Goa govt to make premarital counselling mandatory

Citing rise in the number of divorce cases, the Goa government has decided to come up with a policy to make premarital counselling mandatory.

State Law Minister Nilesh Cabral on Monday said the state government's Goa Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (GIPARD) will finalise the counselling course and its format.

"We are coming up with a new policy to make premarital counselling mandatory in the state. We may also rope in religious institutions for the same," he said.

The decision was taken following a rise in divorce cases reported in Goa, he said.

"Many divorces are taking place within six months to one year of marriage. As a policy, we thought that premarital counselling should be made compulsory to create awareness among couples," Cabral said.

While the minister said he did not have data on the exact number of divorce cases reported each month, he claimed the number has increased in the recent times.