India News | WCD Asks NITI Aayog to Augment Evidence on Adverse Impact of Early Age of Marriage
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Ministry of Women and Child Development on Friday said it has requested NITI Aayog to augment evidence regarding adverse impact of early age of marriage on health, nutrition, education and economic empowerment of women to build a strong case in favour of increasing the marriageable age for women.
New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) The Ministry of Women and Child Development on Friday said it has requested NITI Aayog to augment evidence regarding adverse impact of early age of marriage on health, nutrition, education and economic empowerment of women to build a strong case in favour of increasing the marriageable age for women.
Responding to a question in Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said a task force was constituted by the Centre to examine the correlation of age of marriage and motherhood with health, medical well-being and nutritional status of mother and neonate/infant/child, during pregnancy, birth and thereafter, key parameters like Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB), Child Sex Ratio (CSR)
"The task force has since submitted its report," she said in a written reply.
Irani, however, said the ministry after examining the report has requested NITI Aayog that the evidence adduced regarding adverse impact of the early age of marriage on issues related to health, nutrition, education and economic empowerment of women of India needs to be augmented in order to build a strong case in favour of the argument.
"The studies mentioned in its support are mostly of international and South Asian level and the extent to which these will be applicable to India needs to be carefully determined. NITI Aayog has also been requested to undertake a comprehensive study on the impact of the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Karnataka Amendment) Act, 2016," she added.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)