India
What's New
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10 May 2012
Most Indian state information commissioners are retired civil servants and many posts are vacant, according to fact-filled critical report by the Access to Information Programme of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, based in New Delhi.
Also, less than half of…
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27 April 2012
India’s Chief Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi has written to the Chief Justice of India, S.H. Kapadia, to object to his recent comments critical of the right to information law.
The chief justice was quoted as saying the law was “good”…
Read more news….
freedom of information
Text from the freedominfo.org Global Survey: Freedom of Information and Access to Government Records Around the World, by David Banisar (updated July 2006)
The Supreme Court ruled in 1975 that access to government information was an essential part of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression.(1) The Court ruled in 2002 that voters have a right to know information about candidates for elected offices and ordered the Election Commission to make candidates publish information about criminal records, assets, liabilities and educational qualifications.(2)
The Right to Information Act was approved by the Parliament in May 2005 and signed by the President in June 2005.(3) Certain preliminary clauses went into effect immediately, but the entire Act came into force in October 2005. The Act replaces the Freedom of Information Act, 2002 which was adopted in January 2003 but never came into force.(4)
Under the national Act, all Indian citizens have a right to ask to ask for information not only from Central Government public authorities, but also from public authorities under the jurisdiction of the states. This includes local level bodies (called panchayats). The Act covers all public authorities set up by the Constitution or statute, as well as bodies controlled or substantially financed by the Government or non-government organizations which are substantially funded by the Government. Citizens can not only request to inspect or copy information, but the Act also allows them to make an application to inspect public works and take samples.
Applications must be submitted to a Public Information Officer (PIO) who must be appointed in every unit of a public authority. Applications may also be sent to an Assistant PIO, who should be appointed at local levels, who will forward the request to the relevant PIO. The PIO must respond in writing within thirty days or if the request concerns the life or liberty of a person, within 48 hours.
The Act includes a list of exemptions, although they are all subject to a blanket override whereby information may be released if the public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interest. Exemptions cover disclosures that would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic or economic interests of the State, relations with foreign States, would lead to incitement of an offence, has been expressly forbidden to be published by a court or tribunal, could constitute a contempt of court; would endanger the life or safety of a person or identify a source used by law enforcement bodies, would impede an investigation or apprehension or prosecution of an offender, would cause a breach of parliamentary privilege; Cabinet papers (although materials relied upon must be released after decisions are made), commercial confidence information, trade secrets or intellectual property where disclosure would harm the competitive position of a third party, information available due to a fiduciary relationship, information obtained in confidence from a foreign government and personal information which has no relationship to any public activity or which would cause an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
An internal appeal can be made against decisions to a nominated person who is senior in rank to the PIO. A second appeal can be made to newly established Information Commissions at the Central and State levels or alternatively, a complaint can be made directly to these Commissions. Information Commissions have a broad remit to hear cases related to any matter relating to access under the Act. They have investigative powers and can make binding decisions. Information Commissions can make any order necessary to ensure compliance with the Act (including requiring a public authority to publish information, appoint PIOs, produce annual reports and make changes to record management), and can also order compensation and impose penalties.
The Act attempts to bar appeals to the courts, but as the right to information is a constitutional right, it would appear that citizens still have the right to go to the High Court or Supreme Court if they feel their right has been infringed.
Fines and disciplinary proceedings can be ordered for a range of offences, including refusing to access an application, delaying providing information (for which a daily penalty can be imposed), provision of false, misleading or incomplete information and obstruction of information officials.
The Act also imposes duties to monitor and promote the law. All public authorities must proactive publish and disseminate a very wide range of information, including details of the services they provide, their organizational structure, their decision-making norms and rules, opportunities for public consultation, recipients of government subsidies, licences, concessions, or permits, categories of information held, and contact details of PIOs. Public authorities must also maintain indexes of all records and over time computerize and network their records. Information Commissions must monitor implementation and produce annual reports. To the extent that resources are available, Governments must also provide training for officials and conduct public education activities, including publishing a User’s Guide.
