RTI activist says India’s transparency law is under strain

• 

  India’s Right to Information Act is under strain, says activist and Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan co-founder Nikhil Dey.

• 

  Dey says vacancies in information commissions and changes made by the Digital Personal Data Protection Act have weakened the transparency system.

• 

  He says government records placed behind administrative logins are inaccessible to the public, contrary to the law’s aim.

• 

  The RTI Act came into force on October 12, 2005, giving Indian citizens the legal right to question the state.

• 

  Dey says people who use RTI continue to defend the law and find creative ways to use it.

Who

RTI activist and MKSS co-founder Nikhil Dey.

What

Dey says India’s transparency law is under strain from commission vacancies, legal changes and restricted access to digital records.

When

The interview was published on October 13, 2026. The RTI Act came into force on October 12, 2005.

Where

India; the RTI movement began in villages in Rajasthan.

Why

Dey says information commissions have vacancies and digital records are often behind administrative logins; he also calls the DPDP Act a potential threat to RTI.

This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.