Father name plea

TT & PTI, New Delhi, April 16 : Union women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi has written to HRD minister Prakash Javadekar urging him to change a rule that requires father's name to be mandatorily mentioned on a student's degree certificate, following concerns raised by single mothers.

Last year, at the behest of Maneka, the external affairs ministry had revised its passport application rules and announced that the name of only one parent, and not both, was enough, enabling single parents to apply for passports for their children.

Maneka, in her letter to Javadekar, explained that "breakdown of marriages and separation between husband and wife is now a reality" and the rules must reflect this.