Right To Information (RTI) Act

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Varun JaiswalRight To Information (RTI) is an act formulated by the parliament of India “to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens.” Right to Information Act 2005 mandates timely response to citizen requests for government information. It is an initiative taken by Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions to provide a”” RTI Portal Gateway to the citizens for quick search of information on the details of first Appellate Authorities, PIOs etc. amongst others, besides access to RTI related information / disclosures published on the web by various Public Authorities under the government of India as well as the State Governments. Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen (excluding the citizens within J&K) may request information from a “public authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days. Jammu and Kashmir lie under State level Law and is thus exempted from the act.It was April 1996 when about 400 people from nearby rural area arrived in Beawar (Rajasthan)to demand their right to know the details of money spent on the famine projects run by government agencies. The movement at Beawar lead to the National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) in 1997.The first national convention on RTI was held at Beawar in 2001 to share and consolidate experiences from across the country. In 2002, the Indian Parliament passed the National Right to Information law. The people supporting this act are Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Shanker Singh, & many others. This law was passed by Parliament on 15 June 2005 and came fully into force on 12 October 2005. The website of RTI Act is http://rti.gov.in/ .Under the Act, all authorities covered appoint their Public Information Officer (PIO). Any person may submit a request to the PIO for information in writing. It is the PIO’s job to provide information to citizens of India who request information under the Act. If the request pertains to another public authority (in whole or part) it is the PIO’s responsibility to transfer/forward the concerned portions of the request to a PIO of the other within 5 days. In addition, every public authority is required to designate Assistant Public Information Officers (APIOs) to receive RTI requests and appeals for forwarding to the PIOs of their public authority. The citizen making the request is not obliged to disclose any information except his name and contact particulars. Indian Legal System is vital to understand

for all Indian citizens.

This Act has been criticized sharply by certain individuals like Former Chief Justice of India K. G. Balakrishnan. According to him certain sensitive data like the appointment of Chief Justices and other prominent governmental officers if divulged to the public can be misused by certain miscreants and can lead to corruption. It”s a wonderful step taken by the parliament to share its proceedings with the masses but proper security concerns should also be heard and taken care of.

Indian Law is a strong

subject which needs proper understanding by the citizens of the nation.

Indian Law is

a strong

subject which needs proper understanding by the citizens of the nation in order to thrive both in business and economy.

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