List of Important Constitutional Amendments for SSC

Importance of Knowing Constitutional Amendments for SSC Exams

Knowing the Constitutional Amendments for SSC Exams is important for the candidates as questions related to constitutional amendments and articles are repeatedly asked in Tier 1 of the SSC exams such as CGL, CHSL, CPO, MTS etc. In tier 1 of the SSC exams, usually, 1-2 questions are asked about this topic. With the introduction of the general awareness subject in the tier 2 CBT exam of CGL and CHSL exam, the significance of this topic increases altogether.

Significance of Constitutional Amendments

The Constitution of India was first enacted in 1950 and since then it has always been the backbone of the Indian Government System. Parliament can amend any part of the Indian Constitution by using article 368 and the significance of amending the Constitution is that with the changing time a static document can act as a hurdle in the path of progress of the nation and amending the constitution not only strengthen the existing norms of the constitution but also increases flexibility to accommodate new and important changes in the document related to national and international commitments.

Types of Constitutional Amendments

Based on the majority required to make amendments in the constitution, we can categorise the constitutional amendments into three types

• Constitutional amendments that require simple majority: Outside the scope of Article 368, a number of articles in the Constitution can be altered by a simple majority of the two houses of Parliament.
• Constitutional amendments that require special majority: A special majority of the Parliament is required to modify the majority of the articles in the Constitution, which is a majority (that is, more than 50%) of the total membership of each House and a majority of two-thirds of the members of each House present and voting.
  A measure is considered to be carried if it is backed by a majority of two-thirds of the members present and voting, as well as by more than half of the overall strength of the House.
  Special Parliamentary Majority and State Consent.
• Constitutional amendments that require special majority and consent of half of the states: The articles of the Constitution relating to the federal structure of the polity can be altered by a special majority of the Parliament, as well as by a simple majority of half of the state legislatures. This form of majority is necessary when amending federal structures. Aside from a special majority by both houses of parliament, a simple majority of half of the state legislature is required. There is no time restriction for states to provide their approval of the law.

Procedure of Making Amendments in the Indian Constitution

Parliament is empowered to amend the Indian Constitution under Article 368, subject to the ‘Basic structure of Constitution’. It is done in three ways:
1. By simple majority- Amendment is done by a simple majority in each house of Parliament of India.
2. By special majority- Amendment is done by a special majority in each house of Parliament of India.
3. By special majority with ratification by half of the States Legislatures along with a special majority in each house of the Parliament.

Total Amendments in Indian Constitution

There are 105 total amendments in the Indian constitution till date. The 105th Constitutional Amendment Act revised Article 342A to allow the President to identify socially and educationally backward classes on the Central List for Central Government purposes. In 1951, First Amendment in the Indian Constitution was made. It authorises the state to use affirmative action to progress any socially and economically backward sections or categories of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by limiting the applicability of basic rights.

Important Amendments in the Indian Constitution

Check out the table given below to check all the important amendments in the Indian Constitution. This will help you revise the list of amendments in the Indian constitution in one go at the time of the exam.

