Format of RTI Appilication

Sample Letter of Request for Information
Your address
[Insert date]
The Central / State Public Information Officer
Name of the relevant public authority
Address
(You can submit this request to the Manager(Customer care centre) of a designated post-office-in respect of
Central Government departments having no offices in your place of stay.)*
Request under the Right to Information Act
Dear Public Information Officer :
Under the Right to Information Act 2005,Section 6, please provide me the
following information (here, clearly describe the information you require and
the period to which it relates.).
I prefer to receive the information in the form:(Xerox copy / printout / diskette /
floppy / tape / video cassette / certified copies of documents or records/certified
samples of material/ I would like to take notes or extracts) by post/ email/in
person.
OR
I would like to inspect the following works/documents/records.(clearly describe
what you want to inspect ) . Please inform me a suitable date and time for my
visit.
Initial request fee under s6(1): Rs.______paid in cash/cheque/banker’s draft/Indian
Postal Order/treasury challan ( give details ).
OR
I am a person below poverty line. (attach a photocopy of the proof ).I need not
pay fees.
(optional) I am sensorily disabled. Kindly provide me appropriate assistance to
enable access to the information ( reading aloud/in Braille )
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
[ Your name ]
The Act has not prescribed any application form. You can apply on a plain paper.This is a sample request
letter for your guidance. You need not use this form. Under s.6 you can make a request in writing or by
electronic means in English/Hindi/official language of your area.
*see office memo dt.06.10.2005 by Jt.Sercretary to the Govt.of India:
(Since a number of public authorities do not have offices located at each sub-divisional level or sub-district
level, the matter was taken up with the Department of Posts to provide the services of their Central Assistant
Public Information Officers ( CAPIOs) to function in that capacity for all public authorities under the Central
Government.)

Model Format for Appeal for RTI Application

Date:…….
The Appellate Officer
(Name of the Public Authority)
(Address of the Public Authority)
An appeal under Section 19(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005
Ref: [PIO/Appellate Officers’ Decision Reference No. & Date, received
on……. (Date) /Date of Deemed Refusal]
Dear Sir / Madam:
[Please Describe the details about Appeal and Grounds why Appeal is preferred:
Date & Description of the Application:
Name and Address of the PIO:
Details of Decision of the PIO:
Grounds of Appeal:
Relief sought :
For hearing, I wish to be present in person / opt not be present / I will send my
duly authorised representative.
Sincerely,
(Appellant’s signature)
Appellant’s Name:
Appellant’s Address:
Appellant’s Phone Number / e-Mail Address (optional):
Place:
Encl: self-attested copies of orders or documents against which the appeal is
preferred.
Note: This is a suggested format, and need not be necessarily adhered to. The
RTI Act, 2005 does not specify any ‘Model Letter of Appeal’ for preferring appeal.
If there is any delay in filing the appeal, reasons for delay may be given.

Jan Lokpal Bill

We are all part of this historic movement to eradicate corruption. Together, under the leadership of Anna Hazare ji, we are demanding the “Jan Lokpal Bill” – a strong law to ensure swift and certain punishment to the corrupt.

Jan Lokpal Bill is a Law being made
By the People and For the People.

Jan Lokpal Bill is presently being further refined through Public Participation Many big and small meetings are taking place across the country and suggestions are pouring in on various aspects of the law. There are some misconceptions in the minds of a few with regard to the bill. It is crucial that every citizen of India understands what Jan Lokpal Bill is all about and how it will help curb corruption. Each citizen can then give informed inputs and feedback which will contribute to better drafting of the Bill.

Here is how you can help make a difference!

1. Watch the Jan Lokpal film - Understand all aspects of the bill. You can clarify any further doubts by going through other communication material. (Click Here)
2. Give Feedback - Contribute to the drafting of the bill by sending in your suggestions to -lokpalbillcomments@gmail.com (Details on http://www.lokpalbillconsultation.org/)
3. Hold public meetings - Make every citizen in your area aware of the benefits of a strong Jan Lokpal Bill (For details Click Here
4. Spread the word - Please send this email to as many people as you can. Encourage others to join the movement.
5. Stay involved with this movement.
   • Give missed call at 022-61550789 to stay connected
   • Follow us on Facebook
   • Register as a volunteer
   • Call on Helpline for any doubts 9718500606
   • Follow us on twitter.com/janlokpal

