RIGHT TO INFORMATION AND POLICY MAKING

Author : SUMIT MANN

Abstract : The government generates and gathers information for the benefit of the people it serves using public funds and civil workers who are supported by the government. Therefore, citizens cannot have their information withheld. Good governance depends on the openness, transparency, accountability, and responsiveness that information contributes to government operations. The right is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights affirms that it is a legally binding treaty duty. "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought and expression: this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any medium and regardless of frontiers," it declares. The design of state portals frequently influences people's capacity to use the RTI Act, which might present difficulties including inaccessibility and incomplete information. There are notable variations in the state-level portals, even though submitting an RTI request has become very simple, particularly with the availability of online applications. Variations in application fees, the need to produce identifying credentials like Aadhaar, and costs for printing and appeals are just a few of the issues that arise when filing RTIs across the nation. These clauses frequently make it difficult to obtain information under the statute. While some responsible officials have upheld RTI, many others have blatantly disregarded it and used a variety of justifications to prevent its application. As a result, the effects have not been as positive as anticipated. The government and the community at large must take coordinated, innovative, and decisive action in order to achieve the goals. The people-government relationship will undoubtedly change if the government fine-tunes RTI along the aforementioned lines, and Indian democracy will then rank among the greatest.

Keywords : Right to Information, Transparency, Good Governance, Public Accountability

Conference Name : International Conference on Sustainable Development Goals and Business Strategies (ICSDGBS - 26)

Conference Place : Ahmedabad, India

Conference Date : 25th Jul 2026