How many Delimitation Commissions have been constituted by the Government of India till December 2023 ?
- (a) One
- (b) Two
- (c) Three
- (d) Four ✓ UPSC's answer
Why the answer is (d)
• Under Article 82, Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act after each census and a Delimitation Commission then redraws constituency boundaries.
• Commissions have been constituted four times: under the Delimitation Commission Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002 — option (d).
• The 42nd Amendment froze the number of seats on the 1971 census until 2000, and the 84th Amendment extended the freeze to the first census after 2026; the 2002 Commission therefore only readjusted boundaries within States on the 2001 census.
• A separate Delimitation Commission for Jammu & Kashmir (2020–22) was set up under the J&K Reorganisation Act, not the general Act.
• Hence four.
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) One
- Four Commissions have been set up, not one.
- (b) Two
- Four Commissions have been set up, not two.
- (c) Three
- Four Commissions have been set up (1952, 1962, 1972, 2002), not three.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2024, held on 16 June 2024. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.