A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievance, Law and Justice has recommended reducing the age for contesting Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to 18 years.
It is the minimum age of voting in India.
It said that the viewpoint for reducing the age was reinforced by a vast amount of evidence, such as global practices, the increasing political consciousness among young people, and the advantages of youth representation.
However, this view was contested by the Election Commission of India.
It has found that it is unrealistic to expect 18-year-olds to possess the necessary experience and maturity for these responsibilities.
India’s age of consent for sex is set at 18 years under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, regardless of gender.
In 1892, the marital rape and subsequent death of a 10-year-old girl, Phulmoni Dasi, caused the age of consent to be raised from 10 to 12 years.
In 1949, it was raised to 16 years after agitation from women’s groups about the adverse effect of early pregnancy.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, of 2013 increased the legally permissible age for sexual consent from 16 to 18.