Index of the Jan Lokpal film (30 minutes)

• Anna Hazare's message (beginning to 1min 14 secs)
• Jan Lokpal Anthem (1:14 to 1:44)
• Independence of Lokpal (1.44 to 3:12)
• Functions of Lokpal (3:13 to 4:44)
• Time-bound action against corrupt (4:45 to 6.06)
• Recovery of corruption money (6:07 to 8:15)
• Aam aadmi ki shikayat (8:16 to 11:49)
• Transparency in Jan Lokpal (11:50 to 17:29)
• Judicial corruption (17:30 to 18:30)
• Whistleblower protection (18:31 to 19:00)
• Private companies and corruption (19:01 to 19:50)
• Agencies to be merged (19:51 to 20:50)
• Misconceptions / vested interests (20:51 to 29:41)
• Benefits to the common man / 2nd freedom struggle (29:42 to 32:40)

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Scams in India

The Top Scams in India
1) 2G Spectrum Scam

We have had a number of scams in India; but none bigger than the scam involving the process of allocating unified access service licenses. At the heart of this Rs.1.76-lakh crore worth of scam is the former Telecom minister A Raja – who according to the CAG, has evaded norms at every level as he carried out the dubious 2G license awards in 2008 at a throw-away price which were pegged at 2001 prices.
2) Commonwealth Games Scam

Another feather in the cap of Indian scandal list is Commonwealth Games loot. Yes, literally a loot! Even before the long awaited sporting bonanza could see the day of light, the grand event was soaked in the allegations of corruption. It is estimated that out of Rs. 70000 crore spent on the Games, only half the said amount was spent on Indian sportspersons.

The Central Vigilance Commission, involved in probing the alleged corruption in various Commonwealth Games-related projects, has found discrepancies in tenders – like payment to non-existent parties, will-ful delays in execution of contracts, over-inflated price and bungling in purchase of equipment through tendering – and misappropriation of funds.
3) Telgi Scam

As they say, every scam must have something unique in it to make money out of it in an unscrupulous manner- and Telgi scam had all the suspense and drama that the scandal needed to thrive and be busted.

Abdul Karim Telgi had mastered the art of forgery in printing duplicate stamp papers and sold them to banks and other institutions. The tentacles of the fake stamp and stamp paper case had penetrated 12 states and was estimated at a whooping Rs. 20000 crore plus. The Telgi clearly had a lot of support from government departments that were responsible for the production and sale of high security stamps.
4) Satyam Scam

The scam at Satyam Computer Services is something that will shatter the peace and tranquillity of Indian investors and shareholder community beyond repair. Satyam is the biggest fraud in the corporate history to the tune of Rs. 14000 crore.

The company’s disgraced former chairman Ramalinga Raju kept everyone in the dark for a decade by fudging the books of accounts for several years and inflating revenues and profit figures of Satyam. Finally, the company was taken over by the Tech Mahindra which has done wonderfully well to revive the brand Satyam.

5) Bofors Scam

The Bofors scandal is known as the hallmark of Indian corruption. The Bofors scam was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s; when the then PM Rajiv Gandhi and several others including a powerful NRI family named the Hindujas, were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply India’s 155 mm field howitzer.

The Swedish State Radio had broadcast a startling report about an undercover operation carried out by Bofors, Sweden’s biggest arms manufacturer, whereby $16 million were allegedly paid to members of PM Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress.

Most of all, the Bofors scam had a strong emotional appeal because it was a scam related to the defense services and India’s security interests.
6) The Fodder Scam

If you haven’t heard of Bihar’s fodder scam of 1996, you might still be able to recognize it by the name of “Chara Ghotala ,” as it is popularly known in the vernacular language.

In this corruption scandal worth Rs.900 crore, an unholy nexus was traced involved in fabrication of “vast herds of fictitious livestock” for which fodder, medicine and animal husbandry equipment was supposedly procured.

7) The Hawala Scandal

The Hawala case to the tune of $18 million bribery scandal, which came in the open in 1996, involved payments allegedly received by country’s leading politicians through hawala brokers. From the list of those accused also included Lal Krishna Advani who was then the Leader of Opposition.