Implementation of the Right to Information Act has been varied across the country. The Central Government, which sponsored the Act, has been relatively active, although it was slow in putting in place systems, in ensuring fulsome proactive disclosure and in setting up the Central Information Commission. To date, more than 20 states have appointed Information Commissioners, although actually setting up and providing adequate resources to the Information Commission offices has often been slow. Applications are being made throughout the country, with varying levels of success. It has been reported that local panchayat officials have been particularly slow in coming to terms with their duties under the new law.
Although the Official Secrets Act, 1923, which is based on the 1911 UK OSA, has not been repealed, the Right to Information Act specifically states that its provisions will have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent in the OSA or any other law.(5) The OSA prohibits the unauthorized collection or disclosure of secret information and is frequently used against the media.(6)
The Public Records Act, 1993 sets a thirty year rule for access to archives.(7) The Right to Information Act specifically states that information shall be provided under the Act after 20 years, but it then specifies that certain exemptions will still apply beyond this period.
At the time the national Right to Information Act was passed, eight states and one territory had passed their own access laws, largely in response to pressure from local activists fighting corruption. Acts were passed in Tamil Nadu, (1997) Goa (1997), Rajasthan (2000), Karnataka (2000), Delhi (2001), Maharashtra (2002), Assam (2003), Madhya Pradesh (2003) and Jammu & Kashmir (2004). Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh also adopted Codes of Practice and Executive Orders on Access to Information.(8) With the passage of the national Act, the state laws are either lapsing or being specifically repealed. However, the Jammu and Kashmir Act will continue to operate in respect of state public authorities, because the Central Government cannot legislate for Jammu and Kashmir due to its special constitutional status.
2004 freedominfo.org Global Survey Results – India
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27 April 2012
An Indian State Information Commission April 24 ruled that the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited is a public authority under the 2009 Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act.
The bank was created by legislative act, is majority-owned by the…
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12 March 2012
India has made it easier for Indian citizens living abroad to seek online information from the government under the Right to Information Act.
The banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India, has allowed sale of electronic postal orders to Indian…
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9 March 2012
A controversial bill in India to ease regulation on biotechnology products includes an exemption from the right to information law.
Debate over the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill (BRAI) primarily concerns issues such as the safety of genetically modified…
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2 March 2012
Three new information commissioners were sworn in on Feb. 28 in New Delhi.
Former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Rajiv Mathur is one of the new commissioners.
Also added were the former environment secretary Vijai Sharma, recently working as an expert…
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23 February 2012
India’s Central Information Commission has ruled that the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) had falls under the Right to Information Act, using the decision to underscore its position that other public-private partnerships are also covered, a contentious issue.
Commissioner…
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22 February 2012
A proposed Right to Information law exemption in a new Indian nuclear safety bill appears to be faring poorly in Parliament.
A committee looking into the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority bill is likely to propose dropping the RTI provision, according…
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17 February 2012
The Indian Central Information Commission has told the Ministry of Environment & Forests to put more information on its website.
The Jan. 18 decision by Commissioner Sailesh Gandhi resulted from a complaint brought by Shibani Ghosh of The Access Initiative…
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16 February 2012
By Chiranjibi Kafle
The writer is Head, Department of English, RR Campus, Kathmandu. This article was originally published in Republica and is reprinted with permission.
More than 90 countries in the world today have introduced Right to Information (RTI) legislations…
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10 February 2012
The appointment of eight information commissioners in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has sparked objections that they are unqualified.
Four of the announced commissioners are politicians in the ruling Congress party. The others include three retired or current civil servants and…
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6 February 2012
Some Indian states are making it harder for applicants to use the Right to Information law, according to a series of recent news reports.
To the distress of RTI activists, states are:
- imposing higher fees,
- requiring statements of…
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3 February 2012
The government of India has proposed to amend the Right to Information Act to exclude from coverage any nuclear safety agencies created in the future.
The government introduced the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill (NSRA Bill) in September 2011, but…
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19 January 2012
The Indian Central Information Commission has started making public on its website a list of pending cases.
