An RTI activist Baghu Dewani was attacked by unidentified persons in Porbander in Gujarat on Friday. Dewani has been hospitalised after he was stabbed by unidentified persons. Dewani is said to be in a serious condition in the hospital. The 65-year-old advocate-activist Bhaghubahi Dewani was first assaulted with sticks by two unidentified persons and then stabbed thrice in the abdomen. The assailants then fled the scene. Dewani has accused former BJP minister...

-The Times of India   The CBI has refused to make public information about disproportionate asset cases against government servants, including bureaucrats and ministers, after last week's exemption under RTI Act given by the government. The Centre, through a notification issued on June 9, placed the agency in the organisations listed in the second schedule of Section 24 of the RTI Act which also comprises intelligence and security agencies. "The government...

“Government can no longer convince people its hands are clean” A former Union Revenue Secretary, E.A.S. Sarma, has accused the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of turning a “blind eye” to his repeated warnings about “alleged irregularities” committed in auditing capital costs and allowing price and other concessions to the Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) in the KG basin and Cairn India in Rajasthan. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan...

-PTI   To streamline disposal of applications and bring in more transparency, the Central government has directed all ministries, departments and public sector units to set up an exclusive “RTI cell”. It has decided to give a one time grant of up to Rs. 50,000 for developing necessary infrastructure and purchasing equipment like computers for speedy disposal of pleas under the Right to Information Act. “Experience of past five years has shown that there...

To increase transparency, India’s patent regulator will soon make public details about patented drugs which include whether domestic demand for these medicines is met at a reasonable price. Patent holders in the country are required to submit once every year the so-called working details which include the quantity and value of a product that is sold, manufacturing base, quantity of production or imports, and a statement on whether public requirement has...