-The Indian Express Those who want parties under RTI have not specified whether this advances transparency or electoral reform. It is time for a more nuanced debate. The tussle around the proposed RTI amendments to nullify the CIC order bringing the six national parties under the RTI Act is notable for many reasons: first, the amendments were sent to the standing committee for deliberation despite near political unanimity. This is significant, since...
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Children with special needs left out of class -Shreya Roy Chowdhury
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Over half the kids described by the government as "children with special needs" or CWSN are not in school. In response to an RTI filed by lawyer-activist Khagesh Jha, of the 20,759 CWSN identified across the dozen school districts, 11,463 are out-of-school. Northeast district is the worst-performing in this regard, with 1,820 CWSN out of school, followed by the south district with 1,543 children. But...
More »40 lakh used their right to information in 2011-12 -Anahita Mukherji
-The Times of India MUMBAI: On the eighth anniversary of India's landmark transparency legislation today, data mined on the Right to Information (RTI) Act shows it is, indeed, India's sunshine law, with an estimated 40 lakh people using the Act during 2011-12, the latest year for which all-India data is available. The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), an independent organisation closely associated with the RTI legislation, data-mined annual reports filed by the...
More »8 years on, RTI Act counts its milestones -Shyamlal Yadav
-The Indian Express Eight years may seem like a short stretch to appraise a landmark law such as the Right To Information Act, especially in a large and diverse country such as India. But the transparency law enacted on October 12, 2005, has managed to leave its imprint in this short period, becoming a new weapon in the hands of people. Not only has the RTI act been used to know more about...
More »Parliament, not courts, should decide on ‘cooling off’ period: SC -Utkarsh Anand
-The Indian Express The Supreme Court has said it was not for the courts but for Parliament to decide whether there should be a "cooling off" period before considering a retired government official eligible for the post of State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC). Steering clear of the issue, a Bench of Justices A K Patnaik and J S Khehar said the appropriate authority to dwell on the necessity of a "cooling off"...
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