The new feature, at the top of left column, began Jan. 9 and will be updated monthly.
Shailesh Gandhi, one of the five…
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22 December 2011
The Indian Sports Ministry has asserted that the right to information law covers Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), according to a Times of India report.
The ministry submitted a seven-page statement Dec. 16 to the Central Information…
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20 December 2011
By Shonali Ghosal
Ghosal is a correspondent with Tehelka magazine, based in New Delhi, which published this article in its Dec. 24 edition. Following is an interview with Shailesh Gandhi, a Central Information Commissioner. (Reprinted with permission.)
The mere suggestion…
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5 December 2011
The U.S. government Dec. 5 unveiled “open source code” designed to help governments manage data and ultimately create more open government platforms around the world.
The development grew from an U.S.-India collaboration and a next step, according to the White…
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18 October 2011
A top Indian minister has denied that the government wants to rewrite the right to information law, apparently seeking to quell a firestorm of criticisms precipitated by the prime minister’s call for a “critical look” at the RTI Act.
Union…
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14 October 2011
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Oct. 14 called for a “critical look” at the six-year-old Right to Information Act.
He expressed concern about a “flood” of requests, about disclosure inhibiting the deliberations of government officials, and about the coverage of…
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12 October 2011
The Indian Central Information Commission has adopted a potential deterrent to attacks on users of the right to information law.
The CIC announced it will react to assaults on RTI activists by pressing government agencies to promptly release all the…
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12 September 2011
An Indian court has upheld with the government’s decision to exempt the Central Bureau of Investigation, a security and intelligence agency, from coverage under the right to information law.
The Madras high court Sept. 9 became the first in the…
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2 September 2011
The Asian Centre for Human Rights has issued a report, “RTI activists: sitting ducks of India,” stated that from January 2010 to August 2011, at least 12 right to information activists including have been murdered and recommending an amendment to…
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31 August 2011
The Indian Cabinet Aug. 30 rejected a proposal to regulate national sports federations that included a provision to bring them under the right to information law. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.)
The disapproval was overwhelming according to news reports, but the…
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15 August 2011
India’s Sports Minister Ajay Maken has proposed that sports federations be subject to the right to information law, according to media reports such as one in ndtv.com
He has proposed a variety of procedural reforms, including the creation of a…
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10 August 2011
The Indian Supreme Court Aug. 8 said students had the right to access their evaluated answer sheets under the Right to Information Act.
In its decision, the court upheld a 2009 Calcutta high court that the materials are not exempt…
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29 July 2011
Indian right to information activists are expressing dissatisfaction with an internal government legal opinion that would exempt Public Private Partnership Projects (PPPs) from the right to information law.
The Central Information Commission has decided to seek Prime Minister’s Manmohan Singh’s…
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27 July 2011
By Venkatesh Nayak
Nayak is Programme Coordinator, Access to Information Programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
We are all aware of the practice of bureaucrats who classify files, records and various kinds of electronic information as ‘top secret’, ‘secret’ and ‘confidential’.…
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21 July 2011
The United States and India July 19 announced plans to jointly develop “open source” platforms for other governments to use to post government data.
The software will be available by the first quarter of 2011, according to one paragraph in…
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15 July 2011
The United States and India on July 19 in India will unveil plans to help other countries use technology to improve access to government information.
The joint effort will focus primarily on “harnessing technology” to enhance openness efforts, U.S. Chief Technology Officer…
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12 July 2011
By Toby McIntosh
On the eve of the kick-off event for the Open Government Partnership, India dropped out, but the show went on, with enthusiastic pro-transparency speeches at a day-long event at the U.S. State Department in Washington.
The unexpected…
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8 July 2011
The Indian Central Information Commission has crossed swords with the government over its exemption of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from the Right to Information Act as the matter heads toward a likely conclusion in the courts.
The Cabinet…
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17 June 2011
The Indian Cabinet June 9 decided to exempt the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from the Right to Information Act, according to news reports, but official confirmation has not been forthcoming.
