RTI Cells: Govt to extend one-time grant to public authorities

WITH a large number of public authorities being ill-equipped to handle RTI queries, the Centre has revived an old proposal of financially aiding them so that they can buy computer, scanner, printer etc. towards setting up of an RTI Cell. According to the proposal, for which an office memorandum was issued on Monday, only Rs…
50,000 will be handed out per authority and the money will come from DoPT, the nodal department that handles issues related to Rights to Information (RTI).
Ministries/departments/attached offices/subordinate offices etc. can avail of the “one time grant”. Now, the DoPT has asked the public authority to send proposals in a prescribed proforma and send that to Director (IR), Room No.279 A, North Block, New Delhi-1 by post. The proposals can be emailed too, at osdrti-dopt@nic.in.
Here is the list of 22 exempted public authorities which don’t need to reply to RTI queries:
1. Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs
2. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Ministry of Finance
3. Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Finance
4. Directorate of Enforcement, Ministry of Finance
5. Narcotics Control Bureau
6. Aviation Research Centre
7. Special Frontier Force
8. Border Security Force, Ministry of Home Affairs
9. Central Reserve Police Force, Ministry of Home Affairs
10.  Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Ministry of Home Affairs
11. Central Industrial Security Force, Ministry of Home Affairs
12. National Security Guard, Ministry of Home Affairs
13. Research and Analysis Wing of The Cabinet Secretariat
14. Assam Rifles, Ministry of Home Affairs
15. Sashastra Seema Bal, Ministry of Home Affairs
16. Special Protection Group
17. Defence Research and Development Organisation, Ministry of Defence
18. Border Road Development Organisation
19. Financial Intelligence Unit, India
20. Directorate General Income Tax (Investigation)
21. National Technical Research Organisation
22.  National Security Council Secretariat