User Manual for the 15-Day Online Course on RTI

(English Version)
Introdu tion The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India in association with the Centre for Good Governance (CGG) has been engaged in running an online certificate course on the Right to Information (RTI) ct, !""# since $eptember !""%& This endeavour to propagate the RTI ct has been perceived as a success based on the feedbac' received from the candidates who have participated in the course& (ith a view to ma'e the course more interesting and practical, now it has been conceived to bifurcate the course into two versions, namel) * +) ,-Da) .nline Course (/nglish) and !) +#-Da) .nline Course (/nglish)& Thus, a candidate will onl) be eligible for a course completion certificate once s0he has completed both versions of the online course& (hile the ,-da) course will be introductor) in nature, the +#-da) course will be e1tensive and with a hands-on orientation whereb) candidates will have to practicall) appl) the RTI ct during the course& In other words, the +#-da) course will be based on the principle of 2learning while doing3& 4urther, successful completion of the ,-da) course will be mandator) in order to be eligible to ta'e the +#-da) version of the course& 5esides, to be eligible to ta'e the +#-da) course a candidate will be re6uired to file an RTI application for 2ins!e tion of re ords !ertaining to dis losures "ade under #e tion $(1)(%) of the RTI & t3 in an) Public uthorit) dealing with public service deliver) activities0programmes li'e 7unicipalities, Pancha)ats, Civil $upplies Department, Drin'ing (ater $uppl) Department and Public (or's Department& t the time of registration for the +#-da) course, the candidate has to give reference to such RTI application along with the response s0he has received& The second aspect of this +#-da) hands-on version of the course mandates a candidate to conduct a proactive disclosure ($ection 8 (+) (b) of the RTI ct) stud) of an) public authorit)& 5ased on the stud) the candidate will submit a report at the end of the course& This report on the proactive disclosures stud) will be evaluated on set criteria and accordingl) an online certificate will be issued to each successful candidate&

'el o"e to the 15-day Online Course on RTI In this manual )ou will find a step b) step guide as to how to progress about the course& (e hope that )ou will find this user-friendl) manual enabling enough to guide )ou to successfull) complete the online course without an) glitch& The user manual has four segments& +& 9ow to register for the course !& :& 8& #& ;& bout the course bout s)stem re6uirements bout the homepage bout accessing the online course bout the pro-active disclosure stud)

(o) to Register for the 15-day Online Course In order to be eligible to ta'e the +#-da) course a candidate is re6uired to fulfill the two following eligible criteria&

/ligibilit) Criteria for the +#-da) .nline Course

.ne must successfull) complete the ,-da) online course& .ne must file an RTI application see'ing 2ins!e tion of re ords !ertaining to dis losures "ade under #e tion $(1)(%) of the RTI & t3 in an) Public uthorit) dealing with public service deliver) activities0programmes li'e 7unicipalities, Pancha)ats, Civil $upplies Department, Drin'ing (ater $uppl) Department and Public (or's Department&

.nce an RTI application is filed in a public authorit), a candidate is e1pected to receive a response within a ma1imum of :# da)s& The candidate is re6uired to visit the site http<00rtiocc&cgg&gov&in& Please use the alread) provided user id and password to log in& Then clic' on the RTI pplication menu as shown in the picture below&

=ow please upload the scanned cop) of the following documents& RTI application submitted b) )ou c'nowledgement received from the public authorit) upon submission of RTI application Response received from the public authorit) (if the response is more than two pages, a candidate is re6uested to upload onl) one or two pages showing the signature of the PI. of the public authorit))

=ow the uploaded scanned copies of the documents submitted b) the candidate will be vetted b) a screening committee at the Centre for Good Governance (CGG), 9)derabad& This ma) ta'e upto one wee'& >pon validation from CGG, a candidate will be intimated through e-mail to start ta'ing the +#-da) course& &%out the Course The +#-da) online course on RTI is a ?oint initiative of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India and the Centre for Good Governance (CGG), 9)derabad& The primar) ob?ective of the course is to ma'e the people aware on the salient features of the Right to Information (RTI) ct, !""#& s has alread) been said, this is to reiterate that while the ,-da) course is introductor) in nature, the +#-da) course is e1tensive and with a hands-on orientation whereb) candidates have to practicall) appl) the RTI ct during the course& In other words, the +#-da) course is based on the principle of 2learning while doing3& The course will be useful to both government emplo)ees and common citi@ens&

