This office memorandum clarifies the roles and responsibilities of Public Information Officers (PIOs) under Section 5 of the Right to Information Act, 2005. While PIOs can seek assistance from other officers for proper discharge of their duties, and such assisting officers are treated as PIOs for contravention of the Act, this provision does not grant PIOs the authority to designate other...
This office memorandum clarifies the provisions of Section 5(4) and 5(5) of the Right to Information Act, 2005. It addresses the misuse of these sections by Public Information Officers (PIOs) who are transferring applications to other officers and directing them to provide information, effectively designating them as PIOs. The memo emphasizes that while PIOs can seek assistance from other...
This Office Memorandum clarifies the acceptable methods for paying fees under the Right to Information Act, 2005. It reiterates that payments can be made via cash, demand draft, banker’s cheque, or Indian Postal Order, and these should be payable to the Accounts Officer of the public authority. The document addresses a persistent issue where some public authorities have been refusing to...
This circular clarifies that fees for information requests under the Right to Information Act, 2005, can be paid via demand draft, banker’s cheque, or Indian Postal Order. These payments should be made payable to the Accounts Officer of the Public Authority. The directive emphasizes that rejecting applications based on the payee not being the Accounts Officer directly is unacceptable and...
The Department of Personnel & Training is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from eligible institutions or organizations for a study on the current status of proactive disclosures made by public authorities across the country. This initiative is part of a larger plan to strengthen capacity building and awareness for the effective implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005...
The Department of Personnel & Training is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from eligible institutions or organizations to serve as a Knowledge Partner and National Resource Centre. This role is crucial for implementing the Centrally Sponsored Plan Scheme focused on ‘Strengthening, Capacity Building and Awareness Generation for effective implementation of the RTI Act’. The...
This communication clarifies that under the Right to Information Act, 2005, a person can lodge complaints or appeals with the Central or State Information Commissions. It addresses the practice of these commissions constituting Benches to decide on complaints and appeals. However, after consultation with the Department of Legal Affairs, it has been determined that the Act does not explicitly...
This communication from the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Personnel & Training, clarifies a crucial aspect of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. It highlights that while individuals can file complaints and appeals with the Central or State Information Commissions, the formation of Benches by these commissions to decide on such matters is only...
This office memorandum clarifies previous directives concerning the handling of Right to Information (RTI) applications. It addresses the common misconception that collecting information from various public authorities to fulfill an RTI request constitutes the “creation of information,” which is beyond the scope of the Act. The Central Information Commission has highlighted that...
This communication from the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions clarifies the process for handling applications filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, particularly when the requested information pertains to other public authorities. It addresses a previous office memorandum from June 12, 2008, and reiterates that compiling or collating information from various public...