New Delhi , India ( CNN ) -- Caste and religion are potential headings on matrimonial columns of Sunday newspapers . At times , matchmaking classifieds profile mystical birth-chart defects of the candidates . In India , marriages are solemnized as a well-guarded union . But the country has now moved to at least unshackle divorce . Officials Friday announced measures to stem delays in seeking an early end to failed alliances . India 's federal cabinet approved `` irretrievable breakdown of marriage '' as a ground for couples to part ways , information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni told reporters . Under original Hindu marriage laws , both estranged partners have to appear at court proceedings for settlement of their lawsuit for divorce by consent . But it 's not uncommon for a petitioner to skip tribunal dates deliberately in order to keep the case dragging in India 's notoriously sluggish legal system , authorities acknowledge . `` This has been causing considerable hardship to the party in dire need of divorce , '' Soni said . Officials believe the new legislation , now due for clearance by parliament , will eliminate harassment of either party in the case and abuse of the existing law on dissolving marriages . There was no official data on divorces immediately available , but matchmakers say four in 100 marriages fail in India . With the country transforming into a modern economic powerhouse , divorce is increasingly seen as an acceptable way out of unsatisfying relationships . `` Divorce does n't seem to be biased any more . It 's uniform among all castes , cities and income groups , '' said Vivek Pahwa , the head of SecondShaadi.com , a marriage bureau for second-timers . Pahwa 's portal aims at India 's internet-using divorcees , widows and widowers . More than one-fourth of his clients , he says , are women , especially in jobs . `` It 's reflection of financial independence , '' he said . He was referring to a growing number of Indian women joining the workforce who he says refuse to remain trapped in unwanted marriages . Indian laws allow limited one-sided separation . Cruelty and desertion can serve as a premise for seeking divorce without consent . Separately , the country has harsh laws to protect women , such as in cases of physical torture over dowries . But data shows a surge in crimes against women . Police across India registered 195,856 crimes against women in 2008 , up from 140,601 in 2003 , according to the National Crime Records Bureau .
India seeks to speed divorces . Recommend0 New law adds `` irretrievable breakdown ''