RTI In India Got ICT Boost

Right to Information (RTI) is a valuable tool in the hands of public spirited people and common man. It has tremendous potential to bring transparency and reduce corruption. The impact of RTI is further amplified if we use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for giving effect to the procedures used for getting relevant information under the RTI Act 2005-RTI HELPDESK

Last week, CIC Wajahat Habibullah disposed a case at his Delhi headquarters on an appeal from Begusarai in Bihar. What was special about this one is that he did it entirely through video-conferencing, using the network installed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which now connects Delhi and state capitals with the headquarters of 450 of the country’s 600 districts. The petitioner went to the district collector’s office; all documents required by the CIC or the respondent, the prime minister’s office, were immediately computer-scanned and e-mailed; they were perused at the other end, and the order issued orally, on video. No one moved out of their offices.

SOURCE: ITVOIR