Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that women are free to retain their maiden names in their passports now after the marriage. “From now onwards, women will not have to change their names in the passport after their marriage,” PM Modi told a gathering of the Indian Merchants Chambers’ ladies wing over a video conferencing. According to the passport website, uptill now, to change the name in the passport after marriage, one had to apply for a “re-issue” and get the specified change done in the name.
Stating that he wanted women to be at the centre of the developmental schemes, PM Modi said his government is working in different ways to empower them through various schemes like Mudra and Ujjwala, among others.