Many Indian government departments fall short on RTI disclosures

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  India’s Right to Information Act requires public authorities to publish information proactively, but many government departments fall short, an analysis by The Hindu found.

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  Of 2,303 public authorities registered with the Central Information Commission, 1,446 submitted third-party transparency audit reports for 2024-25.

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  The Hindu found that only 33 of 94 departments’ websites carried audit reports for 2024-25.

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  Websites of 26 departments lacked information covered by the Act, while others had only limited or dated information.

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  The Act completed 21 years on October 13, 2026, according to The Hindu.

Who

Union government departments and public authorities covered by the analysis.

What

Many departments did not publish required information or provide transparency audit reports.

When

The analysis covers audit reports for 2024-25 and department information for 2025-26. The Act completed 21 years on October 13, 2026.

Where

Government of India public authority websites and the websites of 94 departments.

Why

The Act requires public authorities to disclose information proactively so people do not have to file requests for basic information.

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