The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021

This Bill seeks to increase the legal age for marriage for women from 18 to 21 years. It aims to amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, which it refers to as the ‘principal Act’. Smriti Irani, the minister of Women and Child Development, government of India, introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha on December 21, 2020. Its stated objective – as mentioned in a preface to the Bill, signed by the minister – is to “adequately secure the Constitutional mandate of gender equality in marriageable age among men and women.” It has been referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee led by Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, a member of the Rajya Sabha from the state of Maharashtra.