by Manoranjan Panda
The way to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat in next 25 years will have many requirements. To begin with, it needs a vision for the nation and equally, the ability to deliver it on the ground. But one crucial facet will be an informed citizenry in the country. Citizens are central to a country’s development and a country cannot move forward if its citizens are held back.
Information is power. Access to information plays an important role in development, democracy and equality. Therefore, universal access to information is a cornerstone of healthy and inclusive knowledge societies. This right is an integral part of the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1) (a) of Indian Constitution. With this backdrop, the Right to Information (RTI) Act was come into force on October 12 in 2005 to promote transparency and accountability in the functioning of every public authority.
While democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which are vital to its functioning, the RTI law is a great weapon to contain corruption and hold governments & its instrumentalities accountable to the masters (citizens). It is the duty of public information officers (PIOs) to harmonise the possible conflicting interests while preserving the paramountcy of democratic ideals.
But barring few success stories, the government establishments at all levels have failed to implement the law in its true spirit in the last 19 years. In most of the cases, the public authorities are in a mindset of denying the information, exposing the trust gap between demand and supply side of information. It’s high time for the policy makers to revisit the strategies adopted for implementation the law in the country. India celebrates RTI Day on October 12.
Democratization of political systems, evolving norms favouring transparency and new technological possibilities to digitalize the public domain have brought a global upsurge of freedom of information laws in the past decades. This has strengthened the right to seek and receive information. However, going in the opposite direction is the increase in restrictions on the right to impart information. Attacks on journalists, legislative curbs on media, and online blocking and filtering have reduced the volume of information in circulation.
New Promise for Sustainable Development:
Access to information is included in Sustainable Development Goal-16 (Target 10). As better harnessing of RTI for sustainable development requires investment in legislation, awareness raising, record-keeping and capacity-building, SDG-16 offers a new opportunity for advancing the transparency law. The SDG-16.10 states that “Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements”.
E-governance & AI:
Artificial Intelligence and e-governance can play an important role to improve access to information in our digital world. They can help bridge the digital divide, by giving citizens access to tailor-made and accessible information. They can assure services that are more efficient. . The ultimate goal of e-governance is to enable the government to deliver services to its citizens and decision-makers efficiently and cost-effectively. AI technologies have the potential to transform e-governance by automating routine tasks, enhancing citizen interactions, and improving decision-making. Citizens can access public sector information and services nearly instantly. Making government services digital enhances transparency and accessibility.
If India is to emerge as a leading power or Vishwa Guru, it must empower its human capital first. To overcome the neglect of the past, it is essential that we plan to leapfrog, especially in regard to critical and emerging technologies in empowering the citizens. This is best achieved through integration of technologies with access to information and good governance promoting public trust. Without ‘Viksit Bharatiyas’, the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’ will remain as a slogan.
(The author is a research scholar at Utkal University and RTI Campaigner from Odisha’s Balasore district.
He can be reached at manoranjanp3@gmail.com / 9861977068).