RTI The Democracy means meaningful participation by the people in the public affairs .

A democratic
government must be sensitive to the public opinion for which information must be sensitive to the public
opinion, for which information must be made available to the people. The Right to Information implies the
participation of people in the process of governance and administration which becomes inevitable. The Right
to Information is the only rightful law in India. This is most popular, citizen centric and change oriented law in
Indian administrative history. The Right to Information (RTI) Aof influences the people and impact on Indian
Administration in greater transparency in functioning of public authorities: disclosure of information
regarding government rules, regulations and decisions, every public authority is mandated to maintain all
records duly cataloged and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the information right under
the act Information is nothing but knowledge, the knowledge make man strong and powerful. If the
Information should be related to Government and Administration, the person becomes active in good
governance and self defensive and growing nature. The RTI act empowers the people of India against
administrative corruption, irregularities and irresponsive attitude of administrative machinery. The Right to
Information promotes transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority. In other
words through this act, the citizens of India have been empowered to question, audit, review, examine and
assess the government acts and decisions so as to ensure that these are consistent with the principle of
public interest, good governance and justice. Enactment of RTI India always took pride in being the largest
democracy, but with the passing of the Right to Information Act 2005, it has also become an accountable,
interactive and participatory democracy. This Act is applicable to the whole nation except the state of Jammu
and Kashmir The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government headed by Dr. M Manamohan Singh got the
approval by the Parliament after speedy and marathon discussion. The earlier freedom of information uct
2002, has got the assent of the President of India, but did not notify and finally replaced with the RTI act, it
came in to force on October 12, 2005 and on the same day Mr.Shahid Raza Burney filed the very first RTI
application in Pune Police station. Features of Right to Information and working process. The RTI process
involves reactive to disclosure of information by the authorities. Information including mode of information
in any form of record, document, e-mail, circulars, press release, contract, sample of electronic data etc. The
RTI Act also covers inspection of work, documents. record and its certified copy and information in form of
diskettes, floppies, tapes, video, cassettes in any electronic mode or stored information computers etc. Each
public and partial public authority appoint Public Information officer (PIO) and Assistant Public Information
officer (APIO) to serve information to public. Any individual may submit a written request/application to the
PIQ for required information. The PIO is responsible to provide the information on the applicant request with
in time schedule. [Applicants have submitted the application with(Rs. 10 fees But application fee is exempted
to the people of Bellow Poverty Line (BPL) SC and ST applicants. There is no prescribed(application) to file the
RTI application but signatured application must include applicant name and address. required information
and name and position of PIO. Suppose PIO is failed to dispose the RTI application within the stipulated time
limit, the applicant have the right to file first appeal to first appellate authority in the same public authority.
RTI as a Fundamental Right The right to information is now a well-established fundamental right derived
from Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The Supreme Court has regularly ruled in favour of citizens' right to
know over the years The nature of this privilege, as well as the constraints that apply to it, has been debated
by the Supreme Court in several cases: The development of the right to information as a part of the country's
Constitutional Law began with press petitions to the Supreme Court seeking enforcement of certain logistical
implications of the right to freedom of speech and expression, such as challenging government orders for
newsprint control, bans on paper distribution, and so on. The concept of the public's right to know evolved as
a result of these cases. Bennett Coleman and Co. v. Union of India, a key case in Indian press freedom,
declared that the right to information was included within the right to freedom of speech and expression
provided by Art. 19 (1) (a). The Supreme Court specifically declared in Indira Gandhi v. Raj Narain that it is not
in the public interest to "cover with a veil of secrecy the usual everyday business the responsibility of officials
to explain and justify their activities is the fundamental safeguard against oppression and corruption. The
right of the people to know about every public act and the facts of every public transaction conducted by
public authorities was described in SP Gupta v... Union of India The Supreme Court of India vs. Subhash
Chandra Agarwal-High Court of Delhi declared that: The Chief Justice of India is a public authority under the
RTI Act, and information provided by the CII of the assets in public information is public information. The
contents of asset declarations made by SC Judges are to be treated as personal information and may be
viewed in accordance with the method established under section 8(1) (j). Finally, if the CJI thinks it necessary,
he may develop consistent criteria in collaboration with Supreme Court Judges, defining the sort of
information, applicable formats, and, if necessary, the frequency of the statement to be made. The Supreme
Court of India's CPIO was ordered by the Delhi High Court to give the information requested by the
respondent of the declaration of assets. RTI AND GOOD GOVERNANCE (1) Accessibility. The right to
information allows all segments of the community to have easy access to information from government
departments, papers, records, services, finances, and policies. The Right to Information Act, by facilitating
easy access to information, bridges the customary gap between citizens and administration, assisting in the
nation-building process. The right to know and simple access to government information assists citizens in
understanding the limitations of government at all levels. The availability of information also aids in the
development process and is a sign of a true and mature democracy. (2) Transparency- It is a key component
of successful government. Transparency implies that choices are made and enforced in accordance with laws
and regulations. It also implies that information be readily available and easily accessible to individuals who
may be impacted by such decisions and their implementation. Only when the public has access to
information can there be transparency and accountability. (3) Empowerment- Participation in political and
economic processes, as well as the opportunity to make informed choices, were restricted to India before to
the passage of the Right to Information Act. As a result, commoners are unaware of numerous schemes and
are unable to oppose when their rights become violated. At the same time, people are unaware of the legal
channels via which they might get their due rights from the relevant ministries. People can now engage in
decision-making processes, and citizens can learn about government decisions, thanks to the passage of the
Right to Information Act. The Right to Information Act empowers citizens by removing unnecessary
concealment from the government's decision-making process. (4) Equity and inclusiveness, Another
distinguishing aspect of excellent governance is equity. It indicates that everyone is a part of the government
and that they do not feel alienated from society's mainstream. The Right to Information Act does not
discriminate between affluent and poor people, and it applies to all Indian citizens. It is always willing to take
a stand against inequity, injustice, and inhumanity. (5) Effectiveness and Efficiency- Efficiency and
effectiveness are the seventh characteristics of good governance.