Political parties have a predictable attitude when it comes to transparency: that it is a very good thing and it must apply to everybody – other than us. It was of course a political party th
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
One of the justifications for Aadhaar, the unique identity project, was to provide an authorised identification to people who did not have any. In India, a vast number of people, it is believed, do
After nine months of wait the sense of relief is going to last just for six months. This is the story of new central information commissioner, whose functions have a bearing on the transparency and
What has been termed as imaginative and somewhat bold, the Telangana government’s maiden industrial policy comes with a unique feature — Right to Clearance for industrial projects, whic
The Chief information commissioner (CIC) of India will soon have a new office complex in New Delhi. The CIC has been allotted land for a building at the old JNU Campus. The building will be constru
Lalit Modi show is running like a Indian serials on televisions, long and tedious with same repetitive dialogues. Now, this week’s episodes may focus on a RTI query. The ministry of external
The supreme court on Thursday said that privacy should be respected and declined to provide information about judges medical expenses. The court held that the medical expenses incurr
The supreme court on Tuesday issued notices to the government and election commission on a plea seeking to bring political parties under RTI (right to information act). The petition
Terming information commission’s ruling as ‘a very liberal interpretation’ and ‘erroneous conclusion that political parties are public authorities under the RTI Act’,
Dear Arvind, I am writing this open letter to you, since both of us have worked together in the RTI movement and have insisted on transparency in all public matters.
The right to question the government is the essence of right to information act also, said prime minister Narendra Modi today. He described the RTI act as a "tool through which the common man
In 2010, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) formed a committee called the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP). Its objectives were clear: the panel was to assess the ecological s
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today addresses a combined commanders` conference onboard the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya off the Kochi coast. The Combined Commanders` Conference is an annual th
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today addresses a combined commanders` conference onboard the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya off the Kochi coast. The Combined Commanders` Conference is an annual th
India is expected to announce its decision today on foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan. They are scheduled to be held tomorrow. The government deferred its decision last night after the de
Major findings from the aggregated statistics: Trends in RTI statistics reporting: Only 2,030 public authorities under the government of India regis
The proportion of rejection of RTI applications was quite high in banks that had reported large volumes of net non-performing assets (NPAs) in 2014-15. Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Baroda and Cana
Amidst uproar in parliament over corruption in the AgustaWestland chopper deal and BJP MP Subramanian Swamy’s attack on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, another twist in the tale has emerged. In
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
Even as the country reels under severe drought, information secured by Greenpeace through RTI suggests that the government is willing to overlook the policy meant to protect pristine forests,
According to a recent news report published by a prominent national daily, some newly elected MLAs in West Bengal were being required by their leaders to sign an oath of allegiance to their politic
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
It was a four-year battle between 73-year-old Sumitra Devi and the Delhi government. Her struggle began when the local administration abruptly stopped her monthly widow pension in 2012. Delhi&rsq
Bhanwarlal belongs to a dalit family in Nimora village in Bassi tehsil of Jaipur. The village is dominated by brahmins, baniyas and khatris; it has only a handful of dalit families. Nimora has only
It was in 2011 that the demand for an effective anti-corruption and grievance redress legislative framework gripped the nation. Five years hence people of the country are still awaiting the instr
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
Anyone else would have thrown up their hands in despair on seeing over seven lakh right to information (RTI) applications at Maharashtra’s exceedingly busy information commission, but
September 28 is observed as the International Right to Know Day. This year, it marks five years since the launch of the RTI Rating, a comparative assessment of national legal frameworks for
India`s Right to Information Act (RTI Act) will enter the 12th year of implementation on October 12. Under the law, all information commissions (ICs) established are obligated to report on the i
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
Hard cash is not free. In fact, the Rs 10 note costs between 70 paise and Rs 1.12 to print. An RTI response on the printing cost of currency notes has revealed that dif
India’s Right to Information (RTI) Act is rated as the third best in the world as far as its provisions go but its rating for implementation and actual transparency ranks India at number 66.
The central information commission (CIC) has introduced an e-court software which would help in speedy disposal of appeals and complaints. The system offers online filing of appeals, complain
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
While presenting the budget, the finance minister made an announcement about making donations to political parties more transparent. If the proposals to amend the relevant laws are approved by parl
The J&K Right to Information Act (J&K
If you are an RTI activist or someone who intends to use RTI to expose any wrongdoing, then a new set of proposed rules should leave you very worried. It says that the proceedi
The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has published a `factual position` about the content of the Draft Right to Information Rules, 2017 that seek to replace the existing RTI Ru
"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
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
Readers will recollect the dastardly attack on CRPF personnel that occurred in Chhattisgarh on April 24, 2017. Left-wing extremist (LWE) groups attacked a team of 90 CRPF personnel who were sanit
Dengue cases in Mumbai have increased by a whopping 265% from 2013-2017, said a report which added that almost 18 people have died every day from tuberculosis (TB) in 2016-17. Accor
Prime minister Narendra Modi said in parliament in February that the government has saved Rs 14,000 crore by eliminating 3.95 crore bogus ration cards using technology and Aadhaar in last two and h
In 2007, Shyamlal Yadav, then a senior journalist with India Today magazine, decided to use the RTI law, enacted only two years ago, to find out the details of foreign trips made by union ministers
Two positions of information commissioners are lying vacant for a year, said an RTI activist who pointed out that there is delay in appointment despite the huge pendency in cases. T
We recently witnessed the shameful spectacle of a tribal girl’s death from starvation due to her inability to link her Aadhaar to her ration card. Once the media got hold of the story, all
Everyone knows that the Ganga is heavily polluted. Along the 2,525 km of the river, there are just 57 monitoring stations to assess water quality. Few as they are, they tell a horrific story if one
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
A series of RTI queries by a couple of civil society organisations have found that several state information commissions (SIC) have not appointed officials for the post of information commissioners
The department of personnel and training (DOPT) is preparing a draft amendment to the RTI Act, 2005, to empower central and state governments to decided salary of information commissioners at the c
Indian Railways spent Rs 52.18 lakh to organise the inaugural function of the country’s first engineless semi-high speed train Vande Bharat express. The train was flagged off by prime ministe
Between 1st January, 2019 and 30th November 2022, the Mumbai Anti- Corruption Bureau received 10,930 complaints, out of which only 276 inquiries were ordered. Out of these inquiries only four FIRs
India has the highest overall bribery rate in the Asian region at 39%, and at 46%, the highest rate of citizens using personal connections to get work done, according to Transparency International.
Well known transparency campaigner Commodore (retd) Lokesh Batra was honoured by Moneylife Foundation for his stellar contribution in promoting accountability and good governance through the Right
