The Opposition has slammed the government over the Copenhagen Accord, saying the document betrays developing nations, and has  compromised India's interests. In a lengthy speech in Parliament this morning, the BJP's Arun Jaitley said the Copenhagen Accord helps developed countries avoid the commitments they made under the Kyoto Protocol. Jaitley also said the  Copenhagen Accord permits international scrutiny of India's actions to deal with global warming, something that the government had...

How much ground India conceded at the climate summit will depend on which of two sets of words packed in a single sentence of the Copenhagen Accord dominate in the negotiations ahead, experts have said. The Copenhagen Accord indicates that actions by developing countries to curb emissions of greenhouse gases would be open to interna tional consultations and analysis. India has in the past asserted — as articulated by environment...

A report card from Pratichi Trust on the primary schooling scene in West Bengal Pratichi Trust (India) was established a decade ago, along with Pratichi Trust (Bangladesh). The latter has been concentrating on the social progress of girls and young women: it has worked particularly on supporting and training young women journalists reporting from rural Bangladesh. In India, the work has mainly focussed on advancing primary education and elementary health care,...

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...

Referring to China in 1947, Nehru declared, “A new star has risen in the eastern horizon,” and some years later predicted, “If you peer into the future, the obvious fourth country in the world is India.” One of the countries he had in mind has disappeared, and he did not imagine that the emergence of India and China on the global stage would lead to mutual friction. The Chinese are...