RIP RTI? The dark clouds over India’s ‘sunshine law’

Aug 13, 2023 (Times of India) Several parliamentarians and civil society activists have raised concerns that the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP) 2023 — passed by Parliament this week — may be the final nail in the coffin for the Right To Information (RTI) Act.

Does your state police tell you who they have arrested?

By: Venkatesh Nayak (Deccanherald.com) It’s the season for ‘surgical strikes’ again, with Lok Sabha elections due in about nine months.

Destroying RTI in the name of personal data protection

(Deccanherald) By: Venkatesh Nayak Aug 4, 2023 The Union government tabled the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 (DPDP Bill), in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

How Modi government is using data privacy as an excuse to cripple the Right to Information

2 August 2023 (Scroll.in) The inherent conflict between the right to privacy and the right to information is being exploited by the government to restrict the Right to Information Act.

Opposition, Activists Raise Alarm as Modi Govt Gets Ready to Pass Data Protection Bill

July 31, 2023 (thewire.in) New Delhi: As The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2023 is likely to be tabled in parliament this week, concerns have been raised about the content of the new legislation.

Anti-trafficking sector joint briefing on the Illegal Migration Bill for Commons consideration of Lords amendments, July 2023 Amendment on compliance with international obligations

Jul 11, 2023 A cruel, inhumane and unworkable Bill: The ‘Illegal Migration Bill’ is bad law. It is cruel, inhumane and entirely unworkable. It breaks numerous domestic and international laws.

Home ministry dodges query on cancelling foreign contribution licences of non-profits

July 08, 2023 scroll.in An RTI activist had asked the ministry to make the cancellation orders public.

Keeping trade talks secret from our own citizens

18 June 2023 (Deccanherald)  By: Venkatesh Nayak Amidst the advertising blitzkrieg that New Delhi has unleashed about the many meetings it is hosting as the G20 Chair, there is not even a trickle of information about the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the European Union (

Women struggle while men die in custody in India’s Uttar Pradesh

14 June 2023 (unbiasthenews.org) When 33-year-old Shahiba Bano is not busy trying to piece her life back together, her mind strays to the late-evening driving lessons with her husband. Learning how to ride a three-wheeler for a living was never on her agenda.