-Daily Bhaskar   On Saturday, Central Information Commissioner (CIC) Shailesh Gandhi said that the Right To Information (RTI) was under threat due to the increasing number of appeals pending before Information Commissioners in the country. He was speaking as chief guest at a regional workshop sponsored by the directorate of personnel and training on 'Proactive disclosures: the way forward'. The workshop was organised by Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (Yashada). Delegates from...

India’s transparency watchdog the Central Information Commission has decided to take upon itself the task of safeguard interests of the Right To Information (RTI) applicants who face harassment for seeking information. In 2010, 28 RTI activists were allegedly attacked after filing their applications and this year two activists Manglaram of Rajasthan and Amarnath. India's transparency watchdog the Central Information Commission has decided to take upon itself the task of safeguard interests of...

Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi sold off his business in 2003 to do something relevant. The Indian Institute of Technology-Mumbai alumnus soon became a prolific user of the Right To Information Act and filed more than 800 RTI applications. He was appointed the Information Commissioner at the Central Information Commission, New Delhi, in 2008. In this freewheeling interview with rediff.com's Priyanka, Gandhi says that appellants must understand that law describes 'information' as something...

The purpose of the Right to Information Act, it seems, will be defeated in Maharashtra if the state information commission does not get its act together quickly. The number of second appeals pending with the commission has been growing with each passing day. It is likely to touch 18,000 by the month-end and some even date back to 2006. The fact came to fore when a group of RTI activists took up...

-Live Mint   In almost all instances, what is feared is the disclosure of “damaging” information—information that shows official lapses. Looked from another vantage, if officials have not done any wrong, they should have no fear at the release of such facts Six years after it was passed, the Right to Information (RTI) Act evokes contrasting feelings. Among politicians and in officialdom, suspicion and hostility are dominant moods. Among citizens, hope and despair—in...