Citizen Access to Information (RTI)

Such information may be requested from a public authority if it is under its control or is held by the authority at its disposal. Inspection of work, documents, and records are encompassed in this right, as well as notes, extracts, or certified copies of documents or records held by the public authority. Furthermore, certified samples of material held by the public authority are also included. In order to comply with the RTI Act, the public authority is not expected to create or interpret information, resolve issues raised by candidates, or answer hypothetical questions. According to the Act, the only information that is already in the public domain can be obtained. The citizen shall have a right to request information in any form he or she deems adequate, including in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes, or other electronic media or by means of print-outs provided the information has already been stored in a computer or any other device from which it may be transferred to diskettes, etc. The information shall normally be provided to the applicant in the form in which it was requested. A public authority can deny the provision of information in a specific form, however, if the provision of that information would disproportionately divert its resources or cause harm to the safety or preservation of the records. The Act provides that only citizens of India are entitled to the information. It makes no provision for the communication of information to legal persons, associations, companies, etc. As long as the applicant gives his/her full name, the information shall be provided to him/her if done by an employee or officer of any company, association, business, NGO, etc. who is also an Indian citizen. When a citizen seeks information at the address of any corporation, etc., it will be assumed that the city requested information regarding objective

Objective- By virtue of the Right to Information Act, citizens are empowered, transparency and accountability are promoted in government work, corruption is contained and our democracy is made accountable to the citizens. Informed citizens can more readily monitor the instruments of government and force the government to be more accountable to them. Providing information about government activities to the citizens is a huge step.

• Many laws have been introduced by the Indian government to fight corruption and establish good governance. One of these important acts was The Right to Information Act, more commonly referred to as the RTI Act.
• A public authority is normally required to supply information to an applicant within 30 days of receiving the application. A person must be informed within 48 hours if the information relates to their life or freedom. After thirty days or 48 hours of the term, a penalty of five days will be added event the application is sent through the Assistant Public Information Officer or it is sent to the wrong public authority.
• In accordance with the Act, anybody can request information from a "public authority" (an agency of the government or "instrument of state") and must respond within thirty days. Also required by the Act is that public authorities must computerize their records to make them widely accessible and disclose certain information proactively so that citizens only need to ask for information formally in a minimal amount of time. 
• Information rights include the right to inspect documents, works, and records. Documents and records may be extracted or certified. Samples of documents may be taken for certification. Printouts, diskettes, floppies, tapes, videos, cassettes, or other electronic methods can be used to obtain information. "Information" means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, emails, opinions, advice, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, and data material held in any electronic format, and any information related to a private organization that is accessible to the public under any other law in effect at the time.

Covered under RTI- Except for the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Central RTI Act applies throughout India. All government-owned, controlled, or substantially financed bodies, including NGOs, which are constituted under the Constitution, laws, or Government notifications, are included.

Directly covered are all private bodies owned or controlled by the government. The rest are indirectly covered. It means that if a government department has access to information from any private agency under another Act, a citizen can also access the same information under the RTI Act through the same agency.