Article 74-A: Revenue Zone Cabinet Requirement

A new constitutional provision requires the Council of Ministers to include at all times at least one Cabinet-rank minister from each of four Revenue Zones, holding a portfolio within the top-30 ministries by budget allocation. Revenue Zones — existing administrative designations rather than culturally charged "regions" — carry no identity meaning, avoiding the Belgian-disease risk of constitutionally entrenching cultural divisions.

Revenue Zone	States Included	Approx. LS Seats (800)
Northern Zone	J&K, HP, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, UP, Rajasthan, Bihar, MP, Chhattisgarh	~415
Southern Zone	Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana	~168
Eastern Zone	West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, all northeastern states	~135
Western Zone	Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa	~100

If the governing coalition lacks elected members from a zone, the President appoints a technocrat minister on the PM's recommendation, confirmed by simple majority of that zone's Chief Ministers within 30 days. Silence constitutes confirmation. Technocrat ministers hold full Cabinet rank in top-30 portfolios but do not participate in confidence votes. A PM cannot assign technocrat ministers to marginal portfolios.

For the draft constitutional text, see Appendix A.1.