional amendments. These have had a wide impact on governance, politics, and society. 

Important Amendments of Indian Constitution UPSC is one of the most important topics for the UPSC IAS exam. It covers a significant part of the polity section in the General Studies Paper-2 Syllabus and current events of national importance in general studies paper -1 of the UPSC Prelims Syllabus. 

In this article on the Total Amendments in Indian Constitution, we shall study in detail about the Major Amendments of the Indian Constitution for the UPSC exam.

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What are Constitutional Amendments?

Constitutional amendments are formal changes to the Constitution that alter or modify its original text. An amendment is a change to the existing provisions of the Constitution, and hence, it amends the original text. The Constitution allows for amendments through Article 368. This article lays down the procedure and rules regarding how the Constitution can be amended. 

Know more about the Criticism of the Amendment Procedure!

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List of Important Amendments of the Indian Constitution

Check out the constitutional amendments list relevant to the UPSC exam in the table below.

Important Amendments in the Indian Constitution
Constitution Amendment	Changes Introduced
1st Amendment Act, 1951	Provided for the saving of laws, providing for the acquisition of estates, etc.  Addition of the Ninth Schedule to protect the land reform and other laws included in it from judicial review.  Empowerment of the state to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and economically backward classes.  Added three more grounds of restrictions on freedom of speech and expression, public order, friendly relations with foreign states, and incitement to an offence. Also, it made the restrictions “reasonable” and thus justiciable in nature. The act also provided that state trading and nationalisation of any trade or business by the state is not invalid on the grounds such as violation of the right to trade or business.  Insertion of 31A and 31 B.
2nd Amendment Act, 1952	Readjustment of the scale of representation in the Lok Sabha by providing that one member could represent even more than 7,50,000 persons.
7th Amendment Act, 1956	Abolition of the existing classification of states into four categories, i.e., Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D state, and reorganised them into 14 states and 6 union territories.  Extension of the jurisdiction of high courts to union territories and establishment of a common high court for two or more states.  Provided for the appointment of additional and acting judges of the high court.  Amendment of Second Schedule. Modifications to the lists relating to the acquisition and requisition of property in the seventh schedule of the Constitution.
10th Amendment Act, 1961	Incorporation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli in the Indian Union in order to enable the President to make regulations for the peace, progress, and good government of the territory.
15th Amendment Act, 1963	The High Courts were enabled to issue writs to any person or authority, even outside its territorial jurisdiction, if the cause of action arose within its territorial limits. Increase in the retirement age of high court judges from 60 to 62 years.  Amendment in articles 297, 311, and 316. Provision for appointment of retired judges of the high courts as acting judges of the same court. Provided compensatory allowance to judges who are transferred from one high court to another.  Enabling the retired judge of a high court to act as an ad-hoc judge of the Supreme Court.
24th Amendment Act, 1971	Affirmation of the power of Parliament to amend any part of the Constitution, including fundamental rights. It was made compulsory for the president to give his assent to a Constitutional Amendment Bill. The act seeks to amend article 13 of the Constitution to make it inapplicable to any amendment of the Constitution under article 368.
25th Amendment Act, 1971	Introduction of new Article 31C. The amendment act aims to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of putting the Directive Principles of State Policy into action. The act limited the fundamental right to property.
26th Amendment Act, 1971	Omission of Articles 291 and 362 and insertion of new article 363A that states recognition granted to Rulers of Indian States to cease and privy purses to be abolished.
34th Amendment Act, 1974	This amendment act proposed to amend the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution to include the revised ceiling laws.  The act also included twenty more land tenure and land reform acts of various states in the Ninth Schedule.
38th Amendment Act, 1975	The 38th amendment act of the Constitution seeks to amend articles 123, 213, 239B, 352, 356, 359, and 360 of the Constitution. The emergency was declared as non-justiciable by the president of India.  The promulgation of ordinances by the president, governors, and administrators of union territories was made non-justiciable.  Empowerment of the president to declare different proclamations of national emergency on different grounds simultaneously.
42nd Amendment Act, 1976 (Mini Constitution)	Three new words were added in the 42nd Amendment Act, i.e., socialist, secular, and integrity, which were added in the Preamble.  Fundamental Duties were added by the citizens (new Part IV A).  President shall act in accordance with the advice of the Council of Ministers in the discharge of his functions under Article 74. Provided provision for administrative tribunals and tribunals for other matters (Added Part XIV A).  Maintenance of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies on the basis of the 1971 census till 2001.  Constitutional amendments were made beyond judicial scrutiny.  The tenure of Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies was raised from 5 to 6 years.  As long as certain Fundamental Rights are not violated, laws enacted to implement Directive Principles cannot be deemed invalid by the courts. Added three new Directive Principles of state policy, viz., equal justice and free legal aid, participation of workers in the management of industries, and protection of the environment, forests, and wildlife.  Facilitating the proclamation of national emergency in a part of the territory of India. Extension of the one-time duration of the President’s rule in a state from 6 months to one year.  Five subjects, including education, forests, wild animal and bird protection, weights and measures and administration of justice, Constitution, and organisation of all courts aside from the Supreme Court and the high courts, were moved from the state list to the concurrent list. Establishment of All-India Judicial Service.
