RTI ACT The campaign for the Right to Information Grassroots organisations and civil society groups have campaigned for an effective national right to information law since the 1990s. However, it was only in 2002 that the Central Government finally took a step forward, passing the Freedom of Information Act 2002 (FOI Act). Unfortunately, the Act was never brought into force andpeople were never able to exercise their rights under the new law. In 2004, however, the newlyelected United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government promised to make the right toinformation more “progressive, participatory and meaningful”. The National Advisory Council (NAC) was set up to oversee the UPA Government’s promise and included key figures in the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI). In August 2004, based onsubmissions made by the NCPRI, CHRI, and other civil society groups, the NAC submitted a set of recommendations to the Government for amending the FOI Act. Drawing heavily on
ADVOCATES AND LEGAL CONSULTANT