The Ministry of Women and Child Development is planning to do away with age bars for widows appearing in competitive examinations for government jobs. The proposal, which has been sent to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), says women with requisite educational qualifications should be free from age bar. It also calls for removing the limit in Public Sector Undertakings (PSU). According to 2011 census, widow population in India has increased. When India’s population in the same year was 121 crore, widows accounted for 5.6 crore (4.6 per cent), with women outnumbering men. Experts feel the increase in life expectancy of women is the main reason for the jump in the widowed population. It is a global phenomenon that women live longer than men, and in India too, it is catching up since the 1990s. Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has announced plans to build a major widows’ home in Vrindavan to house 1,000 women. The ministry is also implementing a shelter-based rehabilitation scheme called Swadhar for women in difficult circumstances, beneficiaries of which would include widows deserted by their families and relatives.