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RTI to go “online“
Why in news?
- The Supreme Court asked center and 25 states to respond to a writ petition.
- The petition seeks direction to all states to establish Right to Information (RTI) web portals.
More in news
- SC bench noted that no other states except Delhi and Maharashtra, have set up RTI portals.
- Center RTI Portalfacilitates
(1) Information seekers who are not only Indian citizens but also Non-Residential Indians (NRIs) form any Ministry or Department under the Central government.
(2) The portal also helps applicants to pay the fees online.
- It was back in 2013 that center had requested various govts to explore the feasibility of implementing online RTI portals.
- Center also had offered to provide technical support for this purpose through the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to the States.
- Benefits of having an online Web Portal
(1) Indian citizens, including the Non-Resident Indians could have access to informationwithout much delay.
(2) The physical presence of submitting the application under the RTI Act can also be done away with.
About RTI
- The Right to Information Act (RTI) aims to promote transparency in government institutions in India.
- The Act came into effect on 12 October 2005 and has been implemented ever since to provide information to crores of Indian citizens.
- All the constitutional authorities come under the ambit of this Act.
- An organisation is bound to provide the information, that too within 30 days, failing which the officer concerned is slapped with a monetary fine.
Source
The Hindu