PM Modi has just announced a good news for the newly-married couples who were planning their summer breaks for overseas, but are stuck up in the process of updating spouses' names on their passports. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that women are free to retain their maiden names in their passports now after their marriage.

"From now onwards, women will not have to change their names in the passport after their marriage," Modi told a gathering of the Indian Merchants Chambers' ladies wing over a video conferencing.

Reuters

The government wants the woman of the house to be the priority in all of its development schemes, he added.

Citing various women-oriented schemes launched by his government, the Prime Minister said the maternity leave for the women has been extended now to 26 weeks from the present 12 weeks while another scheme provides for the transfer of Rs 6,000 to women, who chose to deliver in hospitals.

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On the free cooking gas distribution project launched last year under the Ujjwala scheme, Modi said, "The government has set a target of covering as many as 5 crore people from BPL families over the next two years. Within a year of its launch, the scheme has already benefited 2 crore women."

Under the LPG subsidy surrender campaign, already 1.2 crore people have voluntarily given up their benefits, he added.

Reuters

Praising women for their entrepreneurial spirit, Modi said wherever women are given an opportunity, they have proved that they are two steps ahead of the men.

With inputs from PTI