New Delhi, Sept. 19: The government has proposed amending the format for death certificates to include the name of the surviving spouse, principally to enable widows to claim benefits and property even if they lack other documents of the relationship.

The women and child development ministry has sent the proposal to the Registrar General of India, which is expected to notify the amendment soon.

"Currently, the death certificates issued by the local bodies do not name the surviving spouse. This sometimes makes it difficult for a widow to prove her relationship with her dead husband," a senior ministry official said.

"A widow often has to do a lot of running to claim the government benefits due to her or access her husband's savings. The amended form will make the process much easier."

In most countries including India, the death certificate is mandatory for transactions by any family member relating to the property, bank accounts or life insurance policies of the dead. The absence of the widow's name on the certificate makes her vulnerable to abuse, social activists say.

Death certificates in most countries carry the name and details of the surviving spouse. In India, they only carry the names of the dead and their parents.

In America, a death certificate states the name and marital status of the dead, as well as the names of the parents, surviving spouse and the "informant" - the person who informed the municipality or borough of the death and provided the family details.

Ministry sources said the Registrar General would have to work out ways of deterring family members or neighbours from lying about the surviving spouse's name - with a view to cheating her -during the issuance of the death certificate.

"One way could be to demand proof, another to print the informant's name on the death certificate for future reference if a dispute arises," an official said.

Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh International, the NGO mandated by the Supreme Court to look after the welfare of the widows of Vrindavan, lauded the ministry's "historic step".

"Widows are often disowned by their families as soon as their husbands die. If the husband's death certificate carries her name, her signature or thumb impression would be needed to claim any benefits," Pathak said.

Sunanda Shekhar, 65, described her ordeal after her husband's death following a stroke five years ago.

"I had hardly any documents to show I was married to him: those days we didn't have to get marriage certificates. He hadn't mentioned a nominee for his bank accounts, either, because he died relatively young," the homemaker said.

"When the time came for me to operate the bank accounts, I had a huge problem. Had his death certificate identified me as his wife, life would have been a lot easier."

Many people leave the space for nominee blank on the forms for financial transactions; others name their children. In property or insurance matters where the surviving spouse is the automatic beneficiary unless specified otherwise, the lack of documentation often results in a widow getting cheated out of her dues.

Thousands of widows are begging on Vrindavan's streets because their children or relatives stole their property.