# Rajya sabha

• The centre told parliament on Wednesday that it has no plan to reduce the age of consent for sex in consensual relationships.
• The response gains significance as it firmly puts forth the government’s position in the ongoing debate.
• On December 11, Chief justice of India DY Chandrachud has urged the legislature to take into consideration a growing concern about the age of consent under the POCSO act.
• The POCSO act, 2012 enacted to safeguard children from sexual abuse and sexual abuses, clearly defines a child as any person below the age of 18 years.

# Social progress index

• In 313 districts of the country more than 20% of women aged 20-24 were married before 18 years.
• Social progress index for states and districts shows that across 15 districts, more than 50% of women are married by the age of 18 among women in the age group of 20-24 years years.
• These 15 districts belong to states like West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar pradesh, Tripura, Assam and Jharkhand.
• The report points out that states like West Bengal, Bihar and Tripura have the highest percentage of women married before 18 years at 41.6, 40.8 and 40.1 respectively.

# Road accidents

• Tamil nadu recorded the sharpest increase in road deaths in 2021 while states including Uttar pradesh, haryana, Karnataka and Jharkhand recorded a drop in the number of such fatalities compared to the pre pandemic year of 2019, according to the latest government data.
• The other states that saw increase in fatalities were Maharashtra, Madhya pradesh, Andhra pradesh, Telangana and Bihar.
• India signed the global declaration to cut road deaths by 50% by 2030.

# Solar exports

• Indian solar modules exports have jumped sharply driven mostly by rising shipments to the US after Washington’s ban on import if items suspected to have been made using forced labour left supplies from China stranded.
• India exported modules worth $157 million during the July September period against exports worth over $21 million in the same period a year ago.