$alient 4eatures of the Course

+& The online course is meant for fifteen da)s& !& It is open to citi@ens of India& :& 8& s an online course it can be accessed from an)where with a computer and an internet connection& The course is open !8 A , hours for whole , da)s& n)one interested in ta'ing up this online course can visit http<00rtiocc&cgg&gov&in and follow the instructions as have alread) been discussed& >pon receiving the e-mail intimation to start the +#da) course, a candidate can start ta'ing the course& The fifteen da) time will be counted from the da) on which a candidate first accesses the course& 4or e1ample, if )ou access the course on "+&"+&!"+: )ou can access the course up to !:#% hrs& of +#&"+&!"+:& chapter-end 6ui@ 6uestions& candidate has to answer at least * 6uestions correctl) in order to be able to move the ne1t chapter&

5. The +#-da)s course is divided into 15 chapters& t the end of each chapter there will be 5

6. 5esides a candidate is re6uired to conduct a pro-active disclosure stud) of an) public authorit)
dealing with public service deliver) activities0programmes li'e 7unicipalities, Pancha)ats, Civil $upplies Department, Drin'ing (ater $uppl) Department and Public (or's Department& It ma) be noted that the public authorit) for which the pro-active disclosure stud) will be carried out must have its disclosures made on the web& This means that the public authorit) a candidate chooses here ma) differ from that where RTI application has been filed b) the candidate in the

beginning& &s the ourse "aterial )ill %e a+aila%le in do)nloada%le for"ats, re-uested the andidates "ay do)nload the "aterial for future referen es. it is

About System Requirements Internet 5rowser< Internet /1plorer ,&" or higher version, .R 7o@illa 4irefo1 !& .R Google Chrome (These are free downloads& If )ou do not have an) of the above browsers please download it from the internet&) PD4 crobat Reader< s the course content is in PD4 format, please ensure that )our s)stem has 2 dobe crobat Reader3 .R 2fo1it3 to enable )ou to read the content& (These are free downloads& If )ou do not have an) of the above browsers please download it from the internet&) (5efore starting the course please ensure that )our s)stem has the above re6uirements and then login into the s)stem with the user-id and password communicated to )ou through e-mail&) About the Homepage Click here The homepage will appear as shown in the ad?acent picture& Read the instructions carefull) given on the homepage before logging in& .nce )ou are sure that )ou have read the instructions carefull) and )our s)stem has been enabled with all re6uisite software, please t)pe down )ou user name and password as communicated to )ou in e-mail and then clic' on 2Bogin3 as shown in the picture& fter logging in with the used id and password, the following page will appear& Cou are now read) to start the online course& 5efore starting to ta'e the online course it is suggested that )ou change )our password which )ou can remember& 4or changing password, please go the the menu 2Change Password3 and follow the directions given& About Accessing the Online Course Go to the 7enu DCourseD& $elect D+# Da) CourseD from the drop down menu& Cou will find course instructions& Please read the instructions carefull) before clic'ing on 2start course3 button& This will enable )ou to access the course& The fifteen da) time will be counted from now& 4or e1ample, if )ou access the course on "+&"+&!"+: )ou can access the course up to !:#% hrs& of +#&"+&!"+:& $elect Chapter + and proceed on to read through the material& t the end )ou have to answer the chapter-end 6ui@ 6uestions& There will be 5 6ui@ 6uestions out of which )ou have to answer 3 6uestions successfull) in order to be able to move to ne1t chapter& .nce )ou have completed Chapter +, )ou are now eligible to move to the Chapter ! which will be activated& Bi'ewise )ou can complete all fifteen chapters& Go to the 7enu DReportsD to see the correct answers to the 6ui@ 6uestions after )ou ta'e the 6ui@ test at the end of each chapter& The D9elpD menu will give )ou access to this user manual and also to some fre6uentl) as'ed 6uestions (4 Es) on the RTI ct, !""#& &%out the /ro-a ti+e Dis losure #tudy s has alread) been e1pressed, one of the primar) ob?ectives of the +#-da) course is to give practical orientation to the candidates about the implementation of the RTI ct, !""#& (hile conducting a stud) on pro-active disclosures made under $ection 8(+)(b) of the RTI ct, !""# b) a Public uthorit), the candidate is advised to chose such a public authorit) who has disclosed the information in the web so that the evaluator can have access to the same& .nce )ou have decided the public authorit) please read out the followings ver) carefull) as to how to conduct the stud) and submit the report&

