Minimum age of marriage for women

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that the Centre will decide on the recommendations of a committee set up to reconsider the minimum age of marriage for women.
The minimum age of marriage, especially for women, has been a contentious issue.
The Union Ministry for Women and Child Development set up a committee in June, headed by Jaya Jaitley, to examine matters pertaining to age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering Maternal Mortality Ratio and the improvement of nutritional levels among women.
Currently, the law prescribes that the minimum age of marriage is 21 and 18 years for men and women, respectively.
The minimum age of marriage is distinct from the age of majority, which is gender-neutral.
An individual attains the age of majority at 18 as per the Indian Majority Act, 1875.
For Hindus, Section 5(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955sets 18 years as the minimum age for the bride and 21 years as the minimum age for the groom. Child marriages are not illegal but can be declared void at the request of the minor in the marriage.
In Islam, the marriage of a minor who has attained puberty is considered valid under personal law.
The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 also prescribe 18 and 21 years as the minimum age of consent for marriage for women and men respectively.