Have a good RTI story to tell? Govt to pay you for your writing skill

ARE you ready to write a 5,000 word piece on a Right to Information (RTI) best practice? You may end up receiving a cool Rs 25,000. In what could be a part of the government’s new publicity drive in this election year, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) has proposed to publish a compendium of best practices on RTI Act, being practised by…
public authorities. Any Indian citizen is eligible to write those pieces. The best 20 write-ups would be selected for inclusion in the compendium, and the writers of only those selected pieces would be rewarded with a lump-sum amount of Rs 25,000 each, according to a DoPT circular dated May 14.
The circular has given graphic details of how the article should be written, and what it should contain. The article should capture details of the said practice, including its scope, financial implications, and deployment of resources such as manpower, infrastructure, etc., the circular added. The write-ups should be of about 5,000 words, neatly typed in 1.5 line space and 14 size font. Handwritten write-ups would not be considered, it said. Two copies of the write-ups should be submitted to the Deputy Secretary (IR), Department of Personnel and Training, North Block, New Delhi-110001 by June 28, 2013 through post.
Meanwhile, the government has begun a concerted publicity drive beginning with achievements of its flagship Bharat Nirman programme. Many social media users on Tuesday were however not amused by the government’s publicity blitz and drew parallel to NDA’s much hyped India Shinning campaign ahead of 2004 elections. Atal Bihari Vajpayee government’s India Shinning campaign became hugely popular among upper middle class people in a few metros, but grossly failed to impress the aam aadmi.

Action and Appointments
a) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved for extension of Central deputation tenure of Smt Rina Mitra, a 1983 batch MP cadre IPS, as Inspector General (IG)/Director (NPM) in Bureau of Police Research and Development under the ministry of home affairs for a period of two years beyond May 21, 2013.
b) AK Sinha, a 1979 batch Bihar cadre IPS officer presently working as additional secretary in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), has been appointed as Special Director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).