-Huffingtonpost.in Secrecy in amending the RTI Act as well as in the appointment of Information Commissioners in the CIC reveal the government's intention to destroy the spirit of the transparency law. With over 6 million information applications filed every year, the Indian Right to Information (RTI) Act is the most extensively used transparency legislation globally. The law has empowered ordinary citizens to hold the government accountable. It has been used for a...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Exhorting the government to take necessary steps to formulate statistics pertaining to construction workers, domestic workers and women workers in the unorganised sector, the Central Information Commission has recommended the ministry of labour and employment carry out the exercise in line with provisions meant to promote “transparency, accountability and conformity” in the RTI Act. Then Information Commissioner, M Sridhar Acharyulu (who retired on November 21), in...

-PTI The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has refused to share details on the quantum of black money brought back from abroad, citing a provision of the RTI Act that bars disclosure of information that may impede investigation and prosecution of offenders. Its response came on an October 16 order passed by the Central Information Commission, asking the PMO to provide details of black money within 15 days. Replying to an RTI query, the...

-The Hindu No transparency in appointment process, says petitioner. New Delhi: The Centre has denied a Right to Information Request for a copy of the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2018, which had been notified for introduction in the monsoon session of Parliament. The Bill sought to give the Centre power to set the tenure and salaries of State and Central Information Commissioners. Critics worry this could threaten the independence of Commissioners. An...

-PTI Replying to an RTI query, it said the PMO receives complaints against various Union ministers and high-level functionaries from time to time The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has refused to share details of alleged corruption complaints received against Union ministers, saying providing such information "may be a subjective as well as a cumbersome exercise". The PMO's assertion comes at a time when a senior officer in the country's premier probe agency --...