Right to information act

As a tool to improve Transparency in public affairs

Presented By: Group 1

WHAT IS RTI?
RTI stands for "Right to Information". Right to Information is a fundamental right that every citizen has.

The Act extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. [S.(12)]

Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen (excluding the citizens within J&K) may request information from a "public authority"

What does Right to Information mean?

It includes the right to Take notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records.
Obtain information in form of printouts, diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts. Inspect works, documents, records

Take certified samples of material.

NEED FOR RTI

Simply because if you go into a Govt. office and demand that they tell you why your work has not been done, they will not entertain you or might even throw you out. If its a law, Then it becomes harder to do this. If they do not give you the information you want, they ill have broken a law and can be punished for it.

AIM & OBJECTIVES OF RTI

Transparency & Accountability in the working of every public authority

The duty of Govt. to pro-actively make available key information to all (Sec 4).

A responsibility on all sections: citizenry, NGOs, media.

The right of any citizen of India to request access to information and the corresponding duty of Govt. to meet the request, except the exempted information (Sec. 8/9).

Objectives
To set out a practical regime of right to information for citizens To secure access to information under the control of public authorities To promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority To contain corruption To increase citizens awareness and ability to exercise their other rights To equip them to participate meaningfully in the development process

What Does Information mean?

Any material held in any form including : Records Documents Memos Opinions & advices Press releases Circulars, orders & logbooks Contracts Reports, papers samples & models

What does a "public authority" mean?

It means any authority or body or institution of selfgovernment established or constituted: [S.2(h)]

by or under the Constitution; by any other law made by Parliament; by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government. and includes any

body owned, controlled or substantially financed non-Government organization substantially financed directly or indirectly by the appropriate Government.

What is not open to disclosure?

The following information is exempted from disclosure (S.8) Which would prejudicially affect the independence and integrity of India. Security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State. Relation with foreign State. Lead to incitement of an offence. Information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party

Application procedure for requesting information?

Apply in writing or through electronic means in English or Hindi or in the official language or the area, to the PIO(Public Information Officer), specifying the particulars of the information required for.
Reason for seeking information are not required to be given; Pay fees as may be prescribed (if not belonging to the below poverty line category).

FIRST APPEAL
REQUEST INFORMATION IN 30 DAYS

CITIZENS

IF THE INTERESTS OF A THIRD PARTY ARE INVOLVED THEN TIME LIMIT WILL BE 40 DAYS

PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER (PIO)

INFORMATION IN 48HOURS INCASE OF INFORMATION REGARDING LIFE & LIBERTY

SECOND APPEAL
Second appeal (External)

(within 90 days from the date of decision of first AA but delay may be condoned if sufficient cause is shown)

*Appeal against ICs decision can be filed in High Courts/Supreme Court, not lower courts

Inquiry to Public Authority

Central Information Public Officer Information related to Administrative and Quasi-judicial decisions

+ 5 days

Central Assistant Information Public Officer

30 days

48 hrs

Information related to life and liberty

Information related to third party

Appeal within 30 days

Appellate Officer
Appeal within 90 days

disposition of appeal: 30 days or extend not beyond 45 days

+10 days

SIC/CIC High Court Supreme Court

13

Overriding effect[Sec.22]
The provisions of the Act have an overriding effect over anything inconsistent contained in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 or any other law or instrument

14

Link to Website (http://rti.india.gov.in/)

File a Complaint

Complaint Status

RTI Cost
Village level No fee Mandal Level Rs 5/- per application Application District and higher Rs 10/- per application Fees
Cash Demand Draft Bankers Cheque payable to accounts officer Postal Order Court Fee stamp

Modes Of payment

RTI cost
Rs 2/- per page per copy

1.44 Mb Floppy Disk Rs 50/-

RTI charges
Inspection of Records First hour free and Rs 5/- for each hour thereafter

CD of 700 Mb Rs 100/DVD Rs 200/-

RTI The Misuse

The nation does not want a scenario where 75 percent of the staff of public authorities spends 75 percent of their time in collecting and furnishing information to applicants instead of discharging their regular duties

RTI The Misuse

The Right to Information Act provides the information free of charge to a BPL person, no matter how many pages in the document. The misuse of the concession given is manifold. Quoting from a DNA newspaper report, an applicant, categorized as below the poverty line (BPL), takes away hundreds of pages of information free-of-charge from government authorities every day. The purpose was that selling the documents as scrap earned him enough to buy two square meals a day.

