Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan proposed amendment of various provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 on Monday. The society submitted its objection to the drafted rules to the commissioner of Rajasthan Parambhik Shiksha Parishad at Shiksha Sankul. It said private schools should not be given additional responsibility for providing free text books to the children of reserved category. The society also opposed Part...

In reply to an RTI query filed by the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) in August, the labour department of Delhi government has said that it does not have consolidated figures on the labour deaths reported during the Commonwealth Games  preparations. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had separately filed an affidavit in the high court in September which said that 109 workers had died on its sites during...

How would you rate the functioning of the RTI Act five years into its enactment? It has been a mixed experience. It is encouraging that we have one of the best laws in the world but its shoddy implementation is taking the sheen away. The two nerve centers of RTI are simplifying the process of filing an application and making the functioning of the Commission effective. The posts of Information Commissioner...

Five years after Right to Information (RTI) Act came into existence, Information Commissioners feel that there should be more transparency in their appointments. A survey conducted by Parivartan , an NGO, among state and central Information Commissioners , the final appellate authorities for RTI Act grievances and complaints, has found that 66% of commissioners surveyed want a transparent selection process. The survey found that Information Commissioners had reservations about the...

Newly appointed state chief information commissioner (SCIC) Vilas Patil admitted that there are lacunaes in the Right to Information Act. He felt that this needs to be addressed urgently so that the act can be smoothly implemented. Patil added that due to this lacunae the percentage of recovery of penalties imposed on the errant officers duringimplementation is either low or unknown. After the swearing-in on Thursday, Patil took charge from outgoing SCIC...