New Delhi: In order to make rape laws gender neutral, the government has cleared a proposal to substitute the term “sexual assault” in place of “rape” and widen the scope of the offence in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012, it was announced on Friday.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the proposal for the bill which will be introduced in the parliament in the coming monsoon session.
The age of consent has been raised from 16 years to 18 years in case of sexual assault and the punishment will be minimum seven to 10 years, said officials.
The bill proposes that sexual intercourse by a man with his wife under 16 years of age is not sexual assault.
Provision for enhancement of punishment for making acid attack a specific offence have been made in the bill.
The Law Commission of India in its 172nd Report on Review of Rape Laws as well the National Commission for Women had recommended stringent punishment for the offence of rape.
CCEA approves disinvestment in SAIL: Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the disinvestment of 10.82 per cent equity of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) out of the Union Government shareholding of 85.82 per cent.
The disinvestment is through an Offer of Sale of shares through stock exchanges as per SEBI rules and regulations, an official statement said here.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday evening.
After the disinvestment, the Centre shareholding in the company would come down to 75 per cent, thereby the control of the company remaining with the government.
The paid up equity capital of the company as on March 31, 2012 was Rs 4,130.53 crore.
SAIL is a listed Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise and is the largest domestic steel producing company. It is also engaged in the business of mining, production and marketing of iron and steel.
The government has set a target of Rs 30,000 crore through the sale of 15 PSUs in the current year. (Agencies)