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The Right to Information Act 2005 is a law enacted by the parliament of India giving citizens of India access to records of the Central and State Government This law was passed by the Parliament on 15 June 2005and came into force on 13 October 2005 It is an initiative taken by Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir - which is covered under a State-level law to provide a RTI

Disclosure of Government Information in India is governed by a law enacted during the British rule over large parts of what is now India, the Official Secrets Act of 1889 which was amended in 1923. This law secures information related to security of the State, sovereignty of the country and friendly relations with foreign states, and contains provisions which prohibit disclosure of non-classified information. Civil Service conduct rules and the Indian Evidence Act impose further restrictions on government officials' powers to disclose information to the public.

Passage of a national level law, however, proved to be a difficult task. Given the experience of state governments in passing practicable legislation, the Central Government appointed a working group under H. D. Shourie and assigned it the task of drafting legislation The Shourie draft, in an extremely diluted form, was the basis for the Freedom of Information Bill, 2000 which eventually became law under the Freedom of Information Act, 2002.

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Request any information Take copies of documents Inspect documents ,works and records Take certified samples of materials of work Obtain information in form of printouts ,floppies tapes etc

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Under the act all authorities covered must appoint their public Information officer (PIO) Person must submit the request in writing It is the duty of the PIO to provide information to the citizens on their request The citizen making a request is not obliged to disclose any of his information except his name and contact particulars If the request has been made to the PIO the reply is to be given within 30 days of receipt If the request has been made to an APIO the reply is to be given within 35 days of the receipt

In terms of the sections 2(f) of the act information has been defined as any material in any form including records ,documents ,memos, emails, logbooks, contracts, reports etc which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force

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The following is exempt from disclosure [S.8)]

information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, "strategic, scientific or economic" interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence
information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information

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information received in confidence from foreign Government; information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual (but it is also provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied by this exemption);

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government and a term usually used by governments to refer to entities that have no government status. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status by excluding government representatives from membership in the organization. The number of internationally operating NGOs is estimated at 40,000 National numbers are even higher: Russia has 277,000 NGOs India is estimated to have around 3.3 million NGOs NGOs are defined by the World Bank as "private organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development

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NGO type by orientation: Charitable orientation Service orientation Participatory orientation Empowering orientation NGO type by level of co-operation Community- Based Organization City Wide Organization National NGOs International NGOs

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Support democratic system Function on no profit basis Non political in character Clearly defined objectives Limited external control Voluntary character (registered under societies registration act 1860) Positive contribution Need financial support Interest in long term projects Wide operational area

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Create awareness Protect human rights Encourage rehabilitation Gainful employment Combat man made crisis Protect environment