The exemption was requested by the CBI, arguing that…
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27 May 2011
The Delhi High Court May 22 stayed a Central Information Commission order that would have allowed Indians to seek information to use Right to Information Act to obtain court records.
The commission ruled May 11 that the RT Act takes precedence…
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18 May 2011
A key Indian cabinet committee is recommending that three law enforcement and intelligence agencies be exempted from the right to information law, Indian newspapers are reporting.
The move would exempt from RTI coverage the Central Bureau of Investigation, the National…
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18 May 2011
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has asked the Indian Department of Personnel and Training, Government to address a lack of uniformity with regard to right to information rules by state governments and the High Courts.
One problem, according to the…
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18 May 2011
The Indian Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled that the Right to Information Act takes precedence over the internal rules of the Supreme Court.
The court rules required a showing of “good cause.”
The First Appellate Authority (FFA) held that…
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6 May 2011
Right to information requests rival bribery as a way to cut through bureaucratic red tape in India, according to two studies by U.S. academics.
The experiments involved the complicated processes of registering to vote and getting ration cards, and were…
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8 April 2011
The Indian Central Information Commission has taken a step to fight a backlog of cases and has decided that commissioners should disclose their assets.
The six commissioners are being asked to dispose of around 3,200 appeals and complaints every year,…
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4 April 2011
A new 16-person body, the South Asia Advisers on the Right to Information, was formed during a two-day long convention in Kathmundu, Nepal, from March 27- 29.
Made up of chief information officers, RTI activists and others, the group will…
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25 March 2011
The Indian government has backed down on most of its controversial proposals to amend the right to know law, following pressure from the National Advisory Council.
The government is sticking with a proposal to limit applications to one subject, however,…
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14 March 2011
Indian right to know activists March 13 passed a 12-point resolution urging that the law’s jurisdiction be expanded to cover Public-Private Partnership (PPP) entities, political parties, trade unions, and nongovernmental organizations.
The “Shillong Declaration” was approved at the conclusion of…
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11 March 2011
Some 500 participants are attending a three-day national convention on right to information in Shillong, India, titled “Reclaim Democracy,” from March 10-12.
Aruna Roy, social activist and member of the National Advisory Council, addressed the convention, saying, “The Right to…
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4 March 2011
The Indian government has backed down somewhat from its proposal to limit the length of freedom of information requests to 250 words.
Five hundred words would be permitted, according to a Times of India report, which credited the movement to…
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4 March 2011
Aruna Roy, the convener of the Indian National Advisory Council’s group on transparency on March 3 requested that the council examine a proposed whistleblower bill that she said would be “wholly inadequate” to stop the killing of Right to Information Act users. …
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4 March 2011
The Indian Central Information Commission (CIC) has proposed bringing more transparency to the private corporations participating in the government’s public private partnership (PPP) programs, but the request appears to be meeting with resistance, or not.
The story began when the CIC asked…
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25 February 2011
More than 15,000 appeals under the Indian Right to Information Act (RTI) are pending with the Central Information Commission.
The information was released by Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions V. Narayanasamy Feb. 24…
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10 February 2011
By Amitabh Thakur
IPS officer from UP and President, National RTI Forum
“RTI Martyrs ! Who the hell are they?” someone might ask.
And the reason is obvious. For long we have listened the word martyr as someone who has…
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28 January 2011
An Indian government department has replied negatively to criticisms of its proposals to amendment the Right to Know Act rules, including to place a word limit on request and to abate appeals on the death of an applicant.
The Department of…
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28 January 2011
Six years after the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir enacted a Right to Information Act, the first Chief Information Officer has been named, Chief Income Tax Commissioner for northern India, G R Sufi.
Two information commissioners still must be…
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31 December 2010
Critics are weighing in against proposed amendments to the rules for the Information Right to Information Act that among other things would set a 250 word limit for each request and to raise fees.
These and other proposals have draw…
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3 December 2010
The genesis of the Indian right to know law is explored and directions for the future are elucidated in a detailed paper by Shekhar Singh, a founding member of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information.
