NEW DELHI, Dec. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- India ranks a poor 106th among 127 nations in its educational reach, according to UNESCO's GlobalMonitoring Report for 2005, parliament was informed Monday.

    In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of parliament), Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh said the Education for All Development Index of India was 0.658 in the 2003-4 Global Monitoring Report with only 21 countries below it, the Indo-Asian News Service reported.

    Singh said steps such as a constitutional amendment to ensure free and compulsory education as a fundamental right for children of age six to 14 years, and the "Education for All" program were aimed at remedying the poor state of affairs.

    About 35 percent of Indians still cannot read or write, and more than half the country's women remain illiterate. Enditem