New Delhi: A bill proposing a complete ban on commercial surrogacy and allowing only legally wedded Indian couples use the method to become parents was approved on Wednesday by the government to check unethical practices.

The Union Cabinet gave its nod to the introduction of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 in Parliament, seeking to ban unmarried couples, single parents, live-in partners and homosexuals from opting for surrogacy.

The move is aimed at curbing unethical practices in a country which was emerging as a hub of commercial surrogacy.

The bill has a provision for a jail term of up to ten years and a fine of Rs1 million (Dh54,778) for violations such as abandoning the child and opting for commercial surrogacy.

“The new bill proposes a complete ban on commercial surrogacy in the country and will allow only legally wedded Indian couples [who are] married for at least five years to have children through surrogacy.

“Foreigners as well as NRIs [non-resident Indians] and PIOs [Person of Indian Origin] who hold Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards have been barred from opting for surrogacy,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told reporters after the meeting.

“Unmarried couples, single parents, live-in partners and homosexuals cannot opt for surrogacy as per the bill. Legally wedded couples who have been married for at least five years can opt for surrogacy,” she said.

Besides this, as per the bill only “close relatives” of couples seeking children will be allowed to be surrogate mothers. And a woman who offers her womb for the purpose will be able to do so once.

The woman wanting a child through the method will be the mother as per the proposed law. There is a provision under the measure for a contract to clear any ambiguity.

Only altruistic surrogacy will be allowed in a regulated form with some condition, the bill said.

A woman seeking a surrogate child should be between 23 and 50 years in age and her husband should be between 26 and 55 years.

A child born through the process will have the same rights as a biological or adopted child over property, Swaraj said.

Moreover, the surrogate mother should be married and have borne a healthy child before.

Swaraj said with India having more than 2,000 surrogacy clinics, there was a need to regulate the practice and only altruistic surrogacy will be allowed as per the bill.

The bill comes in the wake of India emerging as a surrogacy hub for couples and incidents being reported on unethical practices.

It also seeks to set up national surrogacy board at the central level as well as in states and Union territories.

The bill, which will come up for consideration in Parliament during the Winter Session, aims to safeguard the rights of surrogate mothers and make parentage of such children legal.