His insider view…
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9 November 2010
The United States and India this week announced a joint effort to export lessons from the Indian Right to Information experience.
President Obama Nov. 7 pledged “approximately” $1 million “to support the work of Indian civil society in sharing their…
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29 January 2010
by Yvette M. Chin
Pune, India — Several men attacked and murdered Indian RTI activist Satish Shetty with swords the morning of January 13, in a killing that activists say is the result of Shetty’s RTI work. To date, local…
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13 January 2010
By Alasdair Roberts
India’s Right to Information Act (RTIA) went into force in October 2005. It is probably the most ambitious experiment with transparency in the world. The law promises a right to government-held information to 1.2 billion citizens, most…
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17 July 2009
A Comprehensive Look at the Implementation and Use of India’s RTI Act
New Delhi, India — In the first two years of access-to-information implementation in India, about 1.6 million requests for information were made in urban areas, while an additional 400,000…
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14 April 2009
Over the past few months, the World Bank has recently published a series of extremely useful reports by experts on access to information laws. Using comparative case studies, together these reports provide an overview of the whole life cycle of access to information (ATI) legislation, from adoption to implementation and enforcement. One report examines the role of civil society groups in the formulation and adoption of access to information laws in Bulgaria, India, Mexico, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Another examines the institutional and logistical nuts-and-bolts of implementation, using Mexico as a case study, while the third report looks at models of enforcement in several countries: South Africa, Mexico, Scotland, India, and Hungary.
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27 January 2009
The World Bank has expanded its policy of disclosing the names of firms and individuals banned from doing business with the Bank.
In a Jan. 11 announcement, the Bank said it will reveal the names of firms and individuals barred…
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28 September 2008
Washington, D.C., September 28, 2008 – Today’s celebration of International Right-to-Know Day marks a new watershed in the global reach of freedom of information laws – now on the books in more than 80 countries – and features celebrations in…
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18 January 2008
The Global Transparency Initiative has expressed concern about the decision by they International Monetary Fund to postponement review of the IMF Transparency Policy, originally scheduled for 2008.
GTI wrote to IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dec. 17 after learning from…
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18 January 2008
World Bank President Robert Zoellick ordered the disclosure recently of a World Bank investigation showing “serious incidents” of fraud and corruption in five Bank projects in India.
It was the first time the Bank had disclosed a “Detailed Implementation Review,”…
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31 August 2006
Just six months after the Right to Information Act came into force, the bureaucrats in the Indian government are on the verge of rolling back the Act’s progressive access provisions. In July 2006, without any public consultation, the Cabinet approved…
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18 August 2006
Just six months after the Right to Information Act came into force, the bureaucrats in the Indian government are on the verge of rolling back the Act’s progressive access provisions. In July 2006, without any public consultation, the Cabinet approved…
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22 March 2006
By Toby McIntosh
Riding a wave of transparency, the idea of encouraging Freedom of Information (FOI) laws as part of the development agenda is gaining currency, but slowly.
With research and case studies increasingly identifying transparency as a key tool…
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28 September 2005
Since 2002, freedom of information advocates around the world have been working together to promote the right of access to information for all people and recognize the benefits of transparent and accountable governments. We use this day as a way…
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14 September 2005
World Bank and Indian Anti-corruption Group Trade Charges about Bidding Process
Documents released recently under Delhi’s freedom of information law raised a major public controversy over World Bank involvement in contract bidding and fueled a public debate over possible privatization…
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9 August 2005
A newspaper in Pakistan has written about a nonpublic World Bank report evaluating ten years of World Bank activities in Pakistan and shedding light on the process of preparing such major evaluations.
The evaluation report is generally unfavorable to the…
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1 June 2005
The Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar (R-Ind), has made transparency reforms the central focus of legislation that also would authorize U.S. contributions to five multilateral development banks.
Lugar’s bill contains instructions to the U.S.…
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24 May 2005
"Good, Bad, and Ugly (maybe)" says Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
UPDATE – 25 JUNE 2005 CHRI Conference Report Effective Implementation: Preparing to Operationalise the Right to Information Act, 2005
After a number of false starts and even one Act which…
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21 December 2004
The Asian Development Bank’s second draft of a new communications policy is meeting with some praise, and also with continuing criticism.
