Pushing the envelope regarding disclosure of confidential information, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled that documents are open to public before being submitted to the Cabinet Secretariat for the Union Cabinet's consideration. This is a departure from the usual practice in the government where most public authorities took a wide view and denied all information related to Cabinet notes on the plea that the issue was under consideration and...

Nearly 17 years after the implementation of 27% reservation for OBCs in central government jobs on the basis of the Mandal Commission recommendations, a mere 6.87% of those employed in various union departments in Groups A, B, C and D services belong to the group. Thus a significant 20% posts across categories and departments reserved for OBCs remain unfilled raising doubts on the effective implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations....

From retired and serving babus to journalists to even RTI activists and academicians, everyone seems to be angling for the posts of chief information commissioner (CIC) and information commissioners (ICs). In a delicious irony, all the names have come out in an RTI reply. Replying to an RTI plea filed by Mannish Bhatnagar, the Department of Personnel and training said 32 names were received for the posts of CIC and...

The Union Cabinet approves a new Bill to protect whistle-blowers, but there is concern whether its provisions will amount to much. ON March 22, a special court in Patna pronounced three persons guilty in the murder of Satyendra K. Dubey, a civil engineer from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. He was shot dead on November 29, 2003, for blowing the whistle on corrupt practices in the Golden Quadrilateral Project in Bihar....

The RTI Act needs strengthening, but activists oppose the government's proposals as they suspect its intentions. AN Act is usually amended to address certain concerns that come up during its implementation. However, the beneficiaries of the Right to Information Act, 2005, oppose any amendment to the Act, because they suspect the government's intentions. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) admitted to considering 11 amendments to the Act in a letter to...