RTI The Misuse

Many times the BPL applicants act for someone else. In such cases, mostly, the applicant is illiterate or in such a state that he does not even understand what the documents are about. Secondly, BPL certificates are so easily available in rural areas that even teachers and two-wheeler owners seek the information free-of-cost after producing a BPL certificate. Many times, the privileges given by the RTI Act is used by some citizens to harass or blackmail government officials

RTI The Misuse

The right of students to inspect and photocopy their answer sheets after their evaluation in examinations.

Indiscriminate and impractical demands or directions under the RTI Act for disclosure of all and sundry information (unrelated to transparency and accountability in the functioning of public authorities and eradication of corruption) would be counter-productive as it will adversely affect the efficiency of the administration and result in the executive (government) getting bogged down with the nonproductive work of collecting and furnishing information

RTI Amendments ??

The point is, what amendments should be made, if at all. Are amendments necessary and if they are long due and not happening, what can be the reasons behind it. Recently, on 1st November, 2012, the government withdrew its plan to amend the act. Although the prime minister was of the view that the act should be amended, a decision was taken not to go ahead. A doubt that arises in our minds is, is this a decision made under political pressures, does vote politics has any role to play in this recent move by the government?

RTI Proposed Amendments

Proposed amendments to exempt file notings. Granting anonymity to officers. No access to decision-making process. Proposed amendment to restrict access to cabinet documents Proposed amendment to restrict access to exam-related information. Proposed amendment to hike fees.

RTI Proposed Amendments

What is wrong with above amendments? The Government claims that the proposed amendments will allow access to file notings on development and social issues. However in the absence of clear definitions of such terms, these amendments will only increase the discretionary power of officers to deny access to file notings on a majority of issues.

RTI Proposed Amendments

What is wrong with these amendments? Restrictions on access to file notings and the granting of anonymity to the officers who made them will only encourage unscrupulous and corrupt elements in the administration to act with impunity. Transparency on the other hand will ensure that all officers will give their opinions and act in a responsible manner as they will be subject to public scrutiny.

RTI Proposed Amendments

Proposed amendment to restrict access to cabinet documents The proposed amendment imposes unreasonable restrictions on the citizens' right to access papers relating to the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers. People have a right to know the final decisions of the Council of Ministers and what is contained in the materials that officials have considered when making a decision. High standards of transparency should apply equally at all levels of decision-making from the lowest to the highest tier.

RTI Proposed Amendments

Proposed amendment to restrict access to exam-related information. The RTI Act does not currently exempt access to information the disclosure of which may adversely affect the objectivity and fairness of examinations, recruitment and promotion processes conducted by a public authority. Secrecy in examination and selection processes allows bad decisions, favouritism and even nepotism to go unchecked, because examiners and assessors are never required to publicly justify their decisions.

RTI Proposed Amendments

Proposed amendment to hike fees. India is a country in which more than 80% of citizens survives on less than US$2 per day. Increasing the application fee or making citizens pay for wages of officers working on RTI will only act as a severe disincentive for people who would otherwise have used the Act to access information. The amendment, if passed, will also be exploited by PIOs and other authorities under the Act in order to discourage people from seeking the disclosure of information relating to wrongdoing or instances of corruption.

Counter arguments in favor of the above amendments by examples of misuse

Prime Ministers View

Balance between RTI and Right to Privacy At times less productive and waste of Government Resources Excessive Judicialisation leads to less flexibility

OUR VIEW
Those in public office must accept that their right to privacy cannot be an absolute right and must bow to the larger public interest. Any other method of striking the balance between the two potentially conflicting rights would be against the spirit of true democracy and transparency.

Use of RTI for Terrorist Activity

Citizens can get any buildings plan by RTI Citizens get information with Bogus IDs There is no provision in the RTI Act to check the authenticity of the people who seek information. Fake IDs were found on dead terrorists Ashok Shintre, BMC chief engineer confirmed that they suspect misuse of plan by citizen

RTI used to settle personal Scores

CIC has expressed its concern RTI used to settle family disputes including divorces(no issue of public interest) RTI cannot stop such frivolous petitions Cost borne by society

Example Cases ..

