The RTI Act has caught the imagination of people and the way it has spread is appreciated and admired around the world. A great change has come in India in the last decade in the power equation bet
It would take another five years to make it mandatory for the ministries to adopt the e-office technology. This was disclosed by Devendra Chaudhary, secretary, department of administrative reforms
Major findings from the aggregated statistics: Trends in RTI statistics reporting: Only 2,030 public authorities under the government of India regis
There is a very disturbing news report about the entire political spectrum agreeing that RTI is misused and some constrictions and impediments should be developed to muzzle it. This is indeed a sad
The Public Affairs Centre, a not for profit organisation, assessed states and union territories using data available in the public domain in key areas of governance and came out with ‘Public
The cabinet secretariat has issued a circular asking ministries and departments to disclose monthly reports of work done by them. Acting on a central information commission (CIC) dec
The Lokpal law that was enacted after decades of debate and demand for an anti-corruption institution was dealt a severe blow as an amendment bill was introduced and passed by parliament in l
Justice TS Thakur, Chief justice of India. Dear Sir, I am writing this letter in the spirit of seeking an improvement in the working of the judiciary, and not as an exe
Bhupendra Vira, a 60-year old RTI activist, was killed in cold blood in Mumbai. His chilling murder shows the severity of threat faced by RTI activists across the country, with those being exposed
As many as 1,87,974 right to information (RTI) cases in the 16 information commissions were pending till December 2015, reveals a study. While there is a logjam in the disposal of appeals and compl
The political parties can receive donation of only Rs 2000 from anonymous sources. This was announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech. This constitutes a majo
The J&K Right to Information Act (J&K
"Another one bites the dust, another one bites the dust uh.. and another one, and another one". Apro dikro (our lad) Freddie Mercury`s hit song from the 1980s is in real danger of b
With the help of Right to Information (RTI), the common man not only has the right to know, but also the right to question those in power. This is the foundation of democracy,” said p
The functioning of a national commission, be it NHRC, NCSC or NCST, depends on its head. Being the chief information commissioner (CIC), what is your vision for CIC? And what
Ever since the Reserve Bank of India-appointed P J Nayak Committee submitted a report blaming RTI as one of the constraints on the governance of public sector banks (PS Banks) in May 2014, Commonwe
I am reminded of what my teacher had told me in school: “When a society wishes to blatantly show how unjust it can be, it will crucify the best.” On June 13 when I heard about the convi
What is the role of CVC in curbing corruption and black money? Unlike many things in life, corruption is not episodic. It is not possible to talk of a completely corrupti
After the Narendra Modi government was formed in 2014, a series of measures have been introduced, like the legislative initiatives of amendments in the Prevention of Corruption Act, which are very
On February 8, 2018, V. Vijaysai Reddy, MP (YSR Congress) of Andhra Pradesh asked the prime minister in the Rajya Sabha about the existence of the CIC`s order, the Cabinet Secretariat`s circu
The Right to Information (RTI), used efficiently, could have helped activists and bankers expose irregularities much before they snowballed into full-fledged scams – the one at Punjab Nationa
Could RTI have saved banks from scams?
During his reply on the Motion of Thanks to the Address of the President of India, in the Lok Sabha on February 7, prime minister Narendra Modi compared his government`s efforts to curb corruption
India is faring worse and worse on Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perception Index’: the latest for 2017 shows India ranking a poor 81 (placed between Ghana and Morocco)
There is considerable discontent amongst RTI users against the information commissions and commissioners for not delivering the fruits of the RTI Act. We have a law which directly empowers individu
When it was launched on October 12, 2005, the Right to Information Act ushered in a revolution, empowering common citizens to ask questions on a range of government activities and seek accountabili
Fifteen years back, the Right To Information (RTI) Act became operational on October 12, 2005. It was the auspicious day of Vijayadashmi. It appeared to herald a new evolution in Indian democracy.
The Supreme Court declared the Electoral Bonds (EB) scheme unconstitutional on February 15 and ordered the Election Commission of India (ECI) to provide the names of individuals and business entiti
