The karnataka Information Commission (KIC) is rolling out tech-based services for quick information at hand. From the first week of January, this apex body of the Right to Information (RTI) in karnataka will launch an SMS facility for RTI applicants. "The trial will begin this Friday. The facility will help applicants know the number of their case, when it'll be posted for hearing and also about its disposal. This information will...

With the arrival of big onions from Pakistan and a ban on onion exports, wholesale onion market in Dindigul, one of the biggest markets in the State, witnessed a crash in the prices of big onions. However, prices of small onions remained stable. The prices of big onion that were hovering between Rs.90 a kg (top quality) and Rs.70 a kg for medium quality last week, came down to Rs.40 and...

Good things should not be curbed. Certainly not a legislation to which so much is owed by so many. The Right to Information Act is a fundamental democratic achievement for India, one that took a long time in coming for a proclaimed democratic state. And when it did, the system became more transparent, if not cleaner. Ordinary citizens, urban and rural, with little or no ability to negotiate their way...

The first step towards opening "secret" files maintained by civil servants and public authorities was taken by Parliament through Freedom of Information Act, 2002. It was replaced by Right to Information Act in 2005. The objective was to give meaning to the word "civil servant". For, the babus had been groomed by the system to hide almost everything from those for whose service they were employed. Attitude is an important aspect...

But retail prices topped an eye-watering Rs. 85 a kg in Bangalore yesterday Speculative fever gripped the onion trade on Tuesday in Bangalore following a sharp decline in prices as a significant section of the buyers kept away, hoping that the slide will continue. However, retail markets in the city continued to remain buoyant, unmoved by the turmoil in the wholesale business. Trade sources speculated that the Union Government's order banning...