Public Section Preview
RTI in the Context of Governance
4.1 Impact and Significance
RTI has transformed Indian governance in measurable ways:
- 6-7 million RTI applications filed annually — making India one of the world's most active RTI jurisdictions
- Exposed corruption in PDS, NREGA, government contracts, judiciary, and welfare schemes
- MKSS model: RTI-based social audits became mandatory for MGNREGA (Section 17 of MGNREGA Act)
- Empowered women, Dalits, and marginalized communities to access entitlements
4.2 Challenges
| Challenge | Description |
|---|---|
| PIO non-compliance | Delays, incomplete responses, spurious rejections remain high |
| Backlog in Commissions | CIC and SICs face massive arrears (lakhs of cases pending) |
| RTI Amendment 2019 | Central government gained power to fix tenure and salary of CIC/ICs — weakens independence |
| Attacks on RTI Activists | Over 100 RTI activists killed since 2005 (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative data) |
| Digital Divide | Online filing available but rural poor still face barriers |