-Deccan Herald Proposed amendment criticised for being harsh on applicants A proposed amendment in the Right to Information Act may end up diluting the Act, according to an RTI Activist.  The amendment will make it mandatory for an appellant to be present in person or send a representative during case hearing by the Centre of Information Centre (CIC). “The appellant may be present in person, through an authorised representative or through video conferencing at...

-The Times of India In what will set the bar for India's nuclear contracts, Russia's plea that two reactors planned at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu — apart from units 1 and 2 — be exempted from provisions of the tough nuclear liability law may not be accepted.  Reactors 1 and 2 that are to go on stream soon are not covered by the 2010 liability law that makes suppliers of a nuclear...

-PTI The government has put a word limit of 500 words for filing an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Besides this, a new format has been devised for filing an appeal to the Central Information Commission under the transparency law. The government has also made it mandatory for an appellant or his authorised representative to appear before the CIC either in person or through video-conferencing, according to new rules notified...

-Tehelka Activists say that the agricultural land should not be acquired for non-agricultural purposes A group of Activists on Tuesday 7 August raised concerns about the land acquisition bill in its new form. The Activists have demanded a white paper stating the extent of land acquired by the government. The new bill, called the Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement and Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill, is at odds with the recommendations...

-The Indian Express Mumbai: The amended Maharashtra Right to Information (RTI) Rules have not been issued for curtailing the freedom of expression of citizens or to harass them, the state government told the Bombay High Court on Thursday. The government stand, stated in an affidavit, came in response to a public interest litigation challenging restrictions pertaining to word limit and of limiting one application for information to one subject. The affidavit was...