Central Industrial Security Force jawans today allegedly opened fire on villagers who stoned them when asked not to collect money from IISCO Steel Plant-bound trucks at Burnpur. Ramesh Bauri, 23, took a bullet in his stomach. At the Asansol Subdivisional Hospital, his condition was said to be critical. An officer of the force claimed that the jawans had fired in the air but police said Bauri was injured in the CISF firing. A...

Chakrabarti added that accreditation is required as the number of consultants in the business is increasing rapidly Consultants who carry out studies on the impact of an industrial or infrastructure project on the environment will now need to be registered and accredited with the ministry of environment. The move is aimed at improving the quality and integrity of so-called environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports and the ministry has said that after June,...

The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act was billed to be a giant leap towards universalization of education in India. However, it has acquired the dubious distinction of being the only fundamental right that exists just on paper. More than seven years after the Constitution was amended in 2002 to make free and compulsory education to children in the age group of 6-14 a fundamental right and over four...

Sri Lankan journalists suffered worst by all standards Tendency to sell news space for trivia grew in India A dozen journalists were killed in South Asia — most of them in conflict situations — during the year which also saw the media come under strain due to “over-commercialisation, monopolisation and excessive political clout.” Taking stock of the circumstances under which the media functioned this year, the South Asia Media Monitor for 2009...

PRIMARY SCHOOLING: I Pratichi Trust (India) was established a decade ago, along with its sister across the border, Pratichi Trust (Bangladesh) [1]. The Bangladesh centre has been concentrating on the social progress of girls and young women there (it has worked particularly on supporting and training young women journalists reporting from rural Bangladesh), whereas here in India, the work of the Trust has been mainly focused on advancing primary education...