NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry has started the process of amending rules for issue of PAN card so that single women can obtain it for their children without mentioning the name of their ex-husbands, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said Wednesday.
In July, Gandhi had written to then interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal suggesting that kids of separated or divorced women or those adopted by single mothers must be given the option of dropping the name of their father.
"I am happy to know that the Finance Ministry has started the process of amending PAN Card Regulation so that single women can obtain PAN Card for their children without mentioning name of ex husband," she said in a tweet.
Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a unique 10-digit alphanumeric identity that the Income Tax department allots to each tax payer.
Currently, it is compulsory for an applicant to mention the name of his/her father while applying for the card, which also serves as an identity proof.
In her July 6 letter to Goyal, the WCD Minister had said, "Keeping in view the sensitivity of such single mothers, it is important to give them the option of not having to mention the names of their ex-husbands on the statutory applications before different government authorities.
"Besides this, single women are also adopting children and my ministry is giving priority for such cases. In such cases, there is no father of the child whose PAN number is being requested for," she added.