-Mumbai Mirror On July 22, the Lok Sabha passed a set of amendments to the Right to Information Act, which – if enacted into law – will have dangerous consequences for open and transparent governance. Notably, these amendments were first proposed towards the fag end of the previous NDA government’s tenure, but in the face of sustained protests, were not carried forward. Nevertheless, one of the first legislative acts of the government...

-The Tribune Cannot disclose third-party information, states the MC Chandigarh: The Appellant Authority of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has refused to give the information regarding the survey of vendors in the city. RK Garg, an RTI activist, has challenged the order of the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the MC denying sharing the details of the survey under the RTI Act by terming it as “third-party information” before the Appellant Authority. Garg in...

-Frontline.in Interview with R.B. Barman, former Chairperson, National Statistical Commission. R.B. Barman, former Chairperson of the National Statistical Commission (NSC), was member of the Indian Statistical Service before joining the Reserve Bank of India in 1979. He was president of the Indian Econometric Society in 2006-07, Vice Chairman, Irving Fisher Committee on Central Bank Statistics, Bank for International Settlement, Basel, Switzerland, and Member, International Data Forum. He sent a paper to Prime...

-Frontline.in Interview with Aruna Roy. ARUNA ROY is a well-known social and political activist. A former Indian Administrative Service officer, she resigned from the IAS in 1975 and has since worked with the most oppressed in society. Aruna Roy’s observation on government service is indicative of her future concerns: “Everyone calls it an elite service; I always felt the discourse should be a bit better than what it was. I was shocked...

-The Hindu RTI request for 13 inquiry commission reports rejected The Central Information Commission has slammed the Home Ministry for denying information on 13 inquiry commission reports on communal riots in the country. In response to an RTI request, the Ministry said it was not the custodian of the records sought. Charging the Ministry’s Public Information Officer (PIO) with “causing deliberate obstruction to the flow and dissemination of information…and not furnishing any reasonable...