New anti-rape bill in Lok Sabha tomorrow; age of consent raised back to 18

After objections raised by different political parties over lowering the age of consent from 18 to 16 in a proposed anti-rape law, the government has agreed to raise it back to 18, sources said. The government will now a present a new bill which is likely to be tabled in the Lok Sabha tomorrow. At the two all-party meetings today, many political parties raised objections over lowering the age of consent. The BJP and some other parties felt this encourages pre-marital sex, since women have to be at least 18 years old to get married.