Question

Which among the following Constitutional Amendment reduced the voting age from 21 years to 18 years for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections?
1. 63^rd
2. 42^nd
3. 56^th
4. 61^st

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 4 : 61^st

The correct answer is 61st.

• 61st Constitutional Amendment reduced the voting age from 21 years to 18 years for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections.
• This Act may be called the Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988.
• Article 326 of the Constitution of India deals with elections to the Houses and to the State Legislative Assemblies on the basis of universal adult suffrage.
• The proposal to reduce the voting age to 18 years was brought about to increase the participation of the youth in the electoral process of the country.

Amendment Act	Details
63rd	The Constitution (Fifty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1988 was passed in March 1988, making certain changes in regard to made Proclamation of Emergency in Punjab and to the duration of the President's rule in that State.
42nd	It changed the description of India from a sovereign democratic republic to a sovereign, socialist secular democratic republic, and also changed the words unity of the nation to unity and integrity of the nation.
56th	It confers Statehood on Goa and forms a new Union Territory of Daman and Diu. Goa thus became the 25th State of the Indian Republic.

• The Constitution 61st Act, 1988 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 13th December 1988 by the then Water Resources Minister B. Shankaranand.
• The bill received the presidential assent on 28th March 1989 when then-President R Venkataraman assented it.
• This amendment Act was not ratified by 5 states at that time:
  • Tamil Nadu.
  • Tripura.
  • Punjab.
  • Nagaland.
  • Jammu and Kashmir.