Constitutional Amendments are formal changes made to the Constitution of India. Think of the Constitution as the rule book for our country. Sometimes, we need to update these rules to meet new challenges or improve governance.
The Constitution makers were wise - they made it neither too rigid nor too flexible.
The Constitution provides three types of amendment procedures in Article 368. First type requires simple majority in Parliament for basic changes like creating new states or changing salaries of judges. Second type needs special majority (more than 50% of total members and 2/3rd of present members) for most amendments like Fundamental Rights or Directive Principles.
Third type requires special majority plus ratification by half the states for federal structure changes like election of President or distribution of powers.
Amendment Process: Any amendment bill can be introduced in either House of Parliament. It must pass both Houses with required majority. If state ratification is needed, at least half the state legislatures must approve within no fixed time limit.
Finally, President gives assent and the amendment becomes part of Constitution.