RAS question
The Right to Information Act was enacted in:
Correct answer: (C) 2005.
The Right to Information Act was enacted on 15 June 2005.
Explanation
The Right to Information Act belongs to Act Year 2005, and India Code records its enactment date as 2005-06-15. The exam-relevant sequence is clear: it was enacted on 15 June 2005, came into full effect on 12 October 2005, and replaced the Freedom of Information Act, 2002. This matters because the Act did not merely announce a broad right; its long title frames a practical regime for citizens to secure access to information held by public authorities, with transparency and accountability as the governing purpose. India Code also links the Act to the constitution of the Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions, which explains why RTI is treated as an institutional mechanism of accountable governance.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 2003 is not the enactment year; India Code records the Act Year as 2005 and the enactment date as 15 June 2005.
- (B) 2007 comes after both the enactment date and the full-effect date of 12 October 2005, so it cannot be the year of enactment.
- (D) 2010 is too late because the Act had already been enacted in 2005 and had come fully into effect on 12 October 2005.
Concept
This tests statutory chronology under governance and accountability, especially the evolution of transparency mechanisms after the Freedom of Information Act, 2002. RAS repeats such dates because RTI connects constitutional values, citizen oversight, and institutions like the Central and State Information Commissions.