India

The Law Commission in India is not in favor of reducing the age of consensual sexual intercourse from 18 years to 16 years under the POCSO Act.

In its 283rd report submitted to the Government of India, the Law Commission has said that the consequences of reducing the age of mutual consent from 18 years to 16 years will not be right.

The Law Commission has said that this will make it easier for adults to have sexual relations with a minor even if the minor consents to it.

This will also impact the ongoing campaign against child marriage and child trafficking. Also, this will make it more difficult for the investigating agencies to investigate against those accused of child sex crimes.

Currently in India, the age for consensual sexual intercourse is 18 years.

The Law Commission says that in an era when incidents of sexual crimes and luring crimes against children in cyberspace are increasing, reducing the age for consensual sexual intercourse can have extremely fatal consequences.

According to World Population Review, there is no age limit for consensual sexual intercourse in countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Libya etc.

According to the World Population Review, the age of consensual sexual intercourse is 11 years in Nigeria, 12 years in the Philippines, 14 years in Germany, 15 years in Thailand, 16 years in Japan, 17 years in Mexico, 18 years in India and 20 years in Nepal.

The Madras High Court has upheld the lower court's decision to convict 215 people in the case of sexual harassment of women and atrocities on tribal people in Vachathi village in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Forest department and police department employees are also among those convicted in this case.

The accused are accused of misbehaving with the people of the village during the raid against sandalwood smuggling.

The Madras High Court on Friday, September 29, 2023, rejected the appeal filed by Dharmapuri against the lower court's decision.

In this decision, 215 people found guilty were sentenced to jail ranging from one year to ten years.

According to the report of news agency PTI, on Friday, September 29, 2023, Justice P Velmurugan also directed to immediately give compensation of Rs 10 lakh to 18 female victims of sexual harassment.

This incident in Dharmapuri had shocked the entire Tamil Nadu.

Justice P Velmurugan has also said in his decision that if a victim has died then the compensation amount should be given to his family.

"Action should be taken against the District Magistrate, District SP and District Forest Officer and the government should compensate the affected families."

The victims' lawyer said that the court has also ordered to recover Rs 5 lakh from the rape accused.

In this case, Dharmapuri court had convicted 126 forest department employees in 2011.

Of these, four officers were from the Indian Forest Service, 84 people were police employees, five were people from the Revenue Department.

The investigation of this incident of 1992 was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Out of 269 accused in this case, 54 died during the trial.

12 accused in the case were sentenced to ten years in jail, five to seven years and the rest to one to three years in jail.

Violence and protests have again intensified in the capital Imphal after the death of two Meitei students, missing since July 2023, was confirmed in the Indian state of Manipur.

On Wednesday, 27 September 2023, a large number of people took to the streets and tried to attack the house of a leader in Imphal. They set a police vehicle on fire and beat up a policeman and snatched his weapon.

Manipur Police issued a statement on the night of Wednesday, September 27, 2023, saying, "An unruly mob tried to attack the house of a leader, security forces dispersed the mob by firing tear gas shells. The uncontrollable mob targeted a police gypsy and burnt it, while a policeman was assaulted and his weapon snatched away."

"Manipur Police condemns such actions and will take strict action to deal with such miscreants. A combing operation is being conducted to recover weapons and arrest the miscreants."

In view of the situation, the relaxation in curfew in Imphal has been stopped and curfew has been completely implemented.

Earlier, Manipur Police had said that after the news of the death of two students, violent protests have increased and the police is trying to control the protesters by using "minimum force", but some people have been injured in this attempt.

Police said in their statement, "The miscreants in the crowd used pieces of iron and stones (marbles) on the security forces. In retaliation, security forces used minimum force to disperse the crowd and fired tear gas shells, injuring some people."

This statement from the police came when allegations were being made that the security forces had used pellet guns on the protesters.

Apart from this, on Wednesday, 27 September 2023, the duration of "Armed Forces Special Powers Act" i.e. AFSPA has been extended for the next six months in the hilly areas of Manipur.

However, 19 police stations of Imphal Valley have been kept out of this purview.

The Manipur government issued a notification on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, saying, "The Governor of Manipur is of the opinion that due to the violent activities of various extremist insurgent groups, civil administration in the entire State of Manipur except the areas falling under the jurisdiction of 19 police stations. Therefore, the Governor is hereby approved to declare the entire State of Manipur, except the areas falling under the jurisdiction of 19 police stations, as 'disturbed area' for a period of six months from 1st October, 2023."

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud is on a state visit to India after the G20 conference held in Delhi.

During this, he held a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in Delhi.

After the meeting, the Crown Prince said, "There have been no disagreements throughout the history of this (India-Saudi Arabia) relationship, today we are working on future opportunities... I would like to thank India for its management of the G20 summit. I congratulate the many initiatives that have been achieved, including the Economic Corridor connecting the Middle East, India and Europe, it is important that we work diligently to build it."

The Crown Prince is on a three-day visit to New Delhi and met PM Modi on Monday, 11 September 2023, after the G20 summit that ended on Sunday, 10 September 2023.

Earlier in February 2019, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had visited India, this is his second state visit.

During the G20 in India, an agreement has been signed to build an economic and rail corridor between India-Middle-East-Europe. This agreement is being considered as an effort to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative.

A bilateral meeting was held between Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud at Hyderabad House, Delhi.

After this meeting, PM Modi said that this meeting will take the relations between the two countries to a new dimension.

He said, “We are adding new and modern dimensions to our relations. Saudi Arabia is one of the important strategic partners for India. As the world's two fastest-growing economies, our partnership is vital to the peace of the entire region. During our meeting with the Crown Prince, we identified a number of initiatives to take our partnership to the next level. This meeting will give new direction and new energy to our relations."

