Are public authorities disseminating information under RTI act?: A study of indian institutes of management

The RTI Act has two key elements, one is the providing of information when it is sought by an RTI applicant and the other is to disclose information suo-moto by all government organisation at regular intervals on their websites. The RTI Act prescribes that all PAs shall publish 17 categories of information on the websites of every government organization. In this article, an attempt is made to understand the status of implementation of Section 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act, 2005 among the existing 20 Indian Institutes of Management setup by the Government of India to promote research and education in the field of management and allied areas. A study was done to ascertain the level of compliance of Section 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act, 2005. Despite several CIC orders directing government organizations for voluntary disclosure of information, government agencies have not been making voluntary disclosure of information as mandated by the Act and such disclosure is of poor quality. Though IIMs are considered to be the institutions of excellence which are recognized as premier management institutions comparable to the best in the world, the study revealed that even IIMs are not maintaining proper records in a manner in which it can be easily obtained by those who need it under the RTI Act, 2005.