In two recent rulings, the Central Information Commission rejected candidates' requests asking to see their own assessed answer sheets. One of the CIC's arguments was that the examining authority and the evaluator had a fiduciary relationship and thereby qualified for exemption. Prakash Kardaley wonders if the CIC went too far.

A combination of intimidation and mindless application of the letter of the law threatens to dissuade citizens from putting the RTI Act to use. And politicians are only happy to offer solutions that further dilute the law's purpose. Suman Sahai and Swati Gola note examples from Chhatisgarh that point to the need for a program for rights literacy.

A year after the right to information became a reality, a reluctant government and its indifferent officials are finding it too burdensome to carry it forward. So, attempts are on to find sideways and steer clear of it except in Bihar, where RTI complaints are being taken over phone, says Arvind Kejriwal.

If RTI applications continue to rise in number, it will not be too long before the system as we know collapses and will have to be overhauled. More suo motu disclosures are needed to avert this, writes Vivek Vaidyanathan.

Recent rulings by the Central Information Commission offer hope that decision-making in environmental regulation will be more transparent and participatory henceforth, and embrace suo moto disclosures. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Shailesh Gandhi's work is proof that working in an accountable, democratic and transparent manner is possible in the official Right to Information machinery. Darryl D'Monte reports.

Despite recent concessions to be subject to Right to Information Act, the Supreme Court's attitude to the sunshine law remains a matter of concern, writes Pradeep Baisakh.

Given the present method of appointment, our chances of getting independent and unbiased Information Commissioners are close to zero, writes Krishnaraj Rao.

Recently, the Chennai High Court ruled that a PPP project falls within the ambit of the RTI Act. The court's reasoning gives hope for a more liberal interpretation of the law itself in the future. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

Civil society candidates should be eligible for appointment to key RTI posts in the States and the Centre. We must apply for such jobs, and help improve the system, writes Krishnaraj Rao.

On learning that she could find out why her widow pension was being delayed, she made her grandson write out an RTI application on her behalf. When she got her pension, I realised how powerful this law could be, writes R Balasubramaniam.

The State Information Commissioners are supposed to uphold the RTI Act in their respective states. But their own appointments are shrouded in secrecy, writes Krishnaraj Rao.

The new head of the nation's highest body for enforcement of the Right to Information Act has himself been appointed with little public awareness of the process or criteria used for his selection, writes Krishnaraj Rao.

Too many RTI applicants are being fobbed by Public Information Officers saying the file being sought is lost. Well, in that case, ask what action has been taken per the Public Records Act, urges Krishnaraj Rao.

Niyamat Ansari fearlessly sought to secure for people their rights under the law. The political economy around the delivery of those rights, however, proved too vicious, and he was killed. Simrin Makhija reports.

Under pressure from RTI campaigners, the department in charge of short-listing the candidates for appointment as Central Information Commissioners itself becomes more transparent.

Central Information Commission asks MoEF to make an environment expert panel's report public, outlining arguments that could be used for disclosure of many other documents. Krishnaraj Rao writes.

RTI activists across the country will be cheered by the apex court's order to make transparent appointments to the posts of Information Commissioners, and recognise the quasi-judicial nature of their functions. Krishnaraj Rao writes.

While researching suicide data published by the NCRB, Shambhu Ghatak files an RTI enquiry on how the Bureau identifies causes behind suicides and compiles the data across states to arrive at national figures. The response reveals the lack of clarity in the exercise.

Hasmukh Dhumadiya describes the ordeal of residents of Bakshipunch Housing Society in Dwarka, Gujarat, and their efforts in overcoming it.

Entrepreneur and social activist Pradeep Lokhande’s project of setting up a library every day across rural schools in Maharashtra is helping many poor students see the light of a new day. Ramesh Menon reports on this unique initiative.

As India enters a new monsoon season, Jaideep Hardikar recounts the Chhatisgarh situation where women are increasingly becoming farm managers.

Voluble among themselves, these women are less comfortable in speaking up at civic meetings when men are present. Policy interventions can only initiate social change, but change itself takes time to unfold. Ashima Sood continues her diary series on Chingrajpara slum, Chhatisgarh.

Does participatory development result from the actions of local groups themselves, or is it shepherded by NGOs? A documentary film on migrant women labourers explores their coping strategies against poverty and restricted roles, as well an NGO's efforts on their behalf. Ammu Kannampilly notes Women Builders' sensitive and unsentimental portrayal.

The knowledge of growing conditions and nutritional traits of plants not only gives rural women a unique, crucial edge in seed selection and breeding, it also helps them maintain the genetic diversity required for adaptation to fluctuating weather. Despite this, the role of women in protecting biodiversity is largely unrecognised, writes Ramesh Menon.

The government recently imposed a ban on women under 30 emigrating for domestic work and caregiving. But instead of stopping women who want to migrate, it is likely to put them at greater risk to trafficking and exploitative treatment - the very concerns that have driven the ban. Rita Manchanda has more.