Common themes included: demands for more disclosure about private sector operations, recommendations for releasing the key documents as they…
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30 September 2004
The International Finance Corporation has increased the number of consultations it will hold on proposed disclosure and safeguard policy revisions after the outreach process came under criticism by activists as inadequate and rushed.
The changes were announced just before the…
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21 July 2004
Critics of the Asian Development Bank’s Proposed Disclosure Policy staged a walk-out of the ADB’s consultation in Bangalore, India, July 16, and issued a sharply critical statement in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The walk-out in Bangalore by civil society representatives came after…
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30 June 2004
The pioneering right-to-information work of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) in India has won remarkable victories in the struggle against corruption, both at the village and national levels, according to the latest case study posted today by the freedominfo.org…
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30 June 2004
BACKGROUND NOTE ON THE DOCUMENTARY ON THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION MOVEMENT IN INDIA
The MKSS has had a series of films made to document various aspects of its work. The most successful campaign run by the MKSS was the Right…
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30 June 2004
PHOTO GALLERY OF THE MKSS
Women resting in the tent put up by Jan Nithi Abhyan (JNA) and Akal Sangharsh Samithi (ASS) during a 10 day public meeting in the fall of 2003. The JNA was a campaign for a…
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30 June 2004
The following documents are available for sale in a CD with the MKSS. To obtain a copy of this CD please contact the MKSS at mkssrajasthan@yahoo.com.
From Information to Accountability – Reclaiming Democracy
Survival And Right to Information – Gulam …
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30 June 2004
by Vivek Ramkumar
Download the entire report in Adobe PDF format (40 pp.)
Beyond Democratic Rights and Electoral Reform Campaigns: Challenges facing Non Party Political Movements (360 KB)
In India, people’s movements and grass roots campaigns have traditionally participated in…
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14 May 2004
By Vivek Ramkumar
The largest democratic election in human history ended yesterday in India. Most of the headlines today focused on the horse race, that is, the surprising defeat of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the return to power…
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24 February 2004
The chairman of an international group of parliamentarians has asked the World Bank to help assure a larger role for legislatures in setting the poverty-fighting strategies within their countries.
The request marks one of the first times the parliamentarians have…
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10 February 2004
The International Finance Corporation recently rejected a request by an Indian group to translate an environmental report about a hydropower project into the local language, Hindi.
The rejection means “the documents are available to the whole world, but sorry, affected…
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11 October 2003
by Thomas Blanton
The International Herald Tribune, October 11, 2003, p. 6
Last month (September 23, 2003), Armenia became the 51st country in the world to guarantee its citizens the right to know what their government is up to. Armenia’s…
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31 January 2003
The World Bank has rejected requests to disclose several key documents concerning the controversial $1.1 billion Nam Theun 2 hydropower project in Laos.
The documents — the "power purchase agreement" and the "concession agreement" — must stay private, the Bank…
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15 December 2002
The Freedom of Information Bill 2002
By Prashant Bhushan
National Campaign Committee for the People’s Right to Information
Text of India’s Freedom of Information law
(as passed by Lok Sabha): Word – PDF
More than 5 years ago, the Shourie…
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22 November 2002
Ugandan Judge Orders Release of Key Document on Bujagali Dam. Relying on the open government clause of the Ugandan constitution, a top Ugandan judge Nov. 12 ordered the release of a key document about a controversial dam project that the…
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1 November 2002
The International Rivers Network (IRN) commissioned the Prayas Energy Group, a policy analysis organization based in Pune, India, to review the PPA.
The analysis found that the capital cost of the project is "excessively high." It also contended that "a…
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15 July 2002
By Thomas Blanton
Published in Foreign Policy, July/August 2002
During the last decade, 26 countries have enacted new legislation giving their citizens access to government information. Why? Because the concept of freedom of information is evolving from a moral indictment…
