THE FIRST CHIEF INFORMATION COMMISSIONER (CIC) OF STATE INFORMATION COMMISSION (SIC) G R SOFI, TALKS ABOUT THE RTI ACT AND HOW THE COMMISSION IS WORKING TO ACHIEVE ITS GOALS IN A CONVERSATION WITH GREATER KASHMIR TEAM. HERE ARE THE EXCERPTS. Rajeev Sharma: Do you think the present legislation is enough to achieve the objectives that it is supposed to? G R Sofi: Last month I was in Delhi to attend an annual...

-The Times of India   A government forensic lab's report on a CD allegedly containing conversation between SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh and Team Anna member Shanti Bhushan has said the CD was doctored, contradicting two previous reports. Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh's report has been made public for the first time in response to an RTI query. The conclusion of the report was that the CD...

-The Deccan Herald   In an attempt to usher transparency regarding functioning of the banking sector, the Central Information Commission on Friday directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to reveal the details of Annual Financial Inspection (AFI) reports of banks and also the fines imposed on them based for violating rules. Direction to make public the annual inspection reports of banks was given by Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi while he overruled the...

-The Times of India   A Nagpurian who had appeared in a state government engineering exam conducted by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission(MPSC) has been able to secure a photocopy of answer sheets of his theory papers under the RTI. This is a landmark judgment and henceforth other candidates too will be able to check whether they have been evaluated properly. Nilesh Madankar had appeared for the Maharashtra Engineering Service (MES) examination early this...

-The Times of India   If the proposed Lokpal will cure administration, RTI will help it. Hence both were complimentary to each other, said Satyanand Mishra, chief information commissioner (CIC), government of India.  The government wants that the corporate houses should also abide by the Right to Information (RTI) Act, falling on then lines of the government offices.  Mishra said that India Inc will also have to accept transparency and for this they can...