Currently, the age of consent in India for personal laws, is eighteen years for females and twenty-one years for male. Government is also proposing to increase the age of consent for females, from 18 to 21, equal to males.
Read our comprehensive article on anomalies in consent age and consequence of that– Burden of Young Mothers- The evil of child marriage and loopholes in law
The age of consent has been subjected to increase more than once in India. The historical development may, for convenience, be indicated in the form of a chart as follows: –
| Year | Age of consent under section 375, 5th clause IPC | Age mentioned in the exception to section 375, IPC | Minimum age of marriage under ‘Child marriage restraint act, 1929’ |
| 1860 | 10 years | 10 years | ——- |
| 1891 (after the amendment of I.P.C. | 12 years | 12 years | ——– |
| 1925 (after the amendment of I.P.C.) | 14 years | 13 years | ——— |
| 1929 (after the passing of the Child Marriage Act) | 14 years | 13 years | 14 years |
| 1940 (after the amendment of the Penal Code and the Child Marriage Act) | 16 years | 15 years | 15 years |
| 1978 | 16 years | 15 years | 18 years |
| At current | 18 years | 15 years | 18 female, 21 male |