-The Times of India The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday amid high drama and an Opposition walkout. The Opposition says the changes put forth in the bill, which had already cleared the Lok Sabha, undermine the independence of the RTI watchdog. The government has argued that the amendments leave the information officials' powers untouched and are aimed at streamlining the commission. A...
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What is zero budget natural farming? -Priscilla Jebaraj
-The Hindu * Will this form of chemical-free agriculture increase farmers’ incomes? Where are the pitfalls? The story so far: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman thrust zero budget farming into the spotlight in the first Budget speech of the 17th Lok Sabha earlier this month, calling for a “back to the basics” approach. She said, “We need to replicate this innovative model through which in a few States, farmers are already being trained...
More »RTI: A bill that may kill a right -Yashovardhan Azad and M Sridhar Acharyulu
-Hindustan Times The retrograde amendment would amount to creating an RTI ministry under the government Fifteen years is a good time for appraisal of an institution. The Right to Information (RTI) Act, called the sunshine legislation and promulgated in 2005, certainly deserves an in-depth study and assessment for accelerating the flow of information to the public. This calls for upgrading skills, infrastructure, processes and alacrity of response from public authorities. A decadal...
More »EC sets up teams to probe VVPAT mismatch in Lok Sabha election -Damini Nath
-The Hindu Of 1.25 crore votes counted, 51 did not match, says panel New Delhi: After reports of mismatches between the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips and the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) count in eight cases during the Lok Sabha election, the Election Commission has set up teams to probe seven of the cases. Of the 1.25 crore VVPAT slips counted, 51 or 0.0004% of the total saw a mismatch, according...
More »'RTI Bill Shrouded in Secrecy, How Will it Enhance Transparency?' Ask Former CICs -Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar
-TheWire.in Former commissioners urged citizens to oppose the amendments tooth and nail as they would impact people's right to know. New Delhi: A number of former information commissioners came forward on Wednesday to criticise the attempts by the Narendra Modi government to rush the RTI Amendment Bill, 2019, through the parliament without following a proper consultation process. They also cautioned that, if passed, the amendment would weaken the transparency law – rated...
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