• Delegation: Included State Information Commissioners Jagannath Rath, Pranabindu Acharya, Pabitra Mandal and Kalpana Pattnaik.

Measures adopted:

• Short orders issued on the day of the hearing, following best practices in the country.
• All hearings conducted in Odia for the benefit of applicants.
• Videoconferencing so that applicants from remote areas need not travel to Bhubaneswar.
• Online filing of applications and digital uploading of final orders.

• Training: Nearly 300 law interns were given exposure and training in RTI matters.
• Non-compliance: The Governor was informed that all cases of non-implementation of the commission’s orders had been taken up with the Chief Secretary for action.

• RTI Act, 2005: Gives citizens the right to seek information from public authorities. Section 7 sets a 30-day limit for replying, and Section 19 provides for first and second appeals.
• State Information Commission: Constituted under Section 15 of the RTI Act, with a State Chief Information Commissioner and up to ten State Information Commissioners, appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of a committee headed by the Chief Minister.
• Powers: Section 18 empowers the Commission to inquire into complaints, and Section 20 allows penalties for failure to supply information without reasonable cause.
• Constitutional basis: The Supreme Court has read the right to information into the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).
• Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023: Amended Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, which deals with exemption for personal information.

The RTI Act, 2005 (Sections 7, 15, 18, 19 and 20), the appointment of State Information Commissioners, Article 19(1)(a) and the DPDP Act, 2023 amendment to Section 8(1)(j) are recurring themes for OPSC Prelims (Polity, Current Events) and OPSC Mains GS Paper II (Governance, Transparency and Accountability).

For structured notes on Odisha-specific current affairs, aspirants preparing in Bhubaneswar can join the OPSC Foundation Batch at Strive Edge IAS — recognized as one of the best OPSC OAS coaching institutes in Bhubaneswar.