Parliament Told of Eight Constitutional Reforms Passed Since 2012

Prelims-testable facts

• 01The Constitution of India was amended eight times during the last twelve years.
• 02The Constitution (Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 replaced the collegium system with the National Judicial Appointments Commission for appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts.
• 03The Constitution (One Hundredth Amendment) Act, 2015 related to the land boundary agreement between India and Bangladesh.
• 04The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 introduced the Goods and Services Tax in India.
• 05The Constitution (One Hundred and Second Amendment) Act, 2018 granted a constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.
• 06The Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019 provided reservation for Economically Weaker Sections in Government jobs and educational institutions.
• 07Constitutional amendments require special majority in both Houses of Parliament, with some also needing ratification by at least half of the states.

Trap alerts

• Most people think that the National Judicial Appointments Commission was introduced to replace the collegium system for all appointments, but actually it only replaced the collegium system for appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts.
• Most people think that the Goods and Services Tax was introduced by a constitutional amendment, but actually it was introduced through the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 which enabled its implementation.