Union govt to soon revise minimum legal age of marriage for girls: PM Modi

Oct. 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the government will soon take a decision on revising the minimum age of marriage for girls after it receives report from the committee set up for this purpose. The prime minister said the girls’ gross enrolment ratio in education has turned higher than that of boys for the first time in the country because of several efforts taken by the government in the last six years. “There is an important deliberation going on to decide what should be the ideal age of marriage for daughters,” said the Prime Minister.

On 2 June, 2020, the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development set up a task force to examine the possibility of increasing the age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 as a measure to lower Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) and improve nutritional levels, apart from other initiatives. Section 5(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 sets 18 years as the minimum age for the bride and 21 for the groom.