The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 empowers citizens by making right to information a legal right.
According to the Act, a citizen can seek information on the functioning of various Ministries, Departments and agencies of the governments at various levels—Centre, State and local authorities.
The government has made it easier to file RTI requests through online portal, and skip the hassle of standing in long queues. The initiative has been taken by Department of Personnel & Training, Government of India. There are total of 2492 Public Authorities available under the online portal.
Step-by-step guide to file an RTI online
- Visit the online portal https://rtionline.gov.in/
- Click on ‘Submit Request’, and one will be redirected to ‘Guidelines for use of RTI online portal’
- Read the guidelines carefully. Then proceed to check the box on the bottom left and click on ‘submit’
- Next page will bring you to Online RTI request form. Here, one needs to select the Ministry/Department of Indian government from which the applicant wants to seek information. The fields marked * are mandatory.
- If the applicant registers with a mobile number, then he/she will receive SMS alerts.
- If an applicant falls under Below Poverty Line (BPL), then he/she must check on ‘Is the Applicant Below Poverty Line?’. Thereafter, the applicant will be asked for BPL documents. No RTI fee is required for BPL citizens as per revised RTI Rules of 2012).
- After filling the first page, the applicant has to click on “Make Payment” and pay the required fee.
- On submission of RTI form, the applicant will receive a registration number for future references.
The applications filed via web portal would reach the “Nodal Officer” of concerned Ministry/Department, who would then pass on the RTI application to the concerned CPIO. Status of the RTI application filed online can be accessed by the applicant by clicking at “View Status”