In the latest development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that women don’t need to change their names in passport post marriage anymore. Even as the majority of the women are appreciating this decision, some said that this new rule should be applied to PF account and other places as well.
The newly-married couples who were planning for an overseas trip but find themselves in a tough situation of updating spouses’ names on their passports will no longer have to worry too much about as PM Modi announced that women are now free to retain their maiden names in their respective passports from now onwards after their marriage.
“From now onwards, women will not have to change their names in the passport after their marriage,” the Prime Minister told a gathering of the Indian Merchants Chambers’ ladies wing over a video conference.
He further added that the government wants the woman of the house to also be the priority in all of its development schemes. Referring to various women-oriented schemes launched by his government, Modi said the maternity leave for the women has been extended now to 26 weeks from the present 12 weeks while another scheme offers for the transfer of Rs 6,000 to women, who prefer to deliver in hospitals.
Talking about the free cooking gas distribution project that was launched last year under the Ujjwala scheme, Modi said, “The government has set a target of covering as many as 5 crore people from BPL families over the next two years. Within a year of its launch, the scheme has already benefited 2 crore women.”
Praising women for their entrepreneurial spirit, the Prime Minister said wherever women are given a chance, they have always proved that they are two steps ahead of the men, citing that there is nothing in the world that can stop women from achieving something big in life.