Great news for NRIs!

The Indian Embassy in Washington DC has implemented the Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and now it's activities fully come under the Act's purview. This important provision has been made possible by the sustained efforts of volunteers of the Anti-Corruption Team (ACT), which is a part of the Association for India's Development, popularly known as AID (www.aidindia.org).

The RTI Act, brought into effect in October 2005, empowers Indian citizens to demand information from any government office about a personal case, or the office's functioning in general. The law has revolutionized the way citizens control the government and it is paving the path to a corruption-free nation.

Now this powerful law can be put to use by NRIs as well, right from here! You don't have to pay bribes anymore to get your work done in India. There is an easier, cleaner and legal way: file an RTI application! Any Indian citizen with a valid Indian passport can file an RTI application at the Indian Embassy.

The process of filing it is easier than your primary school "As I am suffering from..." leave letter. Also, the Indian Embassy will automatically transfer your application to the concerned department if the information you are asking for is not pertaining to them. You should get your response within 35 days or you can file an appeal to the Appellate Authority (AA) and later to the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).

How to file an application?

Write your questions on a paper, address it to the Public Information Officer (PIO) and sign underneath. It's that easy! You can ask multiple questions in the same application. Mention that you are exercising your right under RTI 2005. You can find some sample applications here: http://rti.aidindia.org/content/view/221/76/ 

Along with the letter, attach your passport's first page copy and a personal check for 24 cents [equivalent to Rs. 10] made out to "Embassy of India, Washington DC". Please mention the enclosures in your application and a return address where they can send the response. The application should be mailed to:

The Public Information Officer,
2107 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
USA

Contact: Mr. George Kutty (georgek@indiagov.org)
Attaché (Press, Information and Culture), Embassy of India.

Our volunteers are working with the Indian Consulates across US as well to collect information on their implementation of RTI and the contact details to obtain information. Please contact the Anti-Corruption Team (ACT) at rti-team@aidindia.org for further questions. You can find more information about the Act at http://rti.aidindia.org/

Please consider making a donation to AID Anti-Corruption Fund to support lot of grassroot initiatives that fights corruption and in implementing good governance. Please visit https://secure.aidindia.org/aidadmin/DonatetoAID.jsp for more information.

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RTI Zindabad!
AID Anti-Corruption Team