The former information commissioner, who is known for his pro-transparency orders in several high-profile cases, said the proposed changes "seriously undermine" the autonomy of information commissions.
The Association for Democratic Reforms has complained against six major political parties for not appointing Public Information Officers.
Over 40,000 complaints and appeals are pending in the Central Information Commission which is working without its chief for more than nine months.
Madras High Court has stayed the Central Information Commissioner's (CIC) proceedings on declaring the Board of Control for Cricket in India as a public authority under the RTI Act.
Another meeting will be called next week at a mutually-convenient date.
One of the key contentions raised by Kejriwal in his review plea is that contrary to Gujarat University's claim about Modi's degree being available online, no such degree is available on the university's website.
Former Intelligence Bureau chief Rajiv Mathur on Thursday took over as the new chief information commissioner in the Central Information Commission.
Major national parties, including Congress, on Wednesday attacked the CIC order on bringing parties under the RTI Act ambit while the government reacted sharply as Bharatiya Janata Party ploughed a lonely furrow by welcoming it.
The situation has arisen second time since the Bharatiya Janata Party government came to power in 2014.
A Central Information Commission order asking the Supreme Court to explain the rationale of one of its rulings was stayed on Monday by the Delhi high court.
The company is currently developing the Mmamabula Energy Complex -- a mining, power and potential coal-to-hydrocarbons facility -- in the landlocked southern African country of Botswana.
In April 2016, the then CIC M Sridhar Acharyulu had directed the Delhi University and the Gujarat University to provide information to Kejriwal on the degrees that Modi received.
The Sports Ministry is pinning its hope on the Central Information Commission to bring the Board of Control for Crickt in India under the purview of the Right To Information Act. Sports Minister Ajay Maken said he has appealed to the CIC to bring the BCCI under RTI for varied reasons.
Former Central Board of Direct Taxes chief K V Chowdary and Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma were on Monday appointed Central Vigilance Commissioner and Chief Information Commissioner, posts which have remained vacant for over nine months on which the government drew some flak.
The Delhi high court said on Friday the purpose of Right to Information (RTI) Act is to bring in transparency, and if any information has been sought, it should be made public unless exempted from disclosure under the law.
The central government last week named Vijai Sharma as the new chief information commissioner, a post vacant since August 2014. Sharma, an information commissioner since 2012, must know that his plate is full.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approached the Gujarat high court seeking a review of its recent order setting aside the Central Information Commission's directive to the Gujarat University to provide information on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree to the AAP national convener.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is likely to challenge the Central Information Commission's ruling that the cricket board be brought under the Right to Information act with a top official accusing the Committee of Administrators (COA) of 'wilful negligence' in dealing with the matter.
The finance ministry official may have claimed that the ministry does not have information on the loans sanctioned by different banks to Mallya or the details of the guarantee given by Mallya against those loans, but the ministry had responded to questions in this regard in Parliament in the past.
Reserve Bank of India on Thursday said a centralised portal would be ready in three to four months wherein depositors and beneficiaries can access details of unclaimed deposits across various banks. As of February this year, about Rs 35,000 crore of unclaimed deposits were transferred to RBI by public sector banks in respect of deposits which were not operated for 10 years or more. "In order to improve and widen the access of depositors/beneficiaries to such data, RBI has decided to develop a web portal to enable search across multiple banks for possible unclaimed deposits based on user inputs," RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said while announcing the first bi-monthly monetary policy for the current financial year.
A committee of cricketers set up ten years ago by the then Mumbai Cricket Association president Sharad Pawar to improve the game could be discontinued or converted into a technical committee.
Demonetisation of the high value currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 did not have any discernible impact on currency in circulation (CIC) in the country, which has soared by almost 83 per cent since its announcement on November 8, 2016. The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the decision of the government on demonetisation. On November 8, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced demonetisation of old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 banknotes and one of the key objectives of the unprecedented decision was to promote digital payments and curb black money flows.
It has granted states and the Centre three weeks to furnish the information, and posted the plea filed by RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj for hearing after that.
The anti-corruption watchdog posts have been vacant for the last nine months.
The Central Information Commission will seek a report from Income Tax department and Directorate of Estate regarding tax exemptions claimed by political parties and their assets to ascertain whether there is enough indirect funding from the government to bring them under the ambit of RTI Act.
Delhi University had claimed that unless the roll number of a student is not provided, it would be difficult to search the records.
The records with a parliamentary committee can be provided to an RTI applicant once the report is tabled on the floor of the House, the CIC held on New Delhi, but exempted cases where documents are declared confidential.
In a statement, the CPI-M Politburo contended that a political party was a voluntary association of citizens who believe in the ideology, programme and the leadership, and it was accountable only to its membership.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) on Friday urged the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators running the Board of Control for Cricket in India to 'immediately initiate efforts' to look into the issues raised by historian Ramachandra Guha in his resignation letter.
It said the Central and state governments must make adequate fiscal allocations for computerisation and connectivity from Information Commission level to divisions and sub-division level public authorities so as to effectively operationalise the provisions of the RTI Act.
Activist Subhash Chandra Agarwal had appealed to the CIC saying that the government had not provided "any information on the ground that the desired records constituted Cabinet papers and therefore could not be disclosed."
Uncertainty prevailed in major political parties including the ruling Congress and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party over whether to appoint an officer who can share information with public under the Right To Information Act as the six-week deadline given by the Central Information Commission to designate such officers ended on Monday.
The Prime Minister's Office has told the Central Information Commission that it cannot declassify files related to freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose as it will adversely affect relations with foreign countries.
Giving relief to itself, the Supreme Court, on Friday, stayed the Central Information Commission's direction asking it to make public information pertaining to appointment of three judges to the apex court by superseding senior judges.
The appointment of a new chief information commissioner has been deferred as the scheduled meeting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Leader of Opposition L K Advani has been postponed. Official sources said the meeting of the three-member committee comprising the Prime Minister, Advani and Law Minister Veerappa Moily has been postponed without citing any reasons and no new date has been given.
The new Bench will start hearing the matter from August 16.
The disclosure of files provided by India's second army chief General Sir Roy Bucher to Nehru Memorial Museum and Library about Jammu and Kashmir related to the period of 1947-49, which may throw light on Accession, is in 'national interest,' the central information commission has observed in an order.
Senior most Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma is tipped to be new Chief Information Commissioner, while former Central Board of Direct Taxes chief K V Chowdary is understood to be in the running for the Central Vigilance Commissioner's post.
Sharad Pawar's comments were at variance from ally Shiv Sena-UBT, whose leader Sanjay Raut had said PM Modi should come forward to inform about his academic qualification and that his degree should be displayed at the entrance of the Parliament building.
"This decision was taken at the recent Apex Council meeting and it will be the same like the way BCCI has it. The modalities will be worked out by the Association's Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC)," a senior MCA official said.
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