(a) whether any review has been made to assess the working of the Right to Information (RTI) Act;
(b) if so, the details and the outcome thereof;
(c) whether the information under the Act is provided to the applicants within the stipulated time-frame;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) if not, the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard?
Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in
the Prime Minister’s Office. (SHRI V. NARAYANASAMY)
(a) & (b): A study was conducted during the year 2008-2009 through an independent organization to assess
the key issues and constraints in implementation of the Right to Information Act, 2005. The study, inter-alia,
pointed out that there was inadequate planning by the public authorities in regard to supply of information;
awareness about the Act in rural areas was much less than in urban areas; awareness amongst women was much
less than men; the gap in implementation of the Act was because of lack of clear accountability in respect
of various functionaries etc. In this regard, the study recommended measures for improving awareness on
right to information; improving convenience in filing information requests; improving efficiency of the
Information Commissions, enhancing accountability and clarity of various stakeholders, etc.
(c): The RTI Act provides for imposition of penalty on the public information officer in case the information
is not supplied within the stipulated time frame. It ensures timely supply of information.
(d) & (e): The Government has taken steps to build the capacity of the demand and supply side through training,
on-line certificate course, and publication of guides on the Right to Information Act. Awareness Generation has
been undertaken through print, electronic, outdoor media and workshops. An RTI Logo has also been designed and
propagated widely. Apart from this clarificatory orders were also issued vide OMs No. 1/18/2007-IR dated 21st
September, 2007 and 1/6/2011-IR dated 15.04.2013 impressing upon the public authorities to disclose maximum
information proactively so that citizens need not resort to filing of RTI application to access information
available with the public authorities.