-The Hindu Statement comes after it recently argued against disclosing info related to committee The Centre has denied the very existence of a committee set up to oversee medical oxygen supply during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The statement comes just two weeks after it argued strenuously before the Central Information Commission (CIC) against disclosing information about this committee on the grounds of strategic interests, commercial confidences, intellectual property and Cabinet papers. Last week,...

-The Hindu Apart from PPE kits, RT-PCR tests, masks and gloves, Empowered Group later managed supply of medical oxygen The Central Information Commission (CIC) has slammed the Centre’s blanket denial of information related to a committee overseeing medical oxygen supplies during the pandemic, saying its rationale was “far fetched” and “unjustified”. In its order on Saturday, Information Commissioner Vanaja Sarna directed the Centre to respond to the Right to Information (RTI) request...

-The Telegraph The poll bonds are sold in 10-day phases, and the 17th tranche was issued earlier this month The government has sought more time to provide details on the sale of electoral bonds although RTI documents suggest the information is available. “The government seeks more time to furnish the replies,” the finance ministry said in a written reply on Tuesday to questions posed by Trinamul Congress MP Santanu Sen in the Rajya...

-Newslaundry.com The figures, disclosed under the RTI Act, show that Network18 was the biggest beneficiary of the UP government’s deep pockets in 2020-21. The Uttar Pradesh government spent a staggering Rs 160.31 crore on adveRTIsements on TV news channels between April 2020 and March 2021, reveals a right to information reply by the state government. The RTI divided the state’s ad expenditure into “national TV news channels” and “regional TV news channels”. The...

-The Telegraph The party suspects that the removal of Ravi Shankar Prasad in the cabinet shuffle could be linked to fear of a controversy erupting in the upcoming Parliament session The Congress on Saturday said the latest report by the Comptroller & Auditor General of India points to a scam in the ministry of electronics and information technology, suspecting that the removal of Ravi Shankar Prasad in the recent cabinet reshuffle could...