Important Amendment	Description
First Constitutional Amendment Act, 1951	Added Ninth schedule to protect land reforms and other laws from the scrutiny of Judicial review. Insertion of new Article 31A and Article 31 B. Amended Article 19 by adding three more grounds of a reasonable restriction on freedom of speech and expression
Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956	State reorganization on a linguistic basis. Abolished classification of states into four categories and reorganized them into 14 states and 6 UTs. Appointment of a Governor for two or more states. Establishment of a common High Court for two or more states, extended jurisdiction of the High Court to union territories. Appointment of additional and acting judges of High Court. Insertion of new Article 350 A (instruction in mother-tongue at primary education to children belonging to linguistic minority) and 350B (Special Officer for linguistic minorities is provided) in part XVII.
Eighth Constitutional Amendment Act, 1960	Extended reservation of seats for the SCs and STs and special representation for Anglo-Indians in the Lok Sabha and state legislature.
Twenty-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act, 1971	Amended Article 368 and Article 13, affirming the power of Parliament to amend any part of the Constitution including fundamental rights. When an amendment to the Constitution adopted by both Houses of Parliament is submitted to the President for his approval, he is obliged to give his consent.
Twenty-Fifth Constitutional Amendment Act, 1971	Curtailment of the fundamental right to property. Insertion of new Article 31 C, which provides that if any law is passed in order to give result to the DPSP contained in 39(b) and (c), that law will not be considered to be void on the ground that it removes or reduces any of the rights under Article 14, 19 or 31 and will not be challenged on the ground that it doesn’t give effect to those principles
Twenty-Sixth Constitutional Amendment Act, 1971	Insertion of Article 363 A giving effect to the abolishment of Privy purse paid to former rulers of princely states.
Forty-Second Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976	Amendment in Preamble by addition of three words- ‘Socialist’, ‘Secular’ and ‘Integrity’. Addition of new Part IVA (Article 51 A) for fundamental duties. Insertion of new Article 31 D for saving laws in respect of anti-national activities, taking precedence over fundamental rights. Insertion of new Article 32 A for Constitutional validity of State laws not to be considered in proceedings under Article 32. Also added Article 226 A for Constitutional validity of Central laws not to be considered in proceedings under Article 226. Insertion of three new Articles regarding DPSP Article 39 A: Free legal aid and Equal justice Article 43 A: Participation of workers in the management of industries and Article 48 A: Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wildlife. Curtailment of power of Supreme Court and High Court with respect to judicial review and writ jurisdiction. Made a Constitutional amendment beyond judicial review. The tenure (period) of Lok Sabha and State Legislative assemblies was raised to 6 years by amending Article 83 and Article 172. Frozen seats in Lok Sabha and State Parliament is empowered to decide the powers, privileges and immunities of the members and the committees of each House of Parliament and State Legislature by amending Article 105 and Article 194. Added new Part XIV regarding administrative tribunal and tribunal for other matters under Articles 323 A and 323 B. Addition of new Article 257 A for assistance to States by the deployment of armed forces or other forces of the Union. Creation of All India Judicial Services under Article 236. Facilitated a Proclamation of emergency in operation in any part of the territory of India. Made President bound by the advice of the Council of Ministers by amending Article 74. Amendment in Seventh Schedule by shifting five subjects from the state list to the concurrent list. These are: (a) education, (b) forests, (c) protection of wild animals and birds, (d)weights and measures (e) administration of justice. Extended the one-time duration of the President’s rule from six months to one year.
Forty-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978	The substituted term ‘Armed rebellion’ with earlier ‘Internal disturbance’ in case of national emergency. President can proclaim an emergency only on the basis of written advice tendered by the cabinet. Removal of right to property from the list of fundamental rights and recognized as a mere legal right. Provided that during a national emergency fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 20 and Article 21 cannot be suspended. Restored the original term of Lok Sabha and State Legislative assembly to five years. Restored the power of the Election Commission in deciding matters related to election disputes of President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Lok Sabha. Guaranteed right of the media to report the proceedings in Parliament and the State Legislatures freely and without censorship. Set some procedural safeguards with respect to a national emergency and President’s rule. Restored the powers of the Supreme Court and High Court taken away in earlier amendments. In the case of issuing ordinances, the amendment did away with the provision that made the satisfaction of the President or Governor as final justification. President can now send back the advice of the cabinet for reconsideration. Reconsidered advice, however, is binding on the President.
Sixty-First Constitutional Amendment Act, 1988	Proposed to reduce the voting age from 21 years to 18 years for Lok Sabha and State legislative assembly elections.
Sixty-Ninth Constitutional Amendment Act, 1991	Granted the National Capital a special status among the Union territories to ensure stability and permanence. Amendment also provided a Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers for Delhi.
