The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years, the same as men, more than a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the intention during his Independence Day address in 2020.
Following the Cabinet's consent, sources told, the government will propose a revision to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, as well as changes to the Special Marriage Act and personal laws like the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
The permission comes after a task force led by Jaya Jaitly from the Centre presented recommendations to Niti Aayog in December 2020 to look into "matters pertaining to age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering MMR (Maternal Mortality Rate), improvement of nutritional levels, and associated aspects."
Jaitly said: “I want to make clear that our reasoning behind the recommendation was never one of population control. Recent data released by NFHS 5 (National Family Health Survey) have already shown that the Total Fertility Rate is decreasing and the population is under control. The idea behind it (the recommendation) is the empowerment of women.”
According to data from the National Family Health Survey 5, India's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) fell below the replacement threshold of 2.1 for the first time, indicating that a population explosion in the coming years is improbable. Child marriage has also decreased slightly from 27% in 2015-16 to 23% in 2019-21, according to the data.
The task group, which was established by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in June 2020, includes Dr. V K Paul of Niti Aayog, as well as Secretaries of the WCD, Health, and Education Ministries, as well as Secretaries of the Legislative Department.
It has been suggested that a comprehensive public awareness campaign be devised in order to promote social acceptance of the decision. It has also advocated for girls' access to schools and universities, as well as transportation to educational institutions in remote places.
Sex education should also be formalised and included in the school curriculum, according to the group. Women's education in polytechnic colleges, as well as skills and business training and livelihood enhancement, have all been suggested as ways to ensure that the marriageable age is raised.
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