India and three other emerging economies have asked the rich countries to take an increased level of emission cuts so that a legally-binding treaty can be inked latest by next year. During a meeting in Cape Town, the environment ministers of BASIC group comprising India, China, Brazil and South Africa favoured legally binding global agreements. <br/><br/>They said, its absence would hurt the developing nations more than the rich countries. A joint statement issued by the bloc after the meeting said, the emphasis on equity as a decisive factor for reaching any climate agreement suggests the BASIC nations' determination not to dilute the Kyoto Protocol and take up any binding emission cut as have been sought by the developed nations. India was represented at the meeting by Enviornment Minister Jairam Ramesh.<br/>