Amid protests by the Opposition parties, a Bill to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act and give the Union government the power to set the service conditions and salaries of Information Commissioners was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The Bill was eventually introduced after the Treasury benches won a vote with 224 MPs supporting it and nine opposing. “The functions being carried out by the Election Commission and the Central and State Information Commissions are totally different. Introducing the amendment, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh said the Bill is aimed at institutionalisation and streamlining of the RTI Act. He said only 26% Bills were referred to such panels in the last Lok Sabha.

Source: The Hindu July 19, 2019 17:32 UTC