My Mother, The Gharwali, Her Maalak, His Wife (70 minutes) is a play showcasing a day in the life of people who sell sex for a living. Directed by Sushama Deshpande, it is an unselfconscious portrayal of people in ‘sex-work’ by people in ‘sex work’. Charumathi Supraja has more.

The assumption that the workplace and the home are always mutually exclusive spheres distorts our understanding of women's economic roles, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Abysmal pay, low dignity and zero benefits and security unite government-appointed social health activists from Punjab and UP at a protest meet in the capital. Amrita Nandy reveals some of their shocking tales of exploitation and deprivation.

Vineeta Bal, a former member of the Prime Minister's task force for Women in Science under the Department of Science and Technology, explores the status of women scientists in India in a freewheeling conversation with Pamela Philipose.

Women in the Sunderbans region of West Bengal are setting a trend in climate change mitigation through projects under the "Common Property Resource" initiative, and carving new frontiers in livelihood security in the process. Ajitha Menon reports.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 aims to create safer workplaces for women in particular. However, as Anagha Sarpotdar points out, without deeper discussion and interpretation of its provisions, prevention of abuse at workplaces may remain a pipe dream.

Comprised of over 350 students, professionals, homemakers from across the country, Bikerni is the first all-female motorcycle association of India. Surekha Kadapa-Bose brings us the stories of this group that has been charting new horizons for women to follow.

As part of a study on the socio-economic status of women from the ‘Most Backward Castes’, women from the Nayibrahmin or barber community talk of their lives of oppression and deprivation. Akhileshwari Ramagoud recounts their tales.

Sordid living conditions, poor educational and medical facilities, and lack of childcare inevitably characterise the lives of construction workers in the country. Are they ever going to be able to reap the benefits of the growth they facilitate? Kathyayini Chamaraj examines.

The PM's popularity in Amritsar, where he arrived with his family as a refugee from Gah in the Chakwal district of Pakistan's West Punjab during partition in 1947, is high not only because he is a Sikh. He is also seen as a man of immense integrity who is devoted to the country, has given India a global reputation in several ways, including the nuclear deal, and has ensured significant and sustained economic growth.

Clearly, there are few states as important as West Bengal with 42 seats, and the all-important question in Kidderpore on Saturday and all other nights in the run-up to May 16 is, will the fabled party machinery of the Left Front hold its 35 seats in the Lok Sabha?

While it is true that the overall situation worsened and the state got deeper into the quagmire of backwardness during the RJD regime, yet the party bags many credits for bringing about a fundamental change in Bihar's society and politics as well.

There's more to being elected from Calcutta North than the ability to turn a phrase around different consonants at the same time, and Mohammed Salim is keenly aware of this fact.

Pollsters say Jayalalithaa will sweep Tamil Nadu, but in Tuticorin she may bite the dust.

The Left party workers are keenly aware that the election for the 15th Lok Sabha is the severest test for the party ever since it took power in Bengal 32 years ago.

Karat's magnificent effort to launch a national third alternative may simply fall apart. If the Third Front refuses to hold after May 16 and if the CPI-M fares badly in both Bengal and Kerala, the party will substantially lose its bite. If the CPI-M stands firm, however, Karat's party will roar like a lion in Delhi's concrete jungle.

Bengal's picture-perfect villages have been home to the hammer-and-sickle for an astounding three decades, but now that the rural idyll is cracking, the Left Front is being forced to confront the sight of the three-petalled symbol of the Trinamool Congress and the sounds of rebel voices rising against its perceptible clout.

Rana Moitra, a Trinamool Congress polling agent, in Kasba, which falls under the Jadavpur constituency in Kolkata was allegedly beaten up by the Communist Party of India-Marxist cadres during the final phase of polling in West Bengal on Wednesday.

'Rahul is not in a hurry. He believes he has time on his side. He wants to fight the battle in the long term, and believes the only way to do it is to reinvent the organisation.'

With a stunning tally of 21 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress has stumped each of its political rivals in the country's most important political state -- the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party. It will given the Congress leadership the strength to keep both the BSP and SP away from the United Progressive Alliance.

The Congress performance in Andhra Pradesh in the Lok Sabha poll may have been impressive, but party leaders are worried about the results of the assembly election, which turned out to be below their expectations. Though the Y S Rajasekhar Reddy-led Congress swept back to power, winning 157 seats in the 294-seat assembly, the party failed to secure an absolute majority.

Disaster Mayawati must be a warning signal to the ever growing queue of prime ministerial aspirants.

'Dr Manmohan Singh's contribution is to end the strategic isolationism of India.' K Subrahmanyam, the doyen of India's national security experts, on the prime minister.

In 2007, Mayawati won extensively in OBC strongholds and lost in some SC ones — those who voted for her were actually voting someone else out