1. RTI Act 2005 and Proactive Disclosure

The Right to Information Act, 2005 seeks to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority. An important aspect of the Act pertains to the obligation of public authorities to proactivel disclose information to the public. The RTI Act mandates ever pu!lic authorit to" Disclose information as required under the 17 sub clauses of section ! "1# "b#. $ublish all relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions which affect public %&ection !"1# "c#' $rovide reasons for its administrative or quasi (udicial decisions to affected persons %&ection !"1# "d#' )pdate the information provided under &ection !"1# "b# every year. %&ection !"1# "b#"*vii#' +ake steps to provide the information suo motu to the public at regular intervals so that public has minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information. %&ection !",#' Disseminate information widely and in a form and manner easily accessible to the public. %&ection !"-#' $rovide information in the local language and adopt the most effective method of communication for dissemination of information. .ake information accessible to the e*tent possible in electronic format with the concerned $ublic /nformation 0fficer, available free of cost or at such cost of the medium or the prescribed print cost price. %&ection !"!#'

)nder #ection $%1& %!&, every public authority is mandated to publish the following categories of information within one hundred and twenty days from the enactment of the Act, 1. $articulars of the $ublic Authority ,. $owers 1 duties of officers 1 employees -. $rocedure followed in decision making !. 2orms for discharge of functions 3. 4ules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records under its control5 used by employees while discharging functions 6. 7ategories of documents held by the Authority or which are under its control 7. Arrangement for consultation with or representation by the members of the public in relation to the formulation of policy or implementation thereof 8. 9oards, 7ouncils, 7ommittees and 0ther 9odies constituted as part of the $ublic :. Directory of 0fficers and employees 1;. .onthly 4emuneration received by officers 1 employees including system of compensation 11. 9udget allocated to each agency including all plans, proposed e*penditures and reports on disbursements made etc. 1,. .anner of e*ecution of subsidy programmes 1-. $articulars of recipients of concessions, permits or authorisation granted by the $ublic Authority 1!. /nformation available in electronic form 13. $articulars of facilities available to citizens for obtaining information 16. 2ames, designations and other particulars of public information officers 17. Any other useful information.

2. 'h Audit of Proactive Disclosure is re(uired

/n practice, however, it has been observed that, implementation of proactive disclosure under the Act by public authorities has been rather patchy and of poor quality. +he following issues regarding proactive disclosure need to be addressed. +otal 2on disclosure5 2on compliance $artial disclosure 2ot updating information in time $oor efforts at dissemination of information

+o address these issues, there is need for regular audit of the quality of proactive disclosure made by $ublic Authorities under the provisions of the 4+/ Act. Audit of Proactive Disclosure is important as it can <<<<<<<< a. =oster better compliance with the provisions of the 4+/ Act relating to proactive disclosure b. >elp identify information gaps in the proactive disclosure of public authorities <<<<<<<<<.. and thereby inculcate a culture of transparency and openness in the functioning of public authorities.

). Audit *ethodolog ).1 +lassification of Disclosure Parameters

+here is need to identify and categorise parameters of disclosure with the view to segregate them on the basis of their relative importance. 9ased on a rational e*amination of the provisions for proactive disclosure, the parameters of disclosure have been segregated into three basic categories. 9ased on the relative importance of the three categories, different weightages have been accorded to the different categories which will be used as part of the quantitative assessment of proactive disclosure made by the public authority being audited. #l. ,o . 1. ,. +ategor Importance Reasons -h 'eightag e ;.3 ;.-

A 7ategory 9 7ategory 7 7ategory

>igh .edium

-.

