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SCOPE’s ‘National Meet on RTI Act’ organized in Shillong
Bringing its capacity building endeavour to the North Eastern region of the country, Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), an apex body of Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) organized its ‘National Meet on Right To Information (RTI) Act’ in Shillong, Meghalaya. The meet was addressed by Shri Heeralal Samariya, Chief Information Commissioner, CIC; Shri H. Nongpluh, State Chief Information Commissioner, Meghalaya; Shri Atul Sobti Director General, SCOPE and Senior officials of Meghalaya Govt., Govt. of India and PSEs. The meet was attended by over 80 participants from 34 PSEs.
Shri Heeralal Samariya interacting with the participants said that the intention of the Right to Information Act is to foster transparency and accountability in governance. Commending the large participation in SCOPE’s workshop, he asserted that though RTI is a small Act, it is the most powerful Act. He further advised officials to facilitate information to the Public as it is their right, and be up-to-date in displaying their information in the public domain.
Shri H. Nongpluh spoke about how RTI