The Union Cabinet had cleared the ordinance for death penalty for child rapists.New Delhi:  Today, President Ram Nath Kovind has signed the executive order to pave way for providing stringent punishment, including death penalty, for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years.

The Union Cabinet on Saturday at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the ordinance and was waiting for the President's approval.

The changes were cleared by the government amid nationwide anger triggered by gory details of the gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua.

President Ram Nath Kovind signs executive order for stringent punishment, including death penalty, for child rape: news agency PTIDeath sentence has been provided for rapists of girls under 12 years.In case of rape of a girl under 16 years, the minimum punishment has been increased from 10 years to 20 yearsThe minimum punishment in case of rape of women has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of seven years to 10 years.The centre said rape probes and trials cannot take more than two months each.The centre signed off on an ordinance, or emergency executive order, to introduce capital punishment for child rapists on Saturday.It is seen as an effort to signal the government's commitment to fight sexual crimes against young girls.