New brides should avoid talking too much on their mobile phones early on in marriage in case it provokes jealousy from their husbands, an Indian state has advised.

The Punjab State Commission for Women in an official advisory urged brides "to focus on their domestic life instead of having long conversations on mobile phones," according to Agence France-Presse.

Commission head Gurdev Kaur Sangha said Monday: "I found that almost 40 per cent of women consider seeking a divorce on the grounds that her husband and in-laws do not like her talking on mobile phones."

Suggesting that "small adjustments" help to build a solid foundation for a marriage, Sangha, 70, from Chandigarh, the state capital of Punjab, continued: "Most husbands said their wives are always on the phone and they doubted their character as they suspected them of talking to ex-boyfriends."

According to AFP, Sangha said a rise in complaints from women about domestic violence and sexual harassment was due to brides being constantly on the phone.

The advisory said most newly-married women were actually ringing their parents not former boyfriends, but warned that passing on hourly updates about their new home was damaging.