-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India on Thursday made light of a US Congressional report on International Religious Freedom 2014 which said India witnessed "religiously motivated killings, arrests, riots and coerced religious conversions". "The report is internal to the US administration. It is widely acknowledged that the Constitution of India guarantees equal religious, social, political rights to all its citizens including minorities,'' said MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup. "Any abuses are handled by...
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A decade of RTI: All you need to know about the game changing law
-Hindustan Times Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday is addressing a convention on the 10th-anniversary celebrations of the Right to Information (RTI) Act which was brought in ‘to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority’. As the act completes a decade of existence, here is how (and why) it changed the way the government and public servants function: 1. What is RTI? A law that empowers every citizen to seek...
More »Aadhaar use will be voluntary, says government -Dhananjay Mahapatra
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Desperate to make Aadhaar usage universal to optimize implementation of welfare schemes, the Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it was ready to promise in writing that it would be completely voluntary for citizens to obtain and use the unique identification (UID) number. Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told a five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justices M Y Eqbal, C Nagappan,...
More »Decade on, why RTI needs a second revolution -Satyananda Mishra
-The Indian Express A number of significant disclosures were forced by the RTI, including the information regarding 2G and Commonwealth Games and so on. The Right to Information Act is now 10 years old — long enough to give us a fair idea of how it has performed on the ground. Riding on a huge wave of civil society activism, it started on a positive note and made unexpected impact early...
More »SC refuses to modify order limiting role of Aadhaar -Dhananjay Mahapatra
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a big setback to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to give a ruling on the Narendra Modi government's high-pitched and public interest-laced plea to allow citizens to voluntarily use Aadhaar cards to avail benefits under all social welfare schemes. This means, the apex court's August 11 interim order limiting the use of Aadhaar cards to access subsidy on LPG cylinders and ration...
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