Social Justice & Welfare·Amendments

EWS Reservation — Amendments

Updated 5 Mar 2026
AmendmentYearDescriptionImpact
103rd Amendment2019Inserted Articles 15(6) and 16(6) to enable reservation for economically weaker sections in educational institutions and government employment respectively. The amendment introduced the first purely economic-based reservation system in India, providing up to 10% quota for EWS in addition to existing caste-based reservations.Fundamentally altered India's reservation architecture by recognizing economic deprivation as an independent criterion for affirmative action. The amendment expanded the constitutional framework of social justice beyond traditional caste-based considerations, potentially influencing future reservation policies and creating new precedents for economic-based affirmative action globally.