-The Indian Express Institutionalising a mandatory process of consultation and dialogue would democratise not just law-making, but the state itself The formal institutions of India's parliamentary democracy have provided little space for citizens' participation in the making of laws. This has not, however, prevented citizens and citizens' groups from making significant attempts to watch, critique and contribute to the process. In fact, in recent years, it is clear that the lack of...

-The Hindu Business Line Fresh guidelines issued on procurement details, disclosure of CAG reports Public-private partnerships (PPPs) will soon come under the ambit of the RTI (right to information) as per a fresh set of guidelines issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on April 15. According to the guidelines on suo motu disclosure under Section 4 of RTI Act, 2005, the DoPT says since public services are proposed to be...

-The Times of India With over 16 activists killed and thousands under attack or threatened, RTI activists have demanded a stronger whistleblower law, including provisions for accountability and compensation for victims. The Whistleblowers Protection Bill is likely to come up in Parliament in the budget session starting next week. But activists feel that the Bill in its present form is not strong enough to prevent deaths. National Campaign for People's Right to...

-The Times of India In a significant move towards transparency, the government on Tuesday said all public authorities should proactively disclose information related to public private partnerships (PPP) projects on their websites. Though the disclosure will be voluntary, this marks a shift from the Centre's stand for the last two years when it stonewalled Central Information Commission (CIC)'s recommendation seeking disclosure of PPP projects and will herald greater transparency. Guidelines issued by the...

-The Indian Express With the Union cabinet having approved the Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 (hereafter referred to as the GR bill), Parliament has an opportunity to enact a law that would give citizens a way in which to hold government functionaries accountable. An effective GR act has the potential to transform the relationship between an ordinary Indian...