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New passport rules for women in India

In a recent announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has passed a new change to the passport policy for women in India.

Jameslincoln 11 Stories

Friday August 18, 2017 , 3 min Read

Earlier, women had to change their name on the passport after their marriage or divorce. Under the new rule passed by the PM, women are no longer required producing the certificate of marriage or divorce to carry out the passport application process. The new rule allows a woman to either use her father’s or mother’s name on the application form.

Considering the fact that women were required to submit the certificate in order to apply for a passport, it often made the application process complicated and cumbersome to the applicants. The government is already working towards providing a smooth and hassle-free passport application service through numerous initiatives.

Initiative for women empowerment

In addition to the change in passport rule, the government also facilitates women empowerment through various schemes and mediums. Many of the existing as well as upcoming initiatives aim to provide first right and exclusive scheme benefits to women. .

Moreover, the government is already encouraging the citizens to register a home under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in the name of the women in the family. Also, to ensure a smoke-free environment for all the households, the government came up with the Ujjawal scheme that enabled many women in India to switch from harmful ‘chullah’ to LGP at subsidized rates and also with the availability of a loan.

The ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ is also among one of the popular women empowerment initiatives that generate awareness and promotes welfare services for girls. During the announcement, Narendra Modi quoted various examples that have proven women to be equally efficient and capable in various types of industry verticals.

The road ahead

Currently, the government is working towards creating an efficient economy where both men and women will contribute towards the welfare of the society and the nation. The growth of technology and the access to global market has enabled Indians to learn, explore, innovate, discover, and build various types of products and services. The growth has also resulted in an increased demand for passports across the country which enables Indians to travel across the globe to fulfil their personal and professional goals.

In a bid to provide a fast, efficient, and a hassle-free passport application experience, the government has already introduced many changes to the passport and visa policies in India. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) along with the Department of the Post has launched over 200 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSK) across India to provide a convenient passport service to the rural Indians as well. Through the availability of POPSK, MEA wants to ensure that no citizen should require travelling more than 50 kilometres to utilise the passport services.

Easy passport application

Recently the government also decided to relax the norms and certificate requirements pertaining to the date of birth of the passport applicant. The new rules are far more flexible, efficient, and simple. Any individual can visit the official website - www.passportindia.gov.in to obtain any kind of passport related information. An individual can also write to or call the support centre toll-free number mentioned on the website for any kind of concern related to passports in India.