Ensuring federalism within delimitation, Pg7

Key Highlights:

• Upcoming delimitation exercise after Census 2026 will redistribute Lok Sabha seats.
• The 84th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002 froze the number of seats until the first census after 2026.
• Most states achieved a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1 by 2021, except five states.
• A Demographic Performance (DemPer) principle is suggested for seat allocation, rewarding states for population stabilization.
• The author suggests that the Lok Sabha size should not increase beyond 700.

Detailed Insights:

• Article 81 mandates seat distribution based on population, maintaining a similar ratio across states.
• The Finance Commission's (FC) approach of using demographic performance alongside population for fund allocation can be considered.
• The proposed DemPer principle considers early achievement of TFR targets and the rate of decline in TFR between 2005 and 2021.
• Applying DemPer ensures all states gain seats, with more populous states receiving more, while protecting the share of states with good population control.
• The delimitation exercise aims to balance democratic equality with federal fairness, reducing regional resentment and improving representation.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Delimitation: The process of redrawing boundaries of parliamentary and assembly constituencies.
• Total Fertility Rate (TFR): The average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime.
• Federalism: A system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and constituent political units.