44th Amendment Act, 1978	In the 44th Amendment Act, some of the powers of the Supreme Court and high courts were restored. Replacement of the term “internal disturbance” with “armed rebellion” in respect of national emergency.  Made the President declare a national emergency only on the written recommendation of the cabinet. Deletion of the right to property from the list of Fundamental Rights, making it a legal right. Provided that the fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended during a national emergency.
51st Amendment Act, 1984	Provision of the reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha for Scheduled Tribes in Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram, as well as in the Legislative Assemblies of Meghalaya and Nagaland.
52nd Amendment Act, 1985	This amendment act is also known as Anti Defection Law.  The act provided for the disqualification of members of Parliament and state legislatures on the grounds of defection Addition of a new Tenth Schedule containing the details in this regard.
61st Amendment Act, 1989	Reduced the voting age from 21 years to 18 years for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
65th Amendment Act, 1990	Provision for the establishment of a National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the place of a Special Officer or SCs and STs.
69th Amendment Act, 1991	Made Delhi the ‘National Capital Territory of Delhi’ along with the provision of a 70-member assembly and a 7-member Council of Ministers for Delhi.
73rd Amendment Act, 1992	Panchayati Raj Institutions were included under the Eleventh Schedule that enumerated the powers and functions of Panchayati Raj Institutions. Provisions for a three-tier model of Panchayati Raj, reservation of seats for SCs and STs in proportion to their population, and one-third reservation of seats for women were granted.
74th Amendment Act, 1992	This act granted Constitutional status and protection to the urban local bodies.  For this purpose, the Amendment has added a new Part IX-A entitled “the municipalities.”  A new Twelfth Schedule was added containing 18 functional items of the municipalities.
76th Amendment Act, 1994	The act included the Tamil Nadu Reservation Act of 1994, which provides for 69 percent reservation of seats in educational institutions and posts in state services in the Ninth Schedule in order to protect it from judicial review.  In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled that the total reservation should not exceed 50 percent.
77th Amendment Act, 1995	The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes have been enjoying the reservation in the promotion since 1955. This act provided for reservation in promotions in government jobs for SCs and STs.  Nullification of the Supreme Court ruling with regard to reservation in promotions.
80th Amendment Act, 2000	An alternative scheme of devolution of revenue for sharing taxes between the Union and the State was enacted.
85th Amendment Act, 2001	Provided provision for “consequential seniority” in the case of promotion by virtue of the rule of reservation for the government servants belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
86th Amendment Act, 2002	Elementary education was made a fundamental right.  The newly-added Article 21-A declares that “the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may determine.” Changed the subject matter of Article 45 in Directive Principles. Addition of a new fundamental duty under Article 51-A, which reads – 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.
91st Amendment Act, 2003	Limited the size of the Council of Ministers at the Center and in the States to debar defectors from holding public offices and to strengthen the anti-defection law.
93rd Amendment Act, 2005	Reservation for the socially and educationally backward classes in private unaided educational institutions except for the minority educational institutions
97th Amendment Act, 2012	This act gave Constitutional status and protection to co-operative societies.
99th Amendment Act, 2014	Replacement of the collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts with a new body called the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).  However, in 2015, the Supreme Court declared this amendment act unconstitutional and void. Consequently, the earlier collegium system became operational.
100th Amendment Act, 2015	This act amended the Constitution of India to give effect to the acquiring of territories by India and the transfer of certain territories to Bangladesh in pursuance of the agreement and its protocol entered into between the Governments of India and Bangladesh.
101st  Amendment Act, 2016	It introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India. This amendment was passed by the Parliament and the states, and came into effect on July 1, 2017.
102nd Amendment Act, 2018	Provided Constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes. This act relieved the National Commission for Scheduled Castes from its functions with regard to the backward classes.  It also empowered the President to specify the socially and educationally backward classes in relation to a state or union territory.
103rd Amendment Act, 2019	Empowered the state to make any special provision for the advancement of any economically weaker sections (EWS) of citizens.  An EWS Certificate is needed in order to avail benefits of the EWS category.  The state was permitted to set aside up to 10% of seats for certain sections when it came to admission to educational institutions, including private educational institutions that were either assisted or unassisted by the state, with the exception of minority educational institutions. This additional reservation of up to 10% would be made in addition to the ones already made.
104th Amendment Act, 2020	Extension of deadline for the cessation of seats for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies from 70 to 80 years. Removal of the reserved seats for the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
105th Amendment Act, 2020	It restored the power of state governments and union territories to identify and recognize Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs). The amendment came into effect on August 15, 2021.
106th Amendment Act, 2020	Also known as the Women's Reservation Act. It reserves one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. The amendment was passed in September 2023 and received the President's assent on September 28, 2023.