?ow

/nformation on these parameters has high relevance for the public. /nformation on these parameters may have reasonable importance for the public. /nformation on these parameters has relatively low5limited relevance for the public "or both#.

;.,

+he methodology involves assessment of quality of proactive disclosure on 25 parameters. +here are 10 A 7ategory parameters for assessment +here are . 9 7ategory parameters for assessment +here are / 7 7ategory parameters for assessment

A +ategor Indicators %0igh Importance& 1. 2anguage in -hich Information *anual3 0and!oo4 availa!le 2. 'hen -as the information *anual3 0and!oo4 last updated9 ). Dissemination of information to the pu!lic 7#ection $ %)&8

$. Procedure follo-ed in decision ma4ing process 7#ection $%1& %!& %iii&8

5. ,orms for discharge of functions 7#ection $%1& %!& %iv&8 =. 1udget allocated to each agenc including all plans, proposed e<penditures and dis!ursements made etc. 7#ection $%1& %!& %<i&8 /. *anner of e<ecution of su!sid programmes 7#ection $%1& %!& %<ii&8 .. Particulars of recipients of concessions, permits or authorisations granted 7#ection $%1& %!& %<iii&8 >. Are important policies or decisions -hich affect pu!lic informed to them9 7#ection $%1& %c&8 10. Are reasons for administrative or

1 +ategor Indicators %*edium Importance& 1. 5orm of accessi!ilit of Information *anual3 0and!oo4 u3s $ %1& ! 2. 'hether Information *anual3 0and!oo4 availa!le free or not ). Rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records for discharging functions 7#ection $%1& %!& %v&8 $. +ategories of documents held ! the authorit under its control 7#ection $%1& %!& %vi&8 5. Information availa!le in electronic form 7#ection $%1& %!& %<iv&8 =. Particulars of facilities availa!le to citi6ens for o!taining information 7#ection $%1& %!& %<v&8 /. An other information as ma !e prescri!ed u3s $%1& %!& %<vii& .. Details regarding receipt : disposal of RTI applications

+ +ategor Indicators %2o- Importance& 1. Particulars of its organi6ation, functions and duties 7#ection $%1& %!& %i&8 2. Po-ers : Duties of its officers : emplo ees 7#ection $%1& %!& %ii&8 ). +onsultation -ith or representation of the pu!lic in polic formulation or implementation 7#ection $%1& %!& %vii&8 $. 1oards, +ouncils, +ommittees and ;ther 1odies constituted 7#ection $%1& %!& %viii&8 5. Director of ;fficers and emplo ees 7#ection $%1& %!& %i<&8 =. *onthl Remuneration received ! officers : emplo ees including s stem of compensation 7#ection $%1& %!& %<&8 /. ,ames, designations and other particulars of pu!lic information officers 7#ection $%1& %!& %<vi&8

(uasi?@udicial decisions ta4en, communicated to affected persons 7#ection $%1& %d&8

+he methodology involves both quantitative 1 qualitative assessments.

).2 Auantitative Assessment

=or each of the generic 1 specific indicator5parameter, a )?point (uantitative rating scale %0"1"2& has been evolved to assess quality5e*tent of compliance on that parameter. A higher score indicates better compliance on that parameter and vice versa. Add the &cores across all parameters within a particular category to get the +ategor #core "A, 9 or 7#. 7alculate the *a<imum Possi!le +ategor #core for the category of parameters. /f any parameter is not applica!le for a public authority, then the ma*imum possible score to be considered will be accordingly reduced by an amount of , times the no. of parameters not applicable. o =or e*ample@ =or A 7ategory parameters, ma*imum possible score is ,; "1; * ,# if all parameters are applicable. /n case one parameter does not apply to the public authority, ma*imum possible score for the category will be 18 ": * ,#. 7alculate the +ategor Percentage for each category of parameters which is simply the category score as a proportion of ma*imum possible category score. o =or e*ample@ /f the 7ategory &core on A 7ategory parameters is 1! and the ma*imum possible category score is ,; "i.e. all parameters apply# then the 7ategory $ercentage is 1!5,; "* 1;;# A 7;B. ?astly, apply the -eightages "i.e. ;.3 for 7ategory A, ;.- for 7ategory 9 and ;., for 7ategory 7# to the respective category percentages to generate the 'eighted +ategor Percentages. o =or e*ample@ /f the 7ategory $ercentages for A, 9 1 7 parameters are 3;B, 6;B 1 7;B respectively, the Ceighted 7ategory $ercentages would be@ o A 7ategory@ 3;B * ;.3 A ,3B

