7/27/2019 RTI AWARENES1

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/rti-awarenes1 1/2

1 | P a g e  

RTI AWARENESS

“ I believe that the passage of this bill will see the dawn of a new era in our processes of 

 governance, an era of performance and efficiency, an ear which will ensure that benefits of 

 growth flow to all sections of our people, an era which will eliminate the scourge of corruption,

an era which will bring the common man's concern to the heart of all processes of governance,

an era which will truly fulfill the hopes of the founding fathers of our Republic.” 

-  Shri. Manmohan Singh,1 

The objective of the RTI Act (as enshrined in its preamble) is to establish a practical regime for 

citizens to access information held by Public Authorities. This in turn will lead to increased

transparency and accountability at the Public Authorities. More than three years have passed

since the enactment of the RTI Act and it is the right time to take stock of what has been

achieved by giving access to information held by Public Authorities to the citizens.2

There have

 been many discussions and debates about the effectiveness and impact of the Act. This paper 

examines the effectives of the Act.

INTRODUCTION

In order to promote transparency and accountability in administration across government

departments, the Indian Parliament enacted the Right to Information Act (henceforth referred to

as „Act‟) in the year 2005. The Act, which came into force on 12 October 2005 empowers Indian

citizens to seek information from a Public Authority and is aimed at making the Government and

its functionaries more accountable and responsible. The Act has now been in operation for over 

five years and has benefited many, including the poor and the underprivileged. It is a matter of 

 pride that we have given to ourselves, a tool which has the potential to usher in transparency, and

reduce corruption.3 

1 Prime Minister of India in his intervention speech on RTI bill debate in Lok Sabha in May 20052 rti.gov.in/rticorner/studybypwc/progress_made.pdf  

3 RTI Call Centre and Portal Project, Request For Proposal - Volume I, Pdf 

7/27/2019 RTI AWARENES1

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/rti-awarenes1 2/2

2 | P a g e  

In the last three years since the Right of Information Act has come into being, several attempts

have been made by state governments, public authorities, Information commissions and non-

government organizations to implement the Act as per its letter and spirit.4

The Indian Right to

Information, Act 2005 is one of the most advanced Information legislations in the world. In

India, after many deliberations over the years, the RTI Act was passed by the parliament in

October 12, 2005, thus opening up the governance processes of our country to the public. The

Act is based on the principle that all government information is the property of people.5

It takes

democracy to the grass root level and is also a step towards ensuring participatory governance in

the country.6

RTI Act is a source of strength for all citizenry as it would ensure timely response

to their information needs on government functioning and lead to greater transparency in

governance. „Right to Information‟ (RTI) refers to the right of every citizen to access

information held by or under the control of public authorities. Information is crucial for good

governance as it reflects and captures Government activities and processes. It is said that

information is the oxygen of democracy.7

If people do not know what is happening in their 

society, if the actions of those who rule them are hidden, then they cannot take a meaningful part

in the affairs of the society. Access to information not only promotes openness, transparency and

accountability in administration, but also facilitates active participation of people in the

democratic governance process.8 

4 Identify best practices in the implementation of RTI Act, 20055 Final Understanding the “Key Issues and Constraints” in implementing the RTI Act, pdf  

6 projectvijay.blogspot.in/2009/10/right-to-information-act-2005-mission.html7 wcd.nic.in/rightinformation/worldbank-rti.pdf  

8 cgg.gov.in/publicationdownloads2a/18.Report%20on%20Mass%20Awareness.pdf