RTI Act, Lokpal, and Good Governance Bodies in India

Governance and transparency bodies form a critical section in Indian Polity for PSC exams. Expect 3-4 questions from this topic per paper.

Right to Information Act, 2005

Key Features

Feature	Detail
Enacted	15 June 2005
Came into force	12 October 2005
Replaced	Freedom of Information Act, 2002
Applicable to	All public authorities (Central, State, Local bodies)
Not applicable to	Intelligence and security agencies listed in Second Schedule (RAW, IB, etc.)
Definition of information	Any material in any form — records, documents, memos, emails, opinions, press releases, samples, models, data in electronic form

RTI Process

Step	Detail	Time Limit
Application	To Public Information Officer (PIO)	-
Fee	Rs. 10 (Central); varies by State	-
PIO response	Must provide information or reject with reasons	30 days
Life/liberty matters	Faster response required	48 hours
First Appeal	To officer senior to PIO	Within 30 days of refusal
Second Appeal	To Information Commission (CIC/SIC)	Within 90 days of first appeal

Central Information Commission (CIC)

Feature	Detail
Established under	RTI Act 2005, Section 12
Composition	Chief Information Commissioner + up to 10 Information Commissioners
Appointed by	President on recommendation of committee (PM + Leader of Opposition + Cabinet Minister nominated by PM)
Term	5 years OR age 65, whichever is earlier
Penalty on PIO	Rs. 250 per day, max Rs. 25,000 for non-compliance

RTI Amendment Act, 2019

Change	Before (2005)	After (2019)
Term of CIC/IC	5 years	As prescribed by Central Government
Salary	Equal to Election Commissioner	As prescribed by Central Government
Status parity	EC (CIC), Secy to GoI (IC)	Removed fixed parity

Exemptions from RTI (Section 8)

Exemption	Example
National security	Defence, scientific interest
Foreign relations	Confidential diplomatic info
Parliamentary privilege	Breach of privilege matters
Commercial confidence	Trade secrets of third party
Personal information	Unrelated to public activity
Cabinet papers	Discussions (disclosed after decision taken)

Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013

Feature	Detail
Article basis	Not in Constitution; statutory body
Recommended by	First ARC (1966, Morarji Desai Committee)
Concept from	Swedish “Ombudsman”
Act passed	2013 (after decades of failed bills since 1968)
First Lokpal	Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose (March 2019)
Jurisdiction	PM (with conditions), Ministers, MPs, Group A-D officers
PM excluded for	Foreign affairs, security, defence, atomic energy (not investigated unless 2/3 bench approves)
Composition	Chairperson + 8 members (4 judicial + 4 non-judicial)
At least 50%	From SC/ST/OBC/minorities/women
Term	5 years or age 70, whichever earlier
Appointed by	President on recommendation of Selection Committee (PM + Speaker + LoP + CJI/nominee + eminent jurist)

Lokayukta (State Level)

Feature	Detail
First state to establish	Maharashtra (1971)
Established by state law	Not uniform across India
Lokpal Act 2013	Mandates every state to establish Lokayukta within 1 year
Kerala Lokayukta	Established 1999 under Kerala Lok Ayukta Act, 1999

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

Feature	Detail
Established	1 April 1963
Based on	Santhanam Committee recommendation (1962)
Parent body	Ministry of Personnel (functions under Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946)
Headquarters	New Delhi
Motto	”Industry, Impartiality, Integrity”
Director appointed by	Committee (PM + CJI + LoP in Lok Sabha) — Lokpal Act provision
Director tenure	Minimum 2 years (fixed by SC in Vineet Narain case, 1997)
Jurisdiction	Needs state consent to investigate in a state (General Consent can be withdrawn)
Three divisions	Anti-Corruption, Special Crimes, Economic Offences

Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)

Feature	Detail
Established	February 1964 (statutory status: 2003 via CVC Act)
Based on	Santhanam Committee (1962)
Composition	Central Vigilance Commissioner + up to 2 Vigilance Commissioners
Appointed by	President on recommendation of committee (PM + Home Minister + LoP in LS)
Term	4 years or age 65, whichever earlier
Removal	Same as UPSC member (by President on SC enquiry)
Functions	Supervise CBI (anti-corruption); advise on vigilance matters; Whistleblower protection
First CVC	Nittoor Srinivasa Rau (1964)

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

Feature	Detail
Established	12 October 1993
Under	Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (amended 2006, 2019)
Composition	Chairperson + 5 members + deemed members (Chairpersons of NCW, NCM, NCSC, NCST, NCBC, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights)
Chairperson	Retired CJI (after 2019 amendment: CJI or retired SC judge)
Members include	Retired SC judge, retired HC Chief Justice, 3 persons with HR knowledge
Appointed by	President on recommendation of committee (PM + Speaker + Home Minister + LoP in both Houses + Deputy Chairman of RS)
Term	3 years or age 70 (after 2019 amendment: 3 years, re-appointment allowed for 5 years)
Cannot investigate	Events older than 1 year
Armed forces	Limited jurisdiction

Comparison Table: Governance Bodies

Body	Established	Statutory/Constitutional	Deals With
Lokpal	2019 (Act 2013)	Statutory	Corruption by public servants
CBI	1963	Neither (executive resolution; operates under DSPE Act)	Crime investigation
CVC	1964 (Act 2003)	Statutory	Vigilance over Central Govt employees
NHRC	1993	Statutory	Human rights violations
CIC	2005	Statutory	RTI appeals and compliance
CAG	1950	Constitutional (Art. 148)	Government accounts audit
UPSC	1926	Constitutional (Art. 315)	Civil service recruitment

E-Governance Initiatives

Initiative	Year	Purpose
Digital India	2015	Transform India into digitally empowered society
e-Governance (NeGP)	2006	National e-Governance Plan — 31 Mission Mode Projects
UMANG App	2017	Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance
DARPG	1985	Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
CPGRAMS	2007	Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System
MyGov	2014	Citizen participation in governance
PRAGATI	2015	PM’s platform for project monitoring (Pro-Active Governance)

PSC Repeated Questions

Question	Answer
RTI Act came into force on	12 October 2005
Fee for RTI application (Central)	Rs. 10
Time limit for PIO reply	30 days
Penalty per day on PIO	Rs. 250 (max Rs. 25,000)
First Lokpal of India	Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose
CBI established in	1963
CBI functions under which Act	DSPE Act, 1946
CVC given statutory status by	CVC Act, 2003
NHRC Chairperson is	Retired CJI or SC judge
First state to set up Lokayukta	Maharashtra (1971)
RTI does not apply to	Intelligence/security agencies in Second Schedule
Lokpal term	5 years or age 70

Related Notes

Hub: Indian Polity — Complete Guide for Kerala PSC

More on Emergency, Language and Governance:

• Emergency Provisions
• Official Language
• Language Policy Detailed