New Delhi: The government on Wednesday approved the draft bill to amend the women’s reservation law, paving the way for legislation in Parliament to implement 33% reservation for them in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies from 2029.The draft bill approved by the Cabinet will be introduced in the special Parliament session starting on April 16. TOI has learned that three bills will be introduced – the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill and a separate law to extend reservation for women in union territories where there are legislative assemblies.As a result of the proposed changes, the number of Lok Sabha seats will increase from the current 543 to 816, of which 273 will be reserved for women. Reservation will also be done on a “vertical basis” with seats allotted for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.The provision of one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought in by passing the Nari Shakti Vandan Act in 2023. This law will come into force after the completion of the delimitation exercise based on the 2027 census. Therefore, it was expected to come into force in 2034, if the current law remains as it is.People aware of the development said the redefinition of Lok Sabha constituencies will be based on the 2011 census instead of the proposed 2027 census. A similar exercise will also be done for state assemblies, where seats will be reserved on a proportional basis.While the Constitution Amendment Bill will make changes to the Nari Shakti Vandan Act, the Delimitation Bill will lead to the formation of a Delimitation Commission to redraw the boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies.Once the bills are approved by Parliament, the proposed laws will come into force after March 31, 2029, and will come into effect from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and simultaneous assembly elections in Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh.