-The Times of India   Founder member of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) Aruna Roy on Saturday condemned the statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the Right To Information Act was adversely affecting deliberations in the government and deterring honest officials from expressing their views on file. Roy was speaking at a seminar on 'Strengthening participatory democracy: Role of RTI' at the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula. "The Prime...

India’s transparency law – Right To Information – will not change but the government wants to restrict its applicability through other laws. Two new draft laws --- National Sports Development Bill and National Nuclear Safety Authority --- have specific provisions prohibiting disclosing information in addition to the exemption clauses already in the RTI law. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday wanted a “critical look” at these exemption clauses asking to examine changes...

-PTI   The RTI Act needs to be looked into if it hinders governance, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni on Friday said. “...What the Prime Minister has said is that in certain areas if RTI is used in a way with a purpose of hindering governance then one has to look at that. “When Prime Minister says something, we accept it as the statement of the government. So there is no need to...

-The Economic Times   Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for a review of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, one of the UPA's trophy legislations, potentially exposing the government to a fresh stand-off with civil society. Addressing a two-day annual convention of the Central Information Commission here, Singh said the transparency law should not adversely affect deliberative processes in the government and discourage honest, well-meaning public servants from voicing their views. He...

-The Telegraph   Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today called for a re-look at the Right to Information Act to ensure it is used only in the public interest. At the same time, he ruled out any dilution of the law and said “empowering our citizens” with RTI was a “huge step forward” towards “curbing corruption and improving the process of governance”. Singh promised to build on “these achievements” by bringing legislation to protect...