o 9 7ategory@ 6;B * ;.- A 18B o 7 7ategory@ 7;B * ;., A 1!B Add the weighted category percentages to get the 5inal #core. o =or e*ample@ /n the case above, the final score would be ,3BD18BD1!B A 37B /dentify the Brade that the public authority falls into on the basis of the =inal &core obtained. +he table below provides the grading methodology. 5I,A2 #+;RC .1D?100D of *a<imum Possi!le =1D?.0D of *a<imum possi!le $1D?=0D of *a<imum possi!le 0?$0D of *a<imum possi!le '0AT D;C# IT *CA,9 0ighl Transparent : RTI compliant Reasona!l Transparent : RTI compliant 2imited transparenc : compliance -ith RTI Poor levels of transparenc : compliance -ith RTI

BRADC# A 1 + D

o =or e*ample@ /n the case above, the public authority would be graded as E7F as the final score "37B# lies between !1B 6;B.

).) Aualitative Assessment

;n each parameter, qualitative observations can be recorded in order to@ a. validate the rating given on that parameterG b. record observations 1 inferencesG and c. identify information gaps on various parameters of disclosure. +he auditor needs to remember the following points while recording the qualitative remarks on each parameter. $lease provide proper 1 clear remarks or directions H do not give ambiguous statements. Iou may record detailed remarks on any parameter if you feel it is warranted H you may attach additional sheets to the audit proforma. +ry as much as possible to give actionable directions5suggestions so that the public authority can initiate action in that regard easily. Chen pointing out information gaps, please check with the public authority whether that information e*ists or whether such information can be compiled by the public authority.

+he auditor may also record any other observations or remarks at the overall level, after the completion of assessment on all parameters.

!. Audit Process

5. Points to Remem!er

Assessment of proactive disclosures must be based on o!@ective evaluation only. 4efrain from making arbitrary remarks5observations and awarding scores on the basis of a biased or opinionated (udgment. 9efore assessing a public authority, follo- the audit process e*plained above. )nderstand the public authorityG e*amine the records5documents published by the authority and map the information that the authority must disclose under the 4ight to /nformation Act. 7heck each indicator -hether it is applica!le for the public authority and then use the audit proforma to assess the quality of disclosure. /n case of uncertainty, e*clude the parameter from assessment and reduce the ma*imum possible score accordingly. 4emember to validate each of your ratings and give appropriate reasons for each of your rating. =ocus on highlighting the gaps in information disclosure so that the public authority would be benefited from the audit and not intimidated by this e*ercise. +his e*ercise could be repeated regularl so that audit of proactive disclosures becomes a standardized method of checking5monitoring the implementation of the relevant provisions of the 4+/ Act.

Now that you have undertaken the audit of the pro-active disclosures made by the public authority and arrived at certain conclusion about the quality of disclosures made, please explain the your observations in the space provided. Please note that your explanation should be limited to 5000 characters. nce you are done with your explanation, please click on the !submit! button. "his will lead to a !feedback form!. "he #eedback #orm has to be filled in by the candidate and submitted failin$ which evaluation of your report will not be carried out.

%fter successfully completin$ the chapter-end qui& questions, submittin$ the report on pro-active disclosure study and feedback form your paper will be evaluated on a set criteria. n successful completion you will be issued with an online certificate.
Good Luck!