Indian Transparency Competition, 2017
iPleaders and onlineRTI are two organizations which are committed to working towards accessible justice and transparency, making a difference in their own gentle way. OnlineRTI is a web portal through which you can file RTIs. iPleaders is working towards making justice more accessible through legal education. This is an opportunity for you to do your bit for bringing more transparency in governance in our beloved country.
In the Indian Transparency Competition, 2017, which is open to anyone including lawyers, law students, RTI activists and all citizens, you have to file an RTI with a government department of your choice. The RTI can be about any issue you are passionate about. After getting the response from the department, a 1500 word article needs to be written about the response you have received, analyzing or explaining the data you have received.
Why should you participate?
The competition enables you to get a first-hand experience about dealing with government departments. This is an invaluable skill, irrespective of the professional field you belong to. Adding to that, the choice of the subject, questions and even the department is entirely up to the participant; hence, you can choose any subject you are passionate about.
Apart from that, the knowledge attained by studying the responses can be used at many places, including any academic projects or research papers. The government holds a lot of information, which can be released through RTIs, if only the right questions are asked.
When the common man talks or writes of making a difference in the system, lack of transparency, corruption and so on, that's where it ends; it ends with the conversation or blog. Everyone wants change, but no one has the patience to work for it. This is a golden chance to change that, and the best part is, this can be done from the comfort of your home!
If that isn't incentive enough, there are prizes worth INR 30,000 to be won!
Basics of writing an effective RTI:
- Firstly, the applicant should be aware of the topic. Do some preliminary research. See some good RTI questionnaires. This helps in forming accurate questions. Vague or incomprehensible questions receive vague and incomprehensible answers.
- Research should be done on the current status of the issue, who are all the stakeholders, problems faced by the public till now, etc.
- Identify the Public Information Officer (PIO)
- What is the data you are expecting to see in the answer and how that data is recorded or maintained
- More information can be found by enrolling in the RTI course offered by iPleaders
What should the article contain?
- A rough background on the topic
- A social, political, and legal background, with an emphasis on the applicable laws, statutes and cases.
- What was the purpose for the RTI to be filed, what would it achieve and so on.
- Should include the questions asked and why such questions were asked
- The entire data/information received or not received
- An analysis of the response given by the respective department
- The response should be attached.
Online Registration:
https://onlinerti.com/competition
Prizes:
- Best Entry: Rs.15,000/-
- 1st RunnerUp: Rs.10,000/-
- 2nd RunnerUp: Rs. 5,000/-
All participants completing RTI course will receive Completion Certificates
Important Dates
Last Date for sending RTI entries: (Every participant can send more than one RTI entry) |
28th February, 2017 |
Last Date for sending RTI responses: |
15th April, 2017 |
Last Date for submitting article: |
10th May, 2017 |
Result Announcement: |
15th May, 2017 |
Contact:
Ms. Mili Mishra
Email: mili@onlinerti.com
Indian Transparency Competition, 2017
Phone: +91-9206074500
Email: support@onlinerti.com
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