Right to information act, 2005: implementation and challenges/ edited by P.K. Saini and R.K.Gupta

Openness and accessibility of people to information about the function of Government is a vital component of democracy. In a mature democracy, a citizen's right to information should be guaranteed. The people are supreme than Government. This right should be as tangible and tenable as our right for liberty and freedom of speech. India may boast of being a 60 years democracy, but it has only now begun providing legislative teeth to the citizen's right to access information. The Right to Information Act, 2005 is a significant development since independence. It is one of the strongest indication of India's growing strength and reputation as democratic country. It is a powerful Act.

The objective of the RTI Act is to make governance more transparent and accountable. But there are many hurdles in the implementation of this Act. Keeping in view of the challenges and problems, Indian Council of Social Science Research, North-Western Regional Centre brought together on a single forum the senior level functionaries from the Central and State Government, Public Information Officers, Civil Servants, Legal Luminaries, Senior Professors from the Universities, Young Research Scholars, NGOs and persons from the responsible position associated with the implementation of this Act in Government and other Organizations to discuss the various aspects of the RTI Act.