Making it mandatory for the marital status of women to be stamped on their passports and ensuring that the men are taken to task under Indian laws are among the measures mulled by the Centre to deal with complaints of women being deserted by their NRI husbands.
The proposals were discussed at a recent meeting between Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Minister of State for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury, an official said.
The measures discussed at the meeting included making it compulsory for the marital status of the woman to stamped on her passport as a legal proof of her marriage.
Another option that was considered was asking the US and the UK, the two countries with the largest population of overseas Indians, to specify the marital status
The proposals will soon be taken up with the Ministry of External Affairs, he said.
The two ministries also agreed on the need for a review of treaties with especially countries such as the US and the UK to ensure that NRI men guilty of deserting or duping their Indian wives are dealt with under Indian laws.
"Irrespective of the citizenship that they have acquired, these men should be recalled to be tried under Indian laws," the official said.
An increasing number of complaints are being received from states like Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala of girls being abandoned or cheated by their NRI husbands. Over 30,000 Indian women have been abandoned in NRI marriages, and of these 15,000 are from the Doaba region of Punjab alone.