Question

what is the punishment of Rape in India?

Answer 1

No fixed punishment, may range from a short term (7 years) to life imprisonment to even capital punishment.

Answer 2

Considering the punishments meted out in other countries, India is too soft on convicts. In fact, before 2013, rape was not considered a major crime. The highest degree of punishment that could be given to the convict was imprisonment for seven years This was possible only when the culprit was arrested and proved guilty.
After the Nirbhaya incident, the Parliament passed the Anti-rape Bill. Now, an act of rape is liable to life-long imprisonment and even death penalty in extreme cases. According to the new law, not only rape but other acts like sexual harassment, molestation, acid attacks, stalking and voyeurism are also liable to stringent punishments. The new law has the provision of awarding minimum 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, which can extended to life imprisonment to those found guilty of gang-rape.
Out of the six men arrested in the infamous Nirbhaya rape case of December 2012, four of the accused adults were awarded death penalty in March 2014. It took almost two-and-half years for the judiciary to give the verdict.