Seventy-Third Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992	Added new Part IX that gave Constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj Institution. Inserted new Eleventh schedule having 29 functions of Panchayat
Seventy-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992	Granted Constitutional status to Urban Local Bodies. Added ‘The Municipalities’ as new Part XI-A in the Constitution. Inserted Twelfth schedule having 18 functions of the municipality.
Eighty-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002	Readjustment and rationalization of territorial constituencies, without altering the number of seats allotted in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative assemblies to be fixed on the basis of the 1991 census till 2026.
Eighty-sixth Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002	Inserted new Article 21-A in the Constitution which provided for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6 to 14 years. Inserted Article 51-A as a fundamental duty which provided for the education of a child between the age of 6 and 14 years. Changes in the DPSP Article 45 which provided free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14 years.
Eighty-Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003	Readjustment and rationalization of territorial constituencies in the states to be fixed as per the 2001 census instead of the earlier 1991 census.
Eighty-Ninth Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003	Creation of two separate bodies out of a combined body namely ‘National Commission for Scheduled Castes’ under Article 338 and ‘National Commission for Scheduled Tribes under Article 338-A.
Ninety-First Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003	Inserted new clause Article 75 (1A): provides that the total number of ministers, including the PM, in the COM shall not exceed 15% of the total number of members of LS. PM- Prime Minister COM- Council of Ministers LS- Lok Sabha • Inserted fresh clause Article 75 (1B): Provides that a member of either House of Parliament belonging to any political party that is disqualified on grounds of defection from being a member of that House shall also be disqualified from being a Minister. • New clause Article 164(1A): Provides that the total number of ministers, including the CM, in the COM shall not exceed 15% of the total number of members of the State Legislative Assembly. CM- Chief Minister COM- Council of Ministers • Inserted new clause Article 164 (1B) which says, a member of Legislative assembly of the State or either House of State Legislature belonging to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of defection for being a member of that House shall also, be disqualified to be appointed as a minister. • Removal of the provision in the Tenth Schedule pertaining to an exemption from disqualification in case of the split by one-third of members of the legislature party.
Ninety-Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011	It gave Constitutional protection to Cooperative societies by making the following changes. The right to form a Cooperative society is a fundamental right under Article 19. Insertion of the new Directive Principle of State Policy under Article 45-B for promoting Cooperative societies. Added new Part IX B under the Constitution as ‘The Co-operative societies’ under Article 243-ZH to 243-ZT.
Ninety-Ninth Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014	Insertion of new Article 124-A which provided for the establishment of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) for the appointment and transfer of judges of the higher judiciary. However, it was later struck down by the apex court and held unconstitutional and void.
Hundredth Constitutional Amendment Act, 2015	This amendment gave effect to the acquisition of territories by India and the transfer of certain territories to Bangladesh in pursuance of the Land Boundary Agreement and its protocol entered into between the Governments of India and Bangladesh.
Hundred and First Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016	Insertion of new Article 246-A, 269-A and 279-A for enrollment of Goods and Service Tax (GST) that made changes in the Seventh Schedule and course of inter-state trade and commerce
Hundred and Second Constitutional Amendment Act, 2018	It provided for the establishment of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) as a Constitutional body under Article 338-B of the Constitution. It is vested with the responsibility of considering the inclusion and exclusion of communities in the list of backward communities for reservation in jobs.
Hundred and Third Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019	In relation to the current reservation, the reservation of up to 10% for economically weaker segments in academic organizations and government jobs has been made. It gives effect to the mandate of the Directive Principle of State Policy under Article 46. It added new provisions under Article 15 (6) and Article 16 (6) to permit the government to ensure the advancement of economically weaker segments.

Latest Amendments in Indian Constitution

The latest amendment in Indian Constitution was 105th Amendment. the hundred and fifth (105th) Amendment Act of 2021 is the last and most recent amendment in the Constitution of India. The Constitution (One Hundred and Fifth Amendment) Act, 2021 is aimed to clarify that the states can keep the state list of OBCs.

List of Amendments in Indian Constitution PDF

The list of amendments in the Indian constitution is an important topic in the polity syllabus for the SSC and Railway exams. Candidates often get confused while recalling the number and context of amendments and make mistakes while attempting these questions. To help candidates revise all important amendments in the Indian constitution, we have provided you with the link to download the List of Amendments in the Indian Constitution PDF. Click on the link given below and download the pdf.

> List of Amendments in Indian constitution PDF

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