National RTI Awards

North Central Railways’ RTI cell brings transparency in the system

Mudit Chandra, Senior Divisional Personnel Officer of North Central Railways, is one of the first nominees for National RTI Awards in the category of public information officers (PIOs).

As PIO, Chandra is credited with streamlining the system of information sharing under RTI Act in the North Central Railways-Allahabad, which not only ... Read More

RTI helps Madan Lal check tax evasion

Madan Lal has filed numerous RTI applications that have had significant public impact. Madan Lal has been nominated for the National RTI Awards in Best Citizens category for the first annual Right to Information Awards.

Back in September 2007, Madan Lal filed his first RTI application and he was ... Read More

Madan Lal’s village gets drainage due to RTI

Madan Lal has filed numerous RTI applications that have had significant public impact. Madan Lal has been nominated for the National RTI Awards in Best Citizens category for the first annual Right to Information Awards.

While Madan Lal has various examples of how his involvement with RTI has benefitted ... Read More

Did you know officials make money in lakhs from a newborn baby or a dead person?

Narasaraopet Municipality in Andhra Pradesh was charging Rs. 25 for the registration of each birth and death, if the application was made within 21 days of birth or death. Beyond that, the charges were Rs. 35.

Ironically, big hoardings outside their office screamed "Free registration of Birth and Death within ... Read More

Jaspal Singh fights disenfranchisement with RTI

As elections for 15th Lok Sabha got over, everyone seemed to know someone who found his or her name missing from the voters' list without an explanation.

Given that disenfranchisement of this kind has become commonplace, how many people demand an explanation? And how many people make a fight of it?

Jaspal ... Read More

Citizen’s RTI activism leads to improved LPG supply

Ever tried getting a refill of LPG within a day or two of taking delivery of another refill?

How many days does it take?

If your answer is '21 days', you are among many consumers who naively believe so.

Jaideep Kumar Gupta (38) of Bilaspur (Rampur, UP), one of the first nominees for National ... Read More

RTI application exposed Scam worth 11 Crores

Misappropriation of funds and lack of monitoring has resulted in a colossal failure of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in many states of the country. In 2007, Jaffer Multani's RTI application unearthed a scam worth Rs. 11 Crore in Shajapur district, Madhya Pradesh. Jaffer Multani (30), a stringer for a ... Read More

Vora’s diagnoses Mumbai’s problems with RTI

Mumbai-based Gaurang Vora is a pathologist who is also interested in diagnosing disorders of governance affecting the society and finding remedies for them. One of the first nominees for National RTI awards in the citizens category, Vora, along with his fellow RTI activists, has not only been making very effective use ... Read More

Dhirendra becomes a civil judge, thanks to RTI

Have you ever felt inadequately compensated for your hard work?  Everyday Indian citizens face situations where decisions affecting their lives are outside of their control. Dhirendra Kumar from Dumraon decided to take his future into his own hands. He was declared failed in Bihar Judicial Service Exam but he used Right ... Read More

Goyal helps RS get a head-start in RTI performance

In late 2008, Deepak Goyal, Director (questions branch) of Rajya Sabha Secretariat, who's also Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), received a call from a rather confused and frustrated caller. The caller wanted many queries about a matter related to land answered by the central government, and asked Goyal if Secretary-General ... Read More