This Office Memorandum directs all public authorities to proactively disclose details of official foreign and domestic tours undertaken by Ministers and officials of the rank of Joint Secretary and above, as well as Heads of Departments. This disclosure, mandated by Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005, should include information on the tour’s nature, destinations, duration, delegation size, and total cost. Updates are to be made quarterly, starting from July 1, 2012, for tours undertaken since January 1, 2012. Exemptions under Section 8 of the RTI Act may be applied, and this advisory does not apply to security and intelligence organizations or CVOs. The contents of this memorandum are to be brought to the notice of all concerned entities, including various Ministries, Commissions, and Secretariats, as well as Chief Secretaries of all States/UTs.
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Office Memorandum
Sub: Suo motu disclosure on official tours of Ministers and other officials.
Sub-Section (2) of Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005 requires every public authority to take steps in accordance with the requirements of clause (b) of sub-section (1) to provide as much information suo motu to the public at regular intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that the public have minimum resort to use the Act to obtain information.
2. It has been brought to the notice of this Department that public authorities are receiving RTI applications frequently asking for details of the official tours undertaken by Ministers and other officials of the Ministries/Departments concerned. In compliance with the provisions of Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005, it is advised that Public Authorities may proactively disclose the details of foreign and domestic official tours undertaken by Minister(s) and officials of the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of India and above and Heads of Departments, since $1^{\text {st }}$ January, 2012. The disclosures may be updated once every quarter starting from $1^{\text {st }}$ July, 2012.
3. Information to be disclosed proactively may contain nature of the official tour, places visited, the period, number of people included in the official delegation and total cost of such travel undertaken. Exemptions under Section 8 of the RTI Act, 2005 may be taken in view while disclosing the information. These advisory would not apply to security and intelligence organisations under the second schedule of the RTI Act, 2005 and CVOs of public authorities.
4. Contents of this OM may be brought to the notice of all concerned.
(Sandgep Jain)
Deputy Secretary
Tele: 23092755
- All the Ministries / Departments of the Government of India
- Union Public Service Commission/Lok Sabha Sectt./Rajya Sabha Secretariat/ Cabinet Secretariat/ Central Vigilance Commission/ President’s Secretariat/ VicePresident’s Secretariat/ Prime Minister’s Office/ Planning Commission/Election Commission.
- Central Information Commission.
- Staff Selection Commission, CGO Complex, New Delhi
- Office of the Comptroller \& Auditor General of India, 10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi.
- All officers/Desks/Sections, of DOP\&T, Department of Pension \& Pensioners Welfare and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances.
Copy to: Chief Secretaries of all the States/UTs.