Know more about the SC-ST Amendment Act!

Types of Important Constitutional Amendments

There are three types of amendments in the Constitution of India:

Amendments by Simple Majority

These amendments can be passed by a simple majority of the members present and voting in both Houses of Parliament. Examples of such amendments include:

• the amendment to change the number of seats in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and 
• the amendment to change the name of a state.

Amendments by Special Majority

These amendments require a special majority of two-thirds of the members present and voting in both the Houses of Parliament. Examples of such amendments include:

• the amendment to change the Fundamental Rights, 
• the amendment to change the Directive Principles of State Policy, and 
• the amendment to change the structure of the government.

Amendments by Special Majority with Ratification by Half the States

These amendments require a special majority of two-thirds of the members present and voting in both Houses of Parliament. It also requires the ratification of half of the state legislatures. Examples of such amendments include:

• the amendment to change the basic structure of the Constitution, and 
• the amendment to change the powers of the states.

Know more about the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution!

Scope of Amenability of the Indian Constitution

The scope of amendability of the Indian Constitution is very wide. There are certain restrictions on the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution. 

• Parliament cannot amend the basic structure of the Constitution. The basic structure of the Constitution includes the following features:
  • Sovereignty of the people
  • Rule of law
  • Separation of powers
  • Judicial review
  • Federalism
  • Republicanism
  • Secularism
  • Equality
  • Liberty
  • Justice

Any amendment that seeks to change the basic structure of the Constitution is void. In addition to these, there are a few other restrictions on the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution. 

• Parliament cannot amend the Constitution to extend or reduce its own term. 
• Parliament also cannot amend the Constitution to abolish the post of the President or the Supreme Court.

Know more about the Making of the constitution!

Procedure for Making Constitutional Amendments in India 

The procedure for amendment of the constitution of India is laid down in Article 368. It involves the following steps:

• An amendment bill can only be introduced in Parliament, not in state legislatures. It can be introduced either in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha by a minister or a member.
• The bill must be passed by each house of Parliament - Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha - by a special majority. This means it must be supported by at least two-thirds of the members present and voting in each house.
• The bill must also be ratified by at least half of the state legislatures with a simple majority. This is in case of amendments seeking to change the federal structure of the Constitution. 
• The amendment bill is then presented to the President for assent. The President cannot withhold assent. He must sign the bill, making it a Constitutional amendment act.
• After the President's assent, the amendment bill becomes a Constitutional amendment act. It then formally amends the Constitution.

Know more about the Salient features of the Constitution!

Key Takeaways for UPSC Aspirants First Amendment (1951): Added reasonable restrictions to free speech, validated land reform laws, and Schedule IX was added. 24th Amendment (1971): Affirmed that Parliament had the power to amend any part of the Constitution. 42nd Amendment (1976): It is popularly described as the "Mini-Constitution," and it introduced changes in the Preamble, added Fundamental Duties, and extended the term of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. 44th Amendment, 1978: It had reversed many of the changes enacted by the 42nd Amendment and specifically undid many of the Emergency provisions.

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