he Right to Information Act (RTI) is an Act of the Parliament of India "to provide for setting out the practical

regime of right to information for citizens " and replaces the erstwhile Freedom of Information Act, 2002. The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India e cept the State of !amm" and #ashmir. Under the pro$isions of the Act, an% citi&en ma% re'"est information from a "p"(lic a"thorit%" (a (od% of )o$ernment or "instr"mentalit% of State") which is re'"ired to repl% e peditio"sl% or within thirt% da%s. The Act also re'"ires e$er% p"(lic a"thorit% to comp"terise their records for wide dissemination and to pro*acti$el% p"(lish certain cate+ories of information so that the citi&ens need minim"m reco"rse to re'"est for information formall%. This law was passed (% Parliament on ,- !"ne 200- and came f"ll% into force on ,. /cto(er 200-. 0,1 Information disclos"re in India was restricted (% the /fficial Secrets Act ,22. and $ario"s other special laws, which the new 3TI Act rela es. he state*le$el 3TI Acts were first s"ccessf"ll% enacted (% the state +o$ernments of #arnata4a (2000), )oa (,225), 3a6asthan (2000), Tamil 7ad" (,225), 8elhi (200,), 9aharashtra (2002),Assam (2002), 9adh%a Pradesh (200.), and !amm" and #ashmir (200:). The Act co$ers the whole of India e cept !amm" and #ashmir, where !;# 3i+ht to Information Act is in force. It is applica(le to all constit"tional a"thorities, incl"din+ the e ec"ti$e, le+islat"re and 6"diciar%< an% instit"tion or (od% esta(lished or constit"ted (% an act of Parliament or a state le+islat"re. It is also defined in the Act that (odies or a"thorities esta(lished or constit"ted (% order or notification of appropriate +o$ernment incl"din+ (odies "owned, controlled or s"(stantiall% financed" (% +o$ernment, or non*)o$ernment or+anisations "s"(stantiall% financed, directl% or indirectl% (% f"nds" pro$ided (% the +o$ernment are also co$ered in the Act. 9edia and 8e$elopment The media can ma4e a real difference to the li$es of poor and disad$anta+ed people (%= > ma4in+ people more aware of their ri+hts and entitlements< > ena(lin+ people to ha$e access to +o$ernment pro+rammes, schemes and (enefits< > ma4in+ people more aware of political iss"es and options and helpin+ to stim"late de(ate< > ed"catin+ the p"(lic on social, economic and en$ironmental iss"es< > drawin+ attention to instit"tional failin+s ? corr"ption, fra"d, waste, inefficienc%, cron%ism, nepotism, a("se of power and the li4e< > fosterin+ e chan+e of (est practices, 4nowled+e reso"rces, access to (etter technolo+%, and to > creatin+ press"re for impro$ed +o$ernment performance, acco"nta(ilit% and '"alit%, for e ample in ser$ice deli$er%< and > pro$idin+ a disc"rsi$e space for citi&ens to dialo+"e with other actors in the +o$ernance process. The three main areas thro"+h which the media can ma4e a si+nificant impact on de$elopment and po$ert% red"ction are= ,) @mpowerment 9edia has a definite role to pla% in the empowerment of citi&ens. It +i$es $oice to the needs and aspirations of the people and pro$ides them access to rele$ant information Social Awareness ; Action The potential of mass media to (e effecti$el% emplo%ed to enhance social awareness is "n'"estiona(le. The media can (e effecti$e in not onl% preser$in+ freedom ("t also e tendin+ it. The news media pla%s a decisi$e role in esta(lishin+ a disc"rsi$e space for p"(lic deli(erations o$er social iss"es. The formati$e infl"ence of the media on p"(lic attit"des, tho"+hts and perceptions is f"ndamental to the process of citi&en en+a+ement in p"(lic dialo+"e. . A3TIAB@S KARACHI: We lack a mindset that places importance on our access to basic human rights, even though the boom in the number of media outlets, specially that in electronic media, has meant that people have at least gotten their right to speak

Panellists expressed these views at a recent seminar on the Role of media in the promotion of fundamental rights in Pakistan, which was organised by the Centre for Civic Education Pakistan CCEP!" #he notion that Pakistan$s constitution does not give rights to the people is wrong, said CCEP executive director %afarullah &han" 't is a failure of the government when people$s rights are not given" People should use their right to information and to vote for their own benefit" (owever, he also accused popular media of not giving due importance to events where such issues are highlighted" )*+s discuss basic and important issues faced by the common people, but they are not highlighted" ,hile talking about media ethics, -hmed said that people$s privacy was often compromised" .edia ethics /teach us to0 protect the rights of the citi1ens" -s citi1ens, we have to learn about them and ensure that the media stays ob2ective and free, stressed 3r 4ernadette 3ean, principal of 5aint 6oseph College" C-5E 5#738 +) R#'