Delhi Resident I P Agarwal sought personal details of her sister in law Retired Headmaster Mr.Perreira harassing DoE by asking information again and again He filed more than 150 RTI applications Similarly sacked employee of JNU Mr.Gopinath filed 67 RTI applications

Evaluated Answer Sheets

Parents use RTI to access answer papers of kid's classmates KSE conducts exam for 8 lakh students each year Request by KSE to exempt from RTI Supreme Court held that there is no right to claim disclosure of answer sheets or copies, and the same is not part of the right to freedom of expression and, therefore, implicitly excluded from the RTI Act, the contention too cannot be accepted

Other Misuses

Misuse by asking Voluminous information Asking information where there is unavailability of records RTI used to get free paper

Conclusion

By the introduction and implementation of the RTI, many Indians have sought information from various government departments regarding their financial activities and many frauds have been also brought up to the notice.
A common man can seek any information from any government organisation which helps reduce the corruption. This act is a strong pillar of discipline for the government of India. Thus RTI Act, 2005 is the best Act implemented by the Indian Government and it should not be modified in such a way that the new modifications will degrade the credibility of the act.

Conclusion

By enacting the Right to Information Act India has moved from an opaque and arbitrary system of government to the beginning of an era where there will be greater transparency and to a system where the citizen will be empowered and the true center of power. The real Swaraj will come not by the acquisition of authority by a few but by the acquisition of capacity by all to resist authority when abused. Thus with the enactment of this Act India has taken a small step towards achieving real Swaraj.

AGENDA

History Current scenario Accumulated debt Consequence of crises Start of the crisis Payment problems Competitor analysis SWOT analysis Fight back Conclusion Suggestion

HISTORY

Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. (KAIR) is a private airline based in Bangalore, India. Owned by Vijay Mallya of United Beverages Group . Tag line- FLY THE GOOD TIME. Kingfisher Airlines started its operations on May 9, 2005, with a fleet of 4 brand new Airbus - A320. It started its international operations on 3 September 2008 by connecting Bangalore with London.

Continued

Kingfisher Airlines is one of the only seven airlines awarded 5-star rating by skytrax. Kingfisher operates 400 daily flights with regional and long-haul international services. In May 2009,KFA carried more than 1 million passengers, giving it the highest market share among airlines in India.

Until December 2011,KFA had the second largest share in Indias domestic air travel market.
First Indian Airlines to have in flight entertainment systems on every seat with guest being able to watch TV in flight.

CURRENT SCENARIO

The DGCA suspended its flying license on October 20,2012. KFA has temporarily shut down its operations. Due to financial problem it has reduced the fleet from 63 to 16.

FINANCIAL CRISIS

The Kingfisher Airlines financial crisis refers to a series of events that led to severe disruptions within Kingfisher Airlines. Ever since the airline commenced operations in 2005, it has been reporting losses. After acquiring Air Deccan, Kingfisher suffered a loss of over 1,000 crore for three consecutive years.

By early 2012, the airline accumulated losses of over 7,000 crore.

CONSEQUENCE OF CRISES

DGCA has suspended the license of Kingfisher Airlines with immediate effect, i.e., w.e.f. 20th October 2012. The suspension would remain in force till Kingfisher submitted a concrete and reliable plan for its revival. Several members of its staff going on strike. Salaries delayed.

START OF THE CRISIS

The start of the crisis was the freezing of the bank accounts of the airline by the Income Tax Department. As on 10th Jan 2012, Kingfisher Airlines has service tax arrears of 60 crore. KFA has not been depositing service tax collected from passenger with the department since November 2011 on regular basis and instead has been diverting it for other purpose on regular basis.

ACCUMULATED DEBT

KFA has a debt of Rs 8030 crore. KFA has been loosing money from day one and has accumulated losses around RS 8000 crore.

Cumulative due exceeds Rs 15000 crore.

PAYMENT PROBLEMS

Kingfisher Airline has staff strength of 6,000 and spends 58 crore on salaries a month. Airlines delayed salaries of its employees in August 2011, and for four months in succession from October 2011 to January 2012. Kingfisher also defaulted on paying the Tax Deducted at Source from the employee income to the tax department.

Continued

HPCL: In Jul 2011, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) stopped the fuel (ATF) supplies for about two hours to Kingfisher airlines owing to the non-payment of dues. Bharat Petroleum Corporation in 2009 had filed a case against Kingfisher airlines for non-payment of dues(250 cr). Since 2008, it has been reported that Kingfisher Airlines has been unable to pay the aircraft lease rentals on time. As a result, Kingfisher had to return the A320 aircraft to GECAS.

