RTI, Public Authorities - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

1)   RTI Act has come into force in which of the following countries?

a. India
b. Pakistan
c. Sri Lanka
d. Both a and c
e. All the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Both a and c

Explanation:
The Right to Information (RTI) Act came into force in Sri Lanka.

This is a piece of legislation aimed at restoring transparency and good governance in a country that has been plagued by corruption and misrule.

The government has gazetted the categories of public authorities that fall within the purview of the RTI.

The authorities are bound to respond to these requests as per the specified guidelines, within a maximum period of 28 days.

“From today the public can apply for information which they want,” Sankhitha Gunaratne, RTI Manager of Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) was quoted as saying.

TISL said it will be filing several public interest RTI requests with the relevant public authorities, seeking information like that pertaining to the assets and liabilities declarations of the President and the Prime Minister.

It will also put in a request for financial reports of political parties.
2)   RTI has been ranked at which position as the best law in the world?

a. 3rd
b. 4th
c. 5th
d. 6th
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 4th

Explanation:
India’s Right to Information (RTI) Act, that was passed in 2005, has been ranked 4th best in the world, according to the latest rankings of 111 nations with these laws.

  • The rankings were based on the strength of the legal frameworks that ensures the efficient implementation of the act.
  • Mexico has topped scored 136 points out of a possible total of 150, followed by Serbia and Slovenia.
  • India scored a total of 128 out of 150 points. While India scored well in terms of Right to Access, RTI law scored 26 in the ‘Exceptions’ category since the ‘harm test’ is not applicable to all the exemptions mentioned in Section 8 of the RTI Act.
  • India scored the highest on ‘Appeals’ (29 out of 30). In the ‘Sanctions’ category, India scored 5 out of the 8, since there is no strong legal protection for whistle blowers.
  • India scored 13 out of 16 in the ‘Promotional Measures’ category since there are no prescribed standards for record management and they are not followed in practice.
  • Top 10 nations with their scores can be seen below:

Mexico ------ 136
Serbia ------ 135
Slovenia ---- 129
India --------- 128
Croatia ------- 126
Liberia -------- 124
El Salvador ---- 122
Sierra Leone --- 122
Sri Lanka ---- 121
Tunisia ---- 120

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