-Scroll.in RTI documents show that Niti Aayog largely worked with World Bank and top private healthcare industry. The Niti Aayog’s blueprint to increase the role of private hospitals in treating non-communicable diseases in urban India by handing district hospitals over to the private sector on 30-year leases was built largely on a template provided by the World Bank. The template was fine-tuned in close coordination with top private healthcare industry representatives. State...

-The Indian Express RTI Act needs to be protected against attempts to dilute it. RTI Activists must be made less vulnerable In April, the government of India proposed amendments to the RTI Act, one of the most empowering pieces of legislation inherited from the UPA era. The most controversial amendment pertained to Rule 12. It would allow the withdrawal of an application in case of the applicant’s death, making the job of...

-The Times of India BENGALURU: Contrary to the Centre's claims, contracts signed with foreign firms by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), custodian of Aadhaar data, show that they got "full access" to classified data including fingerprints, iris scan info, and personal information like date of birth, address and mobile number of the applicants. They were also allowed to store the data for seven years. This was revealed through an RTI...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court ruling on right to privacy being a fundamental right could lead to an uncertain impact on right to information as some activists and experts are warning that the order could leave RTI facing new challenges. Former chief information commissioner A N Tiwari said, "Privacy has been addressed by the RTI Act, under sections 8(1)(j) and Section 11. However, the fact is that there...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Advocates of transparency have a new worry amid the euphoria over the privacy verdict - the possibility of information commissioners citing the new fundamental right to deny answers under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. As it is, RTI Activists have had to contend with commissioners using Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act to refuse information on the premise that it infringes upon a person's privacy. The section...