For Prelims: 30 Most Important Constitutional Amendments
I. 1st Amendment Act, 1951 — Introduced additional grounds for reasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression (Article 19), added the Ninth Schedule, and enabled land reforms.
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7th Amendment Act, 1956 — Reorganized states on a linguistic basis; abolished Part A, B, C and D states.
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10th Amendment Act, 1961 — Dadra & Nagar Haveli became part of India.
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12th Amendment Act, 1962 — Goa, Daman & Diu became part of India.
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13th Amendment Act, 1962 — Special provisions for Nagaland (Article 371A).
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14th Amendment Act, 1962 — Puducherry became a Union Territory.
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24th Amendment Act, 1971 — Parliament's power to amend any part of the Constitution, including Fundamental Rights.
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25th Amendment Act, 1971 — Curtailed the Right to Property; strengthened Directive Principles.
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26th Amendment Act, 1971 — Abolished Privy Purses and official recognition of former rulers.
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31st Amendment Act, 1973 — Increased the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha to 545.
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36th Amendment Act, 1975 — Sikkim became the 22nd State of India.
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38th Amendment Act, 1975 — Made the President's Emergency Proclamation largely beyond judicial review.
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39th Amendment Act, 1975 — Placed election disputes of the President, Vice-President, PM and Speaker beyond judicial review (later read down).
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42nd Amendment Act, 1976 — Mini Constitution; added Socialist, Secular, Integrity, Fundamental Duties, and strengthened DPSPs.
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44th Amendment Act, 1978 — Restored Fundamental Rights; Right to Property became a Legal Right (Article 300A).
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52nd Amendment Act, 1985 — Added the Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law).
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55th Amendment Act, 1986 — Special provisions for Arunachal Pradesh (Article 371H).
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61st Amendment Act, 1989 — Reduced the voting age from 21 years to 18 years.
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69th Amendment Act, 1991 — Granted the National Capital Territory status to Delhi (Article 239AA).
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71st Amendment Act, 1992 — Added Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali to the Eighth Schedule.
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73rd Amendment Act, 1992 — Constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions.
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74th Amendment Act, 1992 — Constitutional status to Urban Local Bodies (Municipalities).
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86th Amendment Act, 2002 — Inserted Article 21A (Right to Education) and modified Article 45.
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91st Amendment Act, 2003 — Limited the size of the Council of Ministers; strengthened the Anti-Defection Law.
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97th Amendment Act, 2011 — Inserted Part IXB relating to Co-operative Societies and made the right to form co-operative societies a Fundamental Right (Article 19(1)(c)); in 2021, the Supreme Court struck down the application of Part IXB to State co-operative societies while retaining it for multi-State co-operative societies.
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101st Amendment Act, 2016 — Introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
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102nd Amendment Act, 2018 — Constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
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103rd Amendment Act, 2019 — Introduced 10% EWS Reservation.
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104th Amendment Act, 2020 — Abolished reserved Anglo-Indian seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies; extended reservation for SCs and STs.
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106th Amendment Act, 2023 — Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam: Provides 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies (to be implemented after delimitation and a Census).
🎯 Important One-Liners
- 42nd Amendment → Mini Constitution
- 44th Amendment → Right to Property became a Legal Right
- 52nd Amendment → Anti-Defection Law
- 61st Amendment → Voting age: 21 → 18
- 73rd & 74th Amendments → Local Self-Government
- 86th Amendment → Right to Education (Article 21A)
- 101st Amendment → GST
- 102nd Amendment → NCBC got Constitutional Status
- 103rd Amendment → 10% EWS Reservation
- 106th Amendment → Women's Reservation in Lok Sabha & State Assemblies
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Posted Jul 29, 2026, 6:56 AM UTC