7.6% Govt of India ministries, 17.4% depts comply by directive to submit, upload monthly progress reports

By A Representative
A senior right to information (RTI) activist has revealed that his RTI interventions have showed majority of Government of India ministries and departments are refusing to comply with the rule 10 of the Rules of Procedure in Regard to Proceedings of the Cabinet, 1987, which requires them to send a report of the work done every month to the Cabinet Secretariat.
Needed to be submitted through the Cabinet Secretariat by the 10th of the next month, earlier, the ministries and departments were refusing to obey the rule saying it would “divert” their resources disproportionately.
Venkatesh Nayak of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative says, the monthly reports are not being submitted despite a recent Central Information Commission (CIC) directive to the Cabinet Secretariat in April 2016 to “consider the possibility of proactively disclosing the ‘unclassified’ portions of the monthly reports on their websites.”
Such a monthly report may have a classified portion (labelled “top secret” or “secret” or “confidential”) containing ‘sensitive matters’ and an unclassified portion, the CIC had said.
In June 2016, the Cabinet Secretariat issued a circular to all ministries and departments, which said, “In order to ensure greater transparency and availability of information in public domain about the activities of the ministries/ departments, it has been decided that henceforth, all ministries /departments may upload, on a monthly basis, the major achievements, significant developments and important events for the month on their official websites.”
“After allowing a whole quarter (3 months) for the ministries and departments to put in place systems for publishing the required monthly reports, we checked their websites for compliance. We find that compliance with this directive across the Government is poor”, Nayak complains.
“Only 7.6% (4 out of 52) of the central ministries and 17.4% (8 out of 46) of the central departments have complied with this directive. Even where there is compliance, all reports due since the date of the Cabinet Secretariat’s circular are not uploaded on their website”, he adds.
The ministries/ department which have complied so far are Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Medium Small and Micro Enterprises, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Textiles, Department of Personnel and Training, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Department of Health and Family, Welfare, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotions, , Department of Investment and Public Investment Management, Department of Public Enterprises , and the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.
While most of these submitted their reports for two months, a few have submitted it for just a month.
Ironically, Nayak’s research has found that there is little truth in the fact that submitting such reports would “divert” its resources disproportionately, as “other kinds of progress reports” are being published and uploaded.
For instance, the Central Government publishes a Fortnightly report of the NDA Government. Then, apart from the regular publication of annual reports which are tabled in Parliament, some have published e-books or two-year reports on their official websites. A few of them even publish fortnightly and weekly reports.
Those who have done it include Department of Defence, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Ministry of Food processing Industries, Department of Sports, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Railways, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Department of Fertilisers, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of External Affairs, and the Department of Atomic Energy.

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

'Govts must walk the talk on gender equality, right to health, human rights to deliver SDGs by 2030'

By A Representative With just 64 months left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global health and rights advocates have called upon governments to honour their commitments on gender equality and the human right to health. Speaking ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes are threatening hard-won progress on SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality).

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Is U.S. fast losing its financial and technological edge under Trump’s second tenure?

By Dr. Manoj Kumar Mishra* The United States, along with its Western European allies, once promoted globalization as a democratic force that would deliver shared prosperity and balanced growth. That promise has unraveled. Globalization, instead of building an even world, has produced one defined by inequality, asymmetry of power, and new vulnerabilities. For decades, Washington successfully turned this system to its advantage. Today, however, under Trump’s second administration, America is attempting to exploit the weaknesses of others without acknowledging how exposed it has become itself.

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

On Teachers’ Day, remembering Mother Teresa as the teacher of compassion

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ It is Teachers’ Day once again! Significantly, the day also marks the Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta (still lovingly called Mother Teresa). In 2012, the United Nations, as a fitting tribute to her, declared this day the International Day of Charity. A day pregnant with meaning—one that we must celebrate as meaningfully as possible.

Gujarat minority rights group seeks suspension of Botad police officials for brutal assault on minor

By A Representative A human rights group, the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat, has written to the Director General of Police (DGP), Gandhinagar, demanding the immediate suspension and criminal action against police personnel of Botad police station for allegedly brutally assaulting a minor boy from the Muslim community.

Counterview

Search This Blog