-The Hindu DoPT says search committee’s deliberations are exempted under the Act The Centre has refused to reveal details of the ongoing selection process for four new Central Information Commissioners, despite a Supreme Court order directing it to do so. The only information disclosed is that 256 people have applied for the four vacant positions, which were advertised five months ago. In its reply to a Right to Information request, the Department of...

-The Hindu The merger of the NSSO into the Central Statistics Office is a cause for concern The announcement that the government has decided to merge the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) into and under the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has caused both surprise and concern. What exactly the ‘merger’ means remains unclear. Recent attempts to question the veracity of National Sample Survey (NSS) data and the way the issue has been...

-DNAIndia.com NEW DELHI: In an order that is likely to have wider ramifications, the central information commission has directed the CBI to disclose details of a case it had investigated. Dismissing the agency’s contention of being exempt from RTI requests under section 24 of the RTI Act, the CIC said the CBI had “grossly erred” in invoking exemption under sections of the RTI Act. It directed that the information be shared with...

-The Hindu The Centre has denied a Right to Information (RTI) request for details of the ongoing recruitment process for four vacancies in the Central Information Commission (CIC), despite a recent Supreme Court order mandating that such information be made public. The CIC is the RTI Act’s highest appellate body. “The judgment of the Honourable Supreme Court given in WP No. 436 of 2018 is under consideration of the department,” said the...

-The Indian Express The Indian Express has learnt that the proposal envisages setting up of two committees — one, to receive and decide on complaints against the CIC and a second one for complaints against Information Commissioners. In what is being seen by the Central Information Commission as an attempt to erode its independence and undermine its role as per the Right To Information (RTI) law, the government has proposed setting...