The efforts of RTI activists
in the US and India since November
2006 have been rewarded with
the Indian Embassy in Washington
DC being brought under the purview
of the RTI Act, 2005. A Public
Information Officer has accordingly
been appointed to facilitate
the service at the embassy.
Non-resident Indians (NRIs)
in the US can exercise their
right to information by filing
an RTI at the embassy. The query
would be forwarded to the department
in India and a response is assured
within 35 days.
NRIs have been quick to exercise
their right, with 10 applications
already filed within days of
the announcement. Filing an
RTI application, either in writing
or electronically, is a simple
process entailing a nominal
payment of 24 cents to the Public
Information Officer.
The Central Information Commission
(CIC) in India has been very
instrumental in bringing the
Indian embassy in the US under
the purview of the RTI Act.
The Right to Information Act
came into force in October 2005
with the objective of bringing
transparency and accountability
in the functioning of every
public body. It grants citizens
of India the access to information,
and binds every public authority
to maintain and index computerized
and online records to facilitate
access.
Source: NRI
reality news 25th July’07
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