-FirstPost.com Former Central Information Commissioner (CIC) Shailesh Gandhi on Monday lashed out at the Centre for allegedly rendering the Right to Information (RTI) Act "dysfunctional" by taking retrogressive steps. In an open letter written to a section of the media, Gandhi said, "the present Prime Minister has taken preemptive action by not appointing a Chief Information Commissioner at all to render it dysfunctional." Gandhi, a noted RTI activist from Mumbai, was appointed to...

-NDTV Mumbai: Congress President Sonia Gandhi today sharply attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government in Parliament and outside. In a statement in the Lok Sabha, Mrs Gandhi criticized what she called the "deplorable lapse" in not filling key posts, including that of the Chief Information Commissioner, which has been vacant for eight months. Stating that over 39,000 appeals under the RTI or Right to Information Act, remain pending, she also used...

-PTI Raising serious questions about the quality of Ph.D holders in the country, a parliamentary panel has sought an evaluation report to understand why suitable candidates were hard to find for vacant teaching posts. With over 7,000 research scholars being awarded Ph.D every year, the panel has suggested “reorienting” the entire system of evaluation of Ph.D and other research scholars. In its report tabled in Parliament last week, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on...

-The Indian Express Files already piled up on the Chief Information Commissioner’s desk could take up to 2020 to clear. Delay in appointing the CIC hurts the objectives of both the RTI Act and the PM’s pledge of good governance. The RTI Act, 2005 provided for a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions to deal with appeals and complaints against public authorities. Section 12 of the RTI Act states, “The Central...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday slammed the Centre for being insensitive towards protection of child rights and for its reluctance to take effective steps to recover missing children. It also criticized the government for falling foul of the law by its inability to set up an advisory board under the Juvenile Justice Act in the last 15 years. With around 15 children disappearing every hour in...