RTI and democracy

CIC on how RTI has redefined democracy for the average Indian

GN Bureau | June 3, 2010



Wajahat Habibullah is the Chief Information Commissioner at the Central Information Commission (CIC).

He has held various positions in the Indian government. He has served as the Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir (1990 to 1993), Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Consumer Affairs (January 15, 2003-Sept 24, 2003) and Secretary, Ministry of Textiles (August 1-December 9, 2004). Before joining the CIC in October 2005, he was the Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

In this session of GN talk, Habibullah talks about “Right to Information (RTI) Act and democracy”. He says that just the right to exercise franchise does not make a democracy and the RTI Act has given the Indian democracy a new meaning. It is after the RTI Act that people can ask questions and make suggestions to the government.

 


 

Comments

 

Other News

How social media is reshaping elections

Since Brazil’s return to direct presidential elections in 1985, no candidate who finished second in the first round of polling had ever won the presidency. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, now 81, has just done it. What explains the comeback, and what changed in Brazilian politics to make it possi

Cabinet approves Dearness Allowance, Dearness Relief

The union cabinet chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the release of an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 01.07.2026 representing an increase of 3% over the existing rates of 6

Cyclone Arnab strikes Andhra as warming oceans amplify storm risks

Cyclone Arnab made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts in the early hours of Wednesday as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125–135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph. Its rapid intensification has raised concerns about how warmer oceans, global warmin

Counting matters but which ones?

The first instinct of public policy is to count. Its harder task is to count what counts. We have become remarkably good at measuring the reach of the welfare state vis-à-vis beneficiaries covered, rupees transferred, houses built, connections installed and services delivered. But some of the most

Inching closer to a trade deal with America

The cooperation between India and the United States goes back quite a time. We need to relegate that era to the backburner when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited US in the times of president Dwight Eisenhower and called the American let-off of 10 million dollars in defence aid to Pakistan as a “gun w

Manch vs Musk: Forty people and a foreign billionaire

About forty people walked the roundabout on Teen Murti Marg to the gate of Chanakyapuri police station, a distance you could cover in under a minute, on Friday to protest against Elon Musk’s Starlink. The walk was called by the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch. Nobody joined them on the way, and nobody seeme

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter