New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the government is deliberating on what should be the minimum age of marriage for women and has set up a committee to look into the matter.
Addressing the nation on India's 74th Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi covered a range of issues related to women, including their role in the armed forces, economic empowerment, the effort to recruit them in the NCC and the government's scheme to provide sanitary napkins at Re 1.
We have set up a committee to deliberate on the minimum age for marriage of our daughters. We will take appropriate decisions after the committee submits its report, he said.
The minimum age of marriage for women is 18 years and 21 for men.
Discussing the role of women in the forces, the prime minister said India is among the countries of the world where women are involved in combat roles in the Navy and the Air Force.
He added that women could comprise one-third of the one lakh new NCC cadets who will be given special training.
"We are expanding NCC in border areas; special training will be provided to about one lakh new NCC cadets, out of which we will try that one-third of them are our daughters," he said.
On the economic empowerment of women, Prime Minister Modi said 22 crore of the 40 crore jan dhan accounts are of women and about Rs 30,000 crore have been deposited in their accounts during the pandemic.
"Out of Mudra loans worth Rs 25 crore, 70 per cent of them have been taken by our mothers and sisters. Under the Pradhan Matri Awaas Yojna, most registrations are under the name of women," he added.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendra scheme, the prime minister said, the government has started giving away sanitary napkins at Re 1 to empower women and also to keep their health in check.
In 6,000 Jan Aushadi Kendras, more than five crore sanitary napkins have been provided to women in a short period of time, he said. Modi also said his government is determined to provide equal employment opportunities to women.
Whenever women have been given an opportunity, they have made India proud and strengthened the country. Today, the nation is determined to provide equal opportunities for self-employment and employment to them, Modi said.
Today, women are working in underground coal mines as well as touching the sky while flying fighter planes, he noted.
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New Delhi, Mar 29: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Friday decided at its Special General Meeting (SGM) that it will start functioning at 'no cost to the government' model if its request to lift the suspension is not considered by the Sports Ministry.
The WFI had its SGM in Noida after the UWW (the sport's world governing body) lifted its suspension and the IOA also dissolved the ad-hoc panel that was managing the affairs of the body.
The two developments paved the way for the elected office bearers to take back control of the federation, though the government is yet to lift its suspension.
The government had contended that the WFI flouted rules and put it under suspension, three days after it conducted polls to elect Sanjay Singh as president.
All 25 state associations attended the SGM even as secretary general Prem Chand Lochab, who is from the rival camp, skipped the meet.
"It was agreed that we will request the government to lift the suspension. The UWW has lifted the suspension and ad-hoc committee has also been dissolved, so there is no point of continuing with the suspension of the body," a WFI source told PTI.
"If the ministry will not consider the request and decide against providing financial assistance, then we have decided unanimously that we will start functioning at no cost to the government," added the source.
The government funds wrestlers' training, competition and exposure trips to foreign countries.
If the WFI goes ahead with the plan then it will also have to arrange and conduct the national camps on its own.
TWO-THIRD MAJORITY NOT MUST FOR ELECTION FOR NEW POST
The WFI also brought about an amendment to its Constitution to ensure that any candidate contesting the election for a new post is not required to win by a two-third majority.
"From now onwards only a simple majority will do if a joint secretary or a secretary decides to contest for a different post such as president. Only if a candidate is attempting to get elected to the post he is holding, he will be required to win by a two-third majority," explained the source.
At WFI's recent election Sanjay Singh was required to win the polls for the post of president by a two-third majority because he was a joint secretary in the previous dispensation.
SOC RECOGNITION NOT REQUIRED FOR STATES
The WFI has removed from its Constitution the clause that required a state association to fulfil the condition of having recognition from the State Olympic Committee (SOC) to get affiliated with the national body.
"From now onwards only WFI recognition is enough for a state association. A few state bodies had misused this clause to present them as genuine bodies despite suspension from WFI. They showed SOC recognition to claim that they are genuine affiliated state bodies. We have done away with this," informed the source.
ALL STATES TO FOLLOW NATIONAL SPORTS CODE
All the 25 state bodies were asked to ensure that the Sports Code is followed while conducting the elections and functioning. Age and tenure guidelines will have to be followed by all.