RTI more user friendly with e-IPO

Indians living abroad will now be able to file any query with hassle free payment facility

shivangi-narayan

Shivangi Narayan | January 3, 2013



The Department of Posts (DOP) along with Department of Personnel and training (DoPT) will launch the e-IPO facility by January 15th, 2013 though it may extent maximum to January 25th, 2012. Through this facility Indians living abroad will be able to pay for their RTI applications through e postal orders (e-IPO) which they will be able to purchase with their debit and credit cards.

Sujata Chaudhry, GM (BP), Dak Bhawan, New Delhi told Governance Now that the work is going on in the project but refused to put a date on the project.

Commodore Lokesh Batra (Retd.), Social and RTI activist said, “The idea is to bring more and more transparency through easy access of information.” Batra has been the leading force behind the campaign to provide easier access to RTI facility for Indians living abroad.  

The scheme to provide e-IPO to purchase Rs 10 postal orders online was flagged by the central government in May 2012. The scheme was announced as postal orders of Rs 10, which is the required minimum fee for an RTI application, were not easily available. This made it very difficult for Indians abroad (those with a valid Indian Passports and not PIOs) to seek information under the transparency law. 

According to Batra, Indians living abroad presently have to ask their friends in India to pay the required fee for RTI to submit an application. This does not allow them to seek answers to various queries related to governance which they might have. “A lot of money from such Indian citizens is invested in various government projects in India; not being able to file an RTI means that they are not able to check if their money is being put to correct use,” he said.

Under the above scheme, the e-IPO or a postal order in common parlance can be easily purchased by the applicants living abroad using their credit or debit cards. When a person will buy this e-IPO, a number will be generated which the applicant will have to mention on his application.
This number and other details will be matched with the details present on the department of posts. The application will be accepted once the details match.
The Public Information Officers (PIO) will not receive the money but it will be transferred to the consolidated fund of India.

 

Comments

 

Other News

Gandhian movement after Gandhi failed: Ram Guha

The Gandhian movement in India, after Gandhi’s death, failed, says Ramachandra Guha, and blames Vinoba Bhave for it. But the movement found new, fertile grounds around the world and succeeded in bringing about a change in South Africa, the US and elsewhere. It is high time it returned home. Of cour

When religion, politics and Bollywood come together

Tavleen Singh, noted journalist and political commentator, has turned to fiction, with her debut novel ‘The Actor’ (HaperCollins India). Set in the near future, it has a superstar, Amit Singh, turning to politics, when the political landscape is dominated by prime minister Guru Gaynendraj

Cabinet approves setting up of Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority

The union cabinet, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), called Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of Transp

Why foundational literacy and numeracy is key to school education

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) are often described as the building blocks of education. Yet, their significance goes well beyond a child’s ability to read a sentence, write a response or solve a basic mathematical problem. These foundational skills shape how children understand the world,

When police data becomes the algorithm

For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter