The Assembly elections saw the culture of “coverage packages” explode across Maharashtra. In many cases, a candidate just had to pay for almost any coverage at all.  C. Ram Pandit can now resume his weekly column. Dr. Pandit (name changed) had long been writing for a well-known Indian language newspaper in Maharashtra. On the last day for the withdrawal of nominations to the recent State Assembly elections, he found himself...

Four years after the pioneering Right to Information regime came into force in India, many hurdles remain in the way of a citizen accessing information. Just 27 people out of 100 get the information they ask for. And, even if an information commission rules in your favour, there is a 61% chance you won't get the information because the rulings are not complied with. These are some of the many...

Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab performing very well Performance of CIC leaves a lot to be desired While the Information Commissions of Karnataka, Kerala and Punjab are performing exceedingly well in various aspects of implementing the much talked about Right to Information (RTI) Act, the performance of the central information commission (CIC) has left a lot to be desired, Public Cause Research Foundation founder trustee and Magsaysay Award winner Arvind Kejriwal said...

Primarily to address issues related to spending and implementation India’s apex planning body is drawing up a set of proposed reforms for the country’s flagship rural job guarantee programme, primarily to address issues related to spending and implementation. The changes proposed under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) will be sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by the end of this month for consideration, said Mihir Shah, member, Planning...

Vice President Hamid Ansari Tuesday expressed concern over unavailability of information on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, or the act itself in 22 official languages of India and said this needs to be addressed at the earliest. Ansari was speaking at the second and the concluding day of the 4th annual RTI convention oragnised by the central information commission (CIC) here. The two-day convention is organized by the Central...