Thus, for the first time in Indian politics, it gave a feeling of open loot all around the public, involving all the major political players being accused of having accepted bribes and also alleged connections about payments being channelled to Hizbul Mujahideen militants in Kashmir.
8) IPL Scam

Well, I am running out of time and space over here. The list of scandals in India is just not ending and becoming grave by every decade. Most of us are aware about the recent scam in IPL and embezzlement with respect to bidding for various franchisees. The scandal already claimed the portfolios of two big-wigs in the form of Shashi Tharoor and former IPL chief Lalit Modi.
9,10) Harshad Mehta & Ketan Parekh Stock Market Scam

Although not corruption scams, these have affected many people. There is no way that the investor community could forget the unfortunate Rs. 4000 crore Harshad Mehta scam and over Rs. 1000 crore Ketan Parekh scam which eroded the shareholders wealth in form of big market jolt.

So, can we live a scam-free life in India for a while now?

Corruption In India

Political and bureaucratic corruption in India are major concerns. A 2005 study conducted by Transparency International in India found that more than 45% of Indians had first-hand experience of paying bribes or influence peddling to get jobs done in public offices successfully.

Transparenc International estimates that truckers pay US$5 billion in bribes annually.In 2010 India was ranked 87th out of 178 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.
Although former Prime Minister and Congress party leader Indira Gandhi is quoted as saying that corruption is a misuse of power, she also publicly stated "nonchalantly" that "corruption was a global phenomenon" and her government was no different.[4][5][6] Successive central governments and members of India's famous Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty have often been accused most of corruption and amassing illegal wealth among India's political class.[4][7][8] The year 2011 has proved to be a watershed in the public tolerance of political corruption in India, with widespread public protests and movements led by social activists against corruption and for the return of illegal wealth stashed by politicians and businessmen in foreign banks over the six decades since independence.

Criminalization is also a serious problem in contemporary Indian politics.[9] In July 2008 The Washington Post reported that nearly a fourth of the 540 Indian Parliament members faced criminal charges, "including human trafficking, immigration rackets, embezzlement, rape and even murder".[10]

India tops the list for black money in the entire world with almost US$1456 billion in Swiss banks (approximately USD 1.4 trillion) in the form of black money.[11] According to the data provided by the Swiss Banking Association Report (2006), India has more black money than the rest of the world combined.[12][13] To put things in perspective, Indian-owned Swiss bank account assets are worth 13 times the country’s national debt.[14]

Independent reports published through 1991 to 2011 calculated the financial net worth of India's most powerful and traditionally ruling family (the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty) to be anywhere between $9.41 billion (Rs 42,345 crore) to $18.66 billion (Rs 83,900 crore), most of it in the form of illegal monies.[4] Harvard scholar Yevgenia Albats cited KGB correspondence about payments to Rajiv Gandhi and his family, which had been arranged by Viktor Chebrikov,[15][16][17] which shows that KGB chief Viktor Chebrikov sought in writing an "authorization to make payments in US dollars to the family members of Rajiv Gandhi, namely Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Paola Maino, mother of Sonia Gandhi" from the CPSU in December 1985.[15][16][17]

“The recent scams involving unimaginably big amounts of money, such as the 2G spectrum scam, are well known. It is estimated that more than trillion dollars are stashed away in foreign havens, while 80% of Indians earn less than 2$ per day and every second child is malnourished. It seems as if only the honest people are poor in India and want to get rid of their poverty by education, emigration to cities, and immigration, whereas all the corrupt ones, like Hasan Ali Khan are getting rich through scams and crime. It seems as if India is a rich country filled with poor people",[18] the organisers of Dandi March II in the United States said.[19]

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India said, “As on March 31, 2010, unutilised committed external assistance was of the order of Rs.1,05,339 crore.”[20]
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History

The economy of India was under socialist-inspired policies for an entire generation from the 1950s until the late 1980s. The economy was subject to extensive regulation, protectionism, and public ownership, leading to pervasive corruption and slow growth.[21][22][23][24] License Raj was often at the core of corruption.

The Vohra Report, submitted by the former Indian Union Home Secretary, N.N. Vohra, in October 1993, studied the problem of the criminalisation of politics and of the nexus among criminals, politicians and bureaucrats in India.