Continued

Kingfisher received a notice from the Airports Authority of India on February 2012 regarding accumulated dues of 255.06 crore. Kingfisher Airlines had not paid some bankers (Lenders) as per the Debt Recast Package (DRP) with lending banks. By Feb 2012, Kingfisher has been declared NPA (Non-performing asset) by following banks

SBI Bank of Baroda PNB IDBI Central bank BOI Corporation Bank

BALANCE SHEET

SOURCE: MONEYCONTROL

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
ATTRIBUTES KINGFISHER JET AIRWAYS SPICE JET Price 25% higher than jet Airways and Indian NO Lower than Kingfisher airlines YES Extremely low

Permission to fly

NA

IPO

Floated

Floated

Floated

Targeted Customer

Both ends of customer

Both ends of customer

Lower end of customers

Positioning

Premium Domestic Segment

Premium Domestic Segment and international Segment

Lowest fares and no frills

COMPARISION WITH COMPETITOR

INCOME(CR) EXPENSES(C PROFIT(CR) R)
KINGFISHER 5823.91 7651.81 -2328.01

TOTAL ASSET(CR)
1947.61

JET AIRWAYS

15477.39

13369.66

-1236.10

12048.61

SPICE JET

4019.11

4541.62

-605.77

708.20

CONTAINER CORP

4377.49

3037.22
SOURCE:MONEYCONTROL

877.88

5606.43

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTH

Opportunity

Strong brand value Support from parent company

The Indian aviation industry is growing at a rate of 24% per year. Large number of domestic untapped routes. Disposable income especially in middle class has increases. Threats

Add 1 million passenger created a year Weakness

Financial issue due to heavy Debt. Laying of employees caused a bad image.

Rising fuel cost. Govt. policies Least cost carrier.

Unable to generate expected returns on investment done. Overspending of funds.

CONCLUSION
Financial crisis of KFA was due to following reasons:

High fuel prices. Huge interest outgo due to heavy investment in purchase of aircraft.

Overspending/Expenses
Highly competitive industry Business model was not effective. Deregulation Act. Recession-lose passenger(High operation cost due to low demand).

Fight back: Deal with Diageo

Type Industry Founded Headquarters Key people Public limited company Beverages 1997 (London) Park Royal, London, United Kingdom Franz Humer (Chairman) Paul Walsh (CEO) Products Revenue Operating income Net income Employees Alcoholic beverages: beer, wine and spirits 13.232 billion (2011) 2.595 billion (2011) 2.017 billion (2011) 25,000 (2012)

Fight back: Deal with Diageo

Diageo would initially acquire 27.4 percent stake in United Spirits for Rs 1,440 a share. The total consideration would be around Rs 5,725.4 crore. Diageo will acquire 19.3 percent at Rs 1,440 a share from United Breweries Holdings Group. United Spirits' shareholders will have to approve a preferential allotment of new shares amounting to 10 percent of the post-issue enlarged share capital of United Spirits to Diageo at Rs 1,440 a share. Diageo and Vijay Mallya have entered into a memorandum of understanding to form a 50-50 joint venture, which will own United National Breweries' traditional sorghum beer business in South Africa. The two companies are also considering the possibility of extending this beer JV to maximise opportunities in certain emerging markets in Africa and Asia (excluding India).

Fight back: Highlights

1. Cash infusion will help USL de-leverage itself On the financial details, Mallya said United Spirits, which has a Rs 8300 crore debt, will get around Rs 3,300 crore from the deal which will be used to retire some of the debt, while United Breweries will get around Rs 2,400 crore. 2. Deal is a win-win for both Ivan M Menezes, COO at Diageo, said the deal is a win-win for both companies and will enhance Diageos position in the worlds fastest growing market as it brings together the strength of both companies. Diageo, however has no plans on increasing its st ake to 100 percent in the company.

Fight back: Highlights Conti

3. Shares of United Spirits and UB Holdings Shares of United Spirits closed at Rs 1,359.70, up 1.22 percent percent and those of United Breweries Holdings closed up 3.3 percent up at Rs 136.05.
4. Final opportunity to revive fortunes of the group Some of the Mallya group companies have been in turbulence for some time. This is his final opportunity to revive the fortune of the group

SUGGESTION

Foreign Investment (implemented). Fuel efficient planes for shorter distance. Avoid aggressive expansion of fleets. Improve revenue per passenger.