Elections, rights issues & governance

Answer: (d) Four

Why not the tempting option · UPSC's key is (d), the count the Election Commission and NCERT both give: 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002. A Delimitation Commission was also constituted on 6 March 2020 under section 3 of the Delimitation Act, 2002, for Jammu and Kashmir (and at first four north-eastern States, dropped in 2021), which a strict reader might add as a fifth; but the official count treats the four nation-wide Commissions as 'the' Delimitation Commissions, and 'five' is not offered. In the exam, answer four, and know the 2020 Jammu and Kashmir Commission separately.

NCERT lists four Delimitation Commissions in India, set up in 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002, so the count is four. It also draws attention to the long interval between the third (1973) and the fourth (2002).

• ✓ (d) The four Commissions are those of 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002. The last one worked under the Delimitation Act, 2002, which repealed the earlier Delimitation Act, 1972.
• ✗ (c) Three undercounts. The 2002 Commission is the fourth, after those of 1952, 1963 and 1973.
• • note Separate from this count: a notification under section 3 of the Delimitation Act, 2002 (S.O. 1015(E), 6 March 2020) set up a Commission for Jammu and Kashmir and, at first, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland; those four States were dropped by a notification of 3 March 2021. The Election Commission's own count of four covers the nation-wide Commissions.

Remember · Delimitation Commissions: 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002, four in all; Article 82 mandates the establishment of a Delimitation Commission.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 7 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) 2 and 3 only

Statements 2 and 3 are correct. The women's reservation (Constitution 106th Amendment) Act, 2023 lapses 15 years after its commencement and sets aside one-third of the Scheduled Caste seats for SC women. Statement 1 is wrong because reservation starts only after a fresh delimitation based on the first census taken after the Act, not from the 18th Lok Sabha.

• ✗ 1. Article 334A says the reservation takes effect after delimitation is done using the first census figures published after the Act's commencement. The 18th Lok Sabha (elected in 2024) was therefore not covered.
• ✓ 2. Article 334A(1) provides that the reservation ceases to have effect on the expiry of fifteen years from commencement. Parliament may extend this by law.
• ✓ 3. Article 330A(2) reserves, as nearly as may be, one-third of the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (and for Scheduled Tribes) for women of those communities.

Remember · Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (106th Amendment, 2023): one-third seats for women, SC/ST quota sub-reserved, effective after post-census delimitation, lapses 15 years from commencement.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error