The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government, like its United Progressive Alliance predecessor, seems to be failing on suo motu disclosures under the Right to Information Act.
Besides this, a new format has been devised for filing an appeal to the Central Information Commission under the transparency law.
The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday said banknotes in circulation witnessed higher than average increase during 2020-21, on account of precautionary holding of cash by people due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and its prolonged continuance. The value and volume of banknotes in circulation increased by 16.8 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively, during 2020-21, as against an increase of 14.7 per cent and 6.6 per cent, respectively, witnessed during 2019-20, said the RBI annual report. In value terms, the share of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 banknotes together accounted for 85.7 per cent of the total value of banknotes in circulation as on March 31, 2021, as against 83.4 per cent as on March 31, 2020.
The proposed rules, aimed at replacing RTI rules of 2012, have been placed by the department of personnel and training on its website for comments from public.
The Delhi high court on Friday stayed its single judge's order in which it had said that under the Right to Information Act, every citizen is entitled to know the donations given by the President of India.
The government on Friday defended its decision to amend the Right To Information Act to keep political parties out of the purview of the ombudsman, saying they are not "public authorities" but voluntary association of people.
The Income Tax Department has now decided to provide full details of tax returns of political parties under the RTI Act after the Central Information Commission (CIC) issued it directives in this regard.
The CIC, the top appellate body in RTI matters, went through the law, orders of the Supreme Court, the Law Commission of India report, submissions of the Central Public Information Officer in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to conclude that the status, nature and functional characteristics of the BCCI fulfil required conditions of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.
The Delhi government on Monday clarified that the advisory issued on two-finger test on rape victims was "misinterpreted" and said it will issue a fresh notification clearly mentioning that this procedure to ascertain sexual assault is banned.
A court has stayed an order to Reserve Bank of India to publicly name top 100 loan defaulters.
Challenging various orders of the Delhi high court and the Central Information Commission (CIC) asking the Apex court to reveal information held by the Chief Justice of India, Attorney General G E Vahanvati, appearing for the Supreme Court, contended that all information held by the CJI cannot be made public.
The Chief Information Commissioner on Friday directed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to disclose all its records used by the Justice Mukherjee Commission to probe the alleged disappearance of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in 1945.
Resentment continues to brew at the Delhi and District Cricket Association with former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi on Thursday seeking punishment for the culprits behind Sunday's pitch fiasco and demanding clipping of the wing of DDCA's "monstrous" Sports Committee.
Batting for larger transparency, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has urged the Committee of Administrators running the Board of Control for Cricket in India to look into the issues raised by historian Ramachandra Guha.
Banks might reject your loan application if you defaulted on your telephone or electricity bill, soon.
The Delhi High Court on Thursday said the National Stock Exchange was a public authority and was bound to reveal information under the Right to Information Act.
The income of these parties from "unknown" sources was Rs 689.44 crore, which is 53 per cent of their total income.
Former media advisor to Prime Minister Deepak Sandhu and former secretary in the Union government Sushma Singh were sworn in, on Wednesday, as new information commissioners at the Central Information Commission.
Acknowledging that the investigation wing of the Income Tax Department was exempted from the purview of Right To Information Act, the CIC said such blanket ban would 'dis-enthuse' whistle-blowers which may not be in the 'best interest of state revenues'
The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), under fire for the Kotla pitch fiasco, is willing to consider a long standing demand to form a Cricket Improvement Committee for efficient and transparent functioning of the body.
Sunil Gavaskar has returned to head the Mumbai Cricket Association's Cricket Improvement Committee after a decade's absence from any activities connected with his cricketing alma mater.
Noted journalists Vir Sanghvi and Pritish Nandy have revealed that they will be jointly filing a Right To Information application with the Central Information Commission (CIC) with regard to this year's Padma Award list and the questionable inclusion of Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal in it.
The government has proposed that political parties cannot be designated public authorities as defined in the RTI Act. Anita Katyal reports
'We have to rise over our divisions.' 'Divisions within us allow unscrupulous politicians to divert attention from issues like corruption and governance.'
Fed up with what they say is inaction by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canada Border Services, about 74 people want to initiate a class action lawsuit against the government agencies. The applicants are Canadian citizens or permanent residents who say they 'are victims of immigration fraud marriages or relationship of convenience.'
It may sound ironical, but the information declassified by the United States and put in public domain is still tagged as confidential by Ministry of External Affairs as is evident in a case pertaining to the mole in Indira Gandhi's cabinet in 1972.
In a letter to Information Commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu, Kejriwal said he does not object to government records about him being made public and wondered why the commission wants to "hide" information on Modi's educational degree.
The CIC slapped the fine on the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India's CEO Sudhir Mukund Galande while dismissing his argument that he was acting as a 'facilitator' to the RTI applicant and that he was 'not having direct access or control' over the information.
The clarification by Delhi University's registrar Tarun Das came amid the raging controversy over Modi's educational qualifications with the Aam Aadmi Party continuing to question genuiness of the BA degree.
Gujarat University Vice-Chancellor M N Patel revealed the MA results of Narendra Modi at an impromptu press briefing at his house.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) has turned down an application seeking cost-related information on the country's unique fast-breeder reactor being developed at Kalpakkam.
Central Information Commission has held that funding from RBI makes an institution is adequate to make it accountable under RTI.
Credit rating agency Crisil has announced that it has reached a preliminary understanding with Equifax Inc of the US, and Tata Capital Ltd to set up a credit information company, which provides credit histories and checks on retail borrowers.
The CPIO had said that the file was destroyed in 1972 during the routine process of review and weeding of old records.
The CIC's order of April 13 had also directed DBT to disclose bio-safety data of rice, okra (lady's finger) and mustard, after an Right to Information application was filed by Greenpeace activist Divya Raghunandan.
In a landmark decision the Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled that the income tax returns of political parties will come under the purview of the Right to Information Act (RTI). The move will, it is hoped, enable the public to get details on the funding sources of political parties.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled out disclosure of any information relating to medical tests under the RTI Act, while terming the relationship between a doctor and his patient as "fiduciary".
With Supreme Court moving an appeal in the Delhi high court against the CIC order on making assets of its judges public, the Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan has made it clear that the judges 'are not bound to disclose' their wealth. "There is no statute or law which insists that the judges or the superior courts should submit declaration of their assets. Even then, our judges are submitting the declaration of assets to the Chief Justice," the CJI said.
Troubled banking giant Citigroup on Friday said it has completed the sale of its German retail banking business to European banking group Credit Mutuel-CIC for euro 5.2 billion ($ 6.6 billion) in an all cash deal.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is expected to keep a tab on cases under trial involving it, has claimed it has no records of the cases pending in various courts throughout the country.
