The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years old on Wednesday, a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicated the idea was still under review. The plan was mentioned by the Prime Minister during his Independence Day speech last year.
To put the plan into reality, the government is proposing to modify the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, the Special Marriage Act, and the Hindu Marriage Act. The plan gained the support of a NITI Aayog task force. The minimum age of marriage for men is 21, but for women, it is 18. The delay in marriages has a positive financial, social, and health impact on families, society, and children. A task force stressed that a woman must be at least 21 years old at the time of her first pregnancy.
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