The Right to Information Act (RTI) was enacted in 2005 to provide citizens access to information held by public authorities and promote transparency. It allows citizens to request information from any public authority through application in writing or electronically. While most government information can be accessed, there are some exemptions like information related to national security, court proceedings, trade secrets etc. The RTI has been very effective in uncovering corruption, though some activists have faced threats and attacks while using the law.

1. THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION
ACT (RTI), 2005

2. WHAT IS RTI
•Provides a legal framework of Citizens democratic
right to access to information under the control of
Public Authorities.
•An Act to provide for setting out the practical regime
of right to Information for citizens to secure.
•To Promote Transparency and accountability in the
functioning of every public authority.

3. PUBLIC AUTHORITY
Public Authority means any Authority or Body or
Institution established or constituted:
By or under the Constitution
By any other law made by parliament
By any other law made by State Legislature
By notification issued or order made by the
appropriate Government

4. WHAT DOES INFORMATION
MEAN??
Records
Documents
Memos
Opinions & Advices
Press Releases
Circulars, Orders & Logbooks
Contracts
Reports, Papers, Samples & Models

5. WHEN & WHERE
The RTI act 2005 was enacted by permission and
authority of his Excellency, President of India. This act
was enacted by the parliament on 15.06.2005 and
notified in the Gazette of India dated 21.06.2005.

6. APPLICABILITY
The law talks of Access To Information under the
control of public authorities. That means that any
citizen in India can approach any “Public Authority”
of a body of Government or “Instrumentality of State”
for the same.
There is a 30 day limit for a reply. In fact the ambit
was widened even further and made applicable for
bodies “owned, controlled or substantially financed”
by the Government.

7. APPLICABILITY
Article 370 of the Constitution confers a special
autonomous status to Jammu & Kashmir. And it is out
of the ambit of the RTI too. However it’s not that they
don’t have access. They have to rely on the Jammu
and Kashmir Right to Information Act of 2009.

8. NEED FOR RTI ACT
It helps to promote openness, transparency and
accountability in the working of every public authority.
Reduces Corruption.
Prevent Administrative Arbitrariness.
Bride the gap between providers and recipient of
public services.
Make citizens part of decision making.
Make administrative responsive
Strengthen the foundations of democracy.

9. REQUEST FOR OBTAINING
INFORMATION
>> A person, who desires to obtain any information
under this Act, shall
Make a request in writing or through electronic means
in English or Hindi or in the official language of the
area in which the application is being made,
accompanying such fee as may be prescribed to—
(a) The Central Public Information Officer or State
Public Information Officer, as the case may be, of the
concerned public authority.

10. REQUEST FOR OBTAINING
INFORMATION
(b) The Central Assistant Public Information Officer
or State Assistant Public Information Officer, as the
case may be, specifying the particulars of the
information sought by him or her provided that where
such request cannot be made in writing, the Central
Public Information Officer or State Public Information
Officer, as the case may be, shall render all reasonable
assistance to the person making the request orally to
reduce the same in writing.

11. EXEMPTIONS FROM
DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION
National Security
Contempt of Court
Parliamentary Privilege
Trade Secrecy
Foreign Government
Safety of Informer in Law Enforcement
Investigations
Cabinet Papers
Privacy

12. VERY FIRST RTI APPLICATION
On October 12, 2005, a person called Shahid Raza
Burney submitted India’s first ever Right To
Information application to a police station in Pune and
thus we entered the RTI age.

13. RTI SUCCESSES
Overall it has been hugely successful and has helped
citizens get crucial information. One of the biggest
successes has been getting information in the Adarsh
scam. It also helped expose corruption in the Public
Distribution System in Assam.
While there are national and State level scams, it has
helped unearth hundreds of wrongdoings at the local
level Such as- 2G Scam (Rs1,76,645 crores),
Commonwealth Games - Diversion of Dalit Funds
(5,27,723.72 crores worth of funds), Indian Red Cross
Society Scam etc.

14. RTI DEATHS
While RTI activism became an industry, attacks on
RTI activists followed. The number of such attacks
now number hundreds and dozens have been killed.
•Lalit Mehta was exposing a NREGA scam and was
killed in 2008.
•Satish Shetty was exposing land scams in
Maharashtra and was stabbed to death in 2010.
•In the same year Amit Jethwa was shot in the
Ahmedabad High Court complex. He was exposing a
mining scam. There are many such stories which talk
of the bravery of RTI activists.

15. FEES & CHARGES
Application Fees- Rs, 10/-
In the Form of Electronic Media, Floppy/CD etc.-
Additional charges applicable.
Inspection charges of relevant files, documents and
records-
>> No fee for first hour of inspection.
>> Rs. 5/- for every subsequent hour or
fraction thereof.

16. RTI WEBSITE & CONTACT
DETAILS
http://www.rti.gov.in
Contact Us
Director(IR)
Room No.279A
North Block
New Delhi-110001
Email: osdrti-dopt@nic.in
Under Secretary(IR)
Room No.281
North Block
New Delhi-110001
Email: usir-dopt@nic.in