PM Modi said, "India has taken a historic start in establishing a corridor between West Asia and Europe. This will not only connect two countries but will also strengthen economic cooperation, energy development and digital connectivity between Europe and Asia. Crown Prince, I heartily congratulate you on the rapid progress Saudi Arabia is making under your Vision 2030."

The Crown Prince is on a three-day visit to New Delhi and met PM Modi during his state visit on Monday, 11 September 2023, following the G20 Summit that ended on Sunday, 10 September 2023.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had reached Rashtrapati Bhavan for the formal welcome ceremony. Here he was welcomed by the President of India Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is on a trip to Europe, has talked about the discussion on the name Bharat-India, minorities and democracy.

Rahul Gandhi shared a video on Sunday, September 10, 2023, in which he is seen talking to students at Sciences Po University in Paris.

Regarding the discussions about changing the name of India, Rahul Gandhi said that those who want to change the name want to deny history.

Rahul Gandhi said, “Both names are there in the Constitution. Both the words India and Bharat are acceptable. It is possible that when we named our alliance after India, the government got a little irritated and has now decided to change the name of the country. You can understand how things are going.”

Gandhi said, "We always give some name to our alliance. But it serves no purpose, but people react in strange ways. There is something deeper than what meets the eye."

Rahul Gandhi said, "India has been defined in the Constitution as 'India' i.e. 'India is a union of states'. The voices of the people of these states have to be heard and there is no need to suppress or intimidate any voice. And the institutions and structures that protect this voice are the most important thing to protect and preserve it."

He said, "I have read Geeta, Upanishads and many scriptures of Hindu religion but there is nothing Hindu in what BJP is doing."

Rahul Gandhi said, “When we use the word democracy, we are actually talking about the voice of the common man. As our great leader Mahatma Gandhi had said, the most important voice is that of the last person standing in the queue."

In response to a question regarding Dalits and minorities in India, Rahul Gandhi said that 'this is the biggest problem of India.'

He said, "There is a need to fight this. BJP and RSS are trying their best to stop the voice and participation of Dalits, tribals, backward classes and minorities. If Dalits, Muslims, upper castes or any person is attacked, I do not want such an India."

Rahul said, "We have to ensure that those who have done whatever they have done should be punished for their actions because those who think of doing this should also feel that they have to pay the price for attacking the soul of India."

US President Joe Biden, who came to participate in the G20 summit, reached Rajghat, the mausoleum of Mahatma Gandhi in Delhi, on Sunday, September 10, 2023, before leaving for Vietnam and paid tribute to him.

US President Joe Biden has thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking him to Rajghat in a tweet.

On Sunday, September 10, 2023, PM Modi reached the mausoleum of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in Delhi with the guests coming for the G20 conference.

President Biden wrote on social media platform X, "The partnership between India and America is rooted in Mahatma Gandhi's trusteeship principle. Trusteeship is a shared value between our countries and is also important for our common planet (Earth)."

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, "Thank you, Prime Minister, for bringing us here today."

After attending the G20 summit, President Biden went to Vietnam on Sunday, September 10, 2023.

Bilateral talks took place between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

During this, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his concerns about the ongoing 'anti-India activities' in Canada.

India's PIB has issued a statement according to which, "PM Modi expressed deep concern to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau about the continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada."

PM Modi told PM Trudeau, "They are promoting separatism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats." They are damaging diplomatic premises and threatening the Indian community and their religious places in Canada.

"These forces have links to organized crime, drug syndicates and human trafficking and should be a matter of concern to Canada," the statement said. To deal with these threats, cooperation between the two countries is necessary.

PM Modi also said that mutual respect and trust is very important to take forward the relationship between India and Canada.

Pro-Khalistan elements have held several anti-India demonstrations in Canada during the last few months. Recently, India had summoned the High Commissioner of Canada in New Delhi after posters, propaganda materials and threats to Indian diplomats were found against such elements.

India and America have resolved their last dispute on the issue of poultry products in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

According to the report of news agency PTI, with this both the countries have resolved with mutual consent all the seven trade disputes pending in the World Trade Organization.

Both countries have also issued a joint statement which said, "Both countries welcomed the settlement of the seventh and final dispute pending between India and the United States in the WTO. Settlement of six bilateral trade disputes in June, 2023 This happened after.

This joint statement has been issued by both the countries after the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in Delhi.

President Joe Biden is visiting India for two days for the G-20 summit.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, during a press conference in Brussels on Friday, September 8, 2023, has clearly stated why he and his party criticize Adani.

Rahul Gandhi said, "We have no problem with the private or government sector. What we have a problem with is when one or two people start controlling the entire country financially."

Along with this, Rahul Gandhi has accused the Narendra Modi government at the Center in India of targeting the MSME sector.

These days, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is on a Europe tour in which he is reaching many countries like Netherlands, Belgium and France.

In this connection, Rahul Gandhi participated in a press conference in the Belgian capital Brussels on Friday, 8 September 2023.

Rahul Gandhi's party Congress and he himself has been critical of the Adani Group and its alleged close ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rahul Gandhi said, "Our problem with Adani ji is that he controls ports, airports, agriculture, grain warehouses, real estate and cement business. This is not good for India."

Rahul Gandhi said, ''Government policies have systematically targeted the MSME sector, which is the backbone of our employment system. Our problem with Adani is that he controls ports, airports, agriculture, grain warehouses, real estate and cement business."

Rahul Gandhi said, "This is not beneficial for India. On one hand, BJP is promoting a monopoly model. On the other hand, it is destroying the MSME sector which creates jobs. Due to this, an employment crisis is arising."

The Congress party has been demanding for a long time to investigate the allegations leveled against the Adani group by forming a JPC in Parliament.

However, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not openly talked about these allegations.