The report contained several observations made by official agencies on the criminal network which was virtually running a parallel government. It also discussed criminal gangs who enjoyed the patronage of politicians — of all political parties — and the protection of government functionaries. It revealed that political leaders had become the leaders of gangs. They were connected to the military. Over the years criminals had been elected to local bodies, State Assemblies, and even the Parliament. The unpublished annexures to the Vohra Report are believed to contain highly explosive material.

According to Jitendra Singh, "in the bad old days, particularly pre-1991, when the License Raj held sway, and by design, all kinds of free market mechanisms were hobbled or stymied, and corruption emerged almost as an illegitimate price mechanism, a shadowy quasi-market, such that scarce resources could still be allocated within the economy, and decisions could get made. ... These were largely distortions created by the politico-economic regime. While a sea change has occurred in the years following 1991, some of the distorted cultural norms that took hold during the earlier period are slowly being repaired by the sheer forces of competition. The process will be long and slow, however. It will not change overnight."[25] One of the major problems and obstacles to development that many developing countries face is corruption by greedy, power-hungry politicians, which is endemic in certain parts of the world.
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Politics

As of December 2008, 120 of India's 522 parliament members were facing criminal charges.[9] Many of the biggest scandals since 2010 have involved very high levels of government, including Cabinet Ministers and Chief Ministers, such as in the 2G spectrum scam and the Adarsh Housing Society Scam.
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Bureaucracy

A 2005 study done by Transparency International (TI) in India found that more than 50% of the people had firsthand experience of paying bribe or peddling influence to get a job done in a public office.[2] Taxes and bribes are common between state borders; Transparency International estimates that truckers pay annually US$5 billion in bribes.[3] A 2009 survey of the leading economies of Asia, revealed Indian bureaucracy to be not just least efficient out of Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Philippines and Indonesia; further it was also found that working with India's civil servants was a "slow and painful" process.[26]
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Land and property

Officials often steal state property. In cities and villages throughout India, Mafia Raj consisting of municipal and other government officials, elected politicians, judicial officers, real estate developers and law enforcement officials, acquire, develop and sell land in illegal ways.[27]
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Tendering processes and awarding contracts

Government officials having discretionary powers in awarding contracts engage in preferential treatment for selected bidders and display negligence in quality control processes[citation needed]. Many state-funded construction activities in India, such as road building, are dominated by construction mafias, which are groupings of corrupt public works officials, materials suppliers, politicians and construction contractors.[28] Shoddy construction and material substitution (e.g. mixing sand in cement while submitting expenses for cement) result in roads and highways being dangerous, and sometimes simply washed away when India's heavy monsoon season arrives.[29]
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Medicine

In Government Hospitals, corruption is associated with non availability of medicines (or duplicate/fake medicines), getting admission, consultations with doctors and availing diagnostic services.[2] There have been cases of diversion of medical supplies from government hospitals and clinics[citation needed] as well as supply and distribution of medicines of inferior quality[citation needed]
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Education

A quality required by a candidate to get admission in a private Engineering college is either good marks or good money. Engineering college receives a sum of 2 lakhs to 10 lakhs per seat in the name of donations, Which varies based on the reputation of the college. Some of these colleges are owned by a politician or his/her benami. A seat in private medical college ranges from 15 lakhs(For non reputed college)to 50 lakhs or even more. After admission there would be several other fees which has to be paid compulsory other than tuition fee. No other fees are regulated by the government other than the tuition fee. And government has not taken any action since most of the colleges are owned by politician.
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Income tax Department

There have been several cases of collusion of officials of the income tax department of India for a favorable tax treatment in return for bribes
Religious institutions

In India, the corruption has also crept into religious institutions. Some of the Church of North India are making money by selling Baptism certificates.[36] A group of church leaders and activists has launched a campaign to combat the corruption within churches. The chief economic consequences of corruption are the loss to the economy an unhealthy climate for investment and an increase in the cost of government-subsidised services. The TI India study estimates the monetary value of petty corruption in 11 basic services provided by the government, like education, healthcare, judiciary, police, etc., to be around 21,068 crore (US$4.7 billion). India still ranks in the bottom quartile of developing nations in terms of the ease of doing business, and compared to China and other lower developed Asian nations, the average time taken to secure the clearances for a startup or to invoke bankruptcy is much greater.