RAS question
Under Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005, every public authority is required to:
Correct answer: (D) Proactively disclose information (suo motu disclosure).
Under Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, every public authority must proactively disclose information through suo motu publication.
Explanation
Section 4 is framed as the obligations of public authorities, not as a request-handling provision. It requires every public authority to publish core institutional information, including its organisation, functions, duties, powers of officers, decision-making procedure, applicable rules and records, officer directories, monthly remuneration and budget details. The Act then makes the purpose explicit: public authorities should provide as much information suo motu to the public at regular intervals, through means including the internet, so that people have minimum need to use the RTI request process. That is why the correct answer is proactive disclosure, also called suo motu disclosure.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Section 4 lists disclosure and record-publication duties of public authorities; it does not require them to appoint an ombudsman.
- (B) The Act recognises newspapers as one possible means of dissemination, but Section 4 does not say that all government decisions must be published in newspapers.
- (C) Section 4 is about proactive publication and dissemination of information, not a 48-hour deadline for replying to RTI applications.
Concept
This tests the RTI Act’s proactive-disclosure framework, a recurring governance concept because it links transparency with reduced dependence on individual information requests. RAS often asks such provisions by section number and by the practical duty they impose on public authorities.