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...

Reacting to the proposal by the government to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act, over a 100 civil society activists and academics have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to abandon the “ill-advised move.” An amendment in this landmark legislation would be a “retrograde step” at a time when there was a popular consensus to strengthen it through rules and better implementation. The Act and its use...

Reacting to the proposal by the government to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act, over a 100 civil society activists and academics have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to abandon the “ill-advised move.” An amendment in this landmark legislation would be a “retrograde step” at a time when there was a popular consensus to strengthen it through rules and better implementation. The Act and its use...

The right to information act (RTI) which is hailed as a great leap forward in the direction of transparency in governance is under serious threat. The UPA government that showcased the historical act as one of its achievements in the last Lok Sabha elections now seems to be bowing down to the system’s high and mighty by proposing amendments which seem designed to take the sting out of the people’s...