-Press Release of Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) On 3rd of June 2013, a full bench of Central Information Commission (CIC) comprising of Chief Information Commissioner Shri. Satyananda Mishra and Information Commissioners Shri. M.L. Sharma and Smt. Annapurna Dixit gave a landmark judgment where they ruled in favor of bringing Political Parties under the ambit of Right to Information Act (rti). In October 2010, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) filed rtis...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Lifting the cloak of secrecy from sources of funding of political parties and their expenditure the central information commission (CIC) has ruled that they are public authorities who now need to respond to rti queries within six weeks. Political parties on Monday lost the battle to stay out of rti purview and keep their donors secret after the commission in a 54-page order said six national...

-IANS As the Central Information Commission (CIC) on Monday held that political parties are answerable under the Right to Information Act, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said it is important to "keep practical control of rti objectives as they can't be allowed to run riot". Answering a query on the CIC's ruling on the sidelines of an event on Monday evening, Khurshid said there is a "logic of the rti, which is...

-Tehelka.com There are few figures from the adivasi community in India who have made a bigger dent in the collective imagination of the country than Dayamani Barla. The "iron lady of Jharkhand" has been instrumental in articulating adivasi struggles against displacement and deprivation on national and international platforms. Dayamani, who was recently imprisoned in Jharkhand for her involvement in the Nagri people's movement, has won the first Ellen L Lutz Indigenous...

-Firstpost.com After the UPA-II released its self-congratulatory 79-page ‘Report card to the People', National Advisory Council (NAC) member and leading social activist Aruna Roy has come down heavily on the government for its poor performance in the social sector. Roy, an instrumental force behind the Right to Information Act, criticised the government for stalling on essential legislations such as the Food Security Bill, the Land Acquisition Bill and the Lokpal Bill. Roy spoke...