-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a blow to transparency in governance, the number of RTI queries have declined as have the number of public authorities submitting data on the legislation. The annual report of the Central Information Commission (CIC) shows that a total of 7.55 lakh RTI applications were filed in 2014-2015, a decline of 79,000 since last year. Almost 90,000 RTI applications were pending decision at the start of...
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Parliament passes Aadhaar Bill amid acrimonious debates -Smita Gupta and Puja Mehra
-The Hindu Rajya Sabha returns Aadhaar Bill to Lok Sabha with Opposition amendments . Even as the Opposition aired its concerns over the possibility of mass surveillance, Parliament passed the controversial Aadhaar Bill, 2016, after acrimonious debates in both Houses. In a day marked by high drama, hours after the Opposition succeeded in pushing through five amendments to the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, they were rejected in the Lok Sabha. The amendments...
More »Appointment of top judges to be kept out of RTI purview
-The Indian Express Giving this information to the media here on Tuesday, D V Sadananda Gowda claimed that transparency “can be achieved even without it”. In a setback to transparency in higher judiciary, the Central government has decided against bringing appointments to the higher judiciary under the RTI Act’s purview. Giving this information to the media here on Tuesday, Union Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda claimed that transparency “can be achieved...
More »Union Budget 2016-17: Mere eyewash or some concrete steps
In the age of social media, various sections of the Indian polity and civil society have reacted publicly in diverse voices, following the presentation of the Union Budget 2016-17 by Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley. An assessment of the Union Budget 2016-17 has been done in the following paragraphs by the Inclusive Media for Change team, based on a number of media reports, Government documents (including the Budget documents), and reports...
More »Budget expectations for rural sector
Amidst uncertainty over India's performance in terms of agricultural production and livelihood security of rural population, the Union Budget of 2016-17 will be presented by Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley on 29 February. Given the extent of drought in more than 10 states of India during 2015-16, it is expected that the NDA Government will allocate more resources for rejuvenating the rural sector. Since the country has seen two years of...
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