The Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday corrected its April 5 circular, which stated that children born to a single woman or whose father is not known would be provided the birth certificate with the surname of the mother's parents.

The correction comes after the circular issued to local registrars by the Department of National ID and Civil Registration drew strong public criticism.

The revised version of the circular issued on April 9 says the mother’s surname at the time of childbirth and her own address would be used for the purpose of registering the birth of such children. Rudra Prasad Pandit, the department’s director general, issued the revised version.

“Keeping the role of a mother, who gives birth, in high regards, the new circular has made the provision stated in the constitution clearer in order to protect the right of naming and birth registration of each child as per their own identity,” reads the notice.

The corrected circular states that in cases wherein children are living with their divorced mothers and children who are born to women serving prison time, they will be provided citizenship on the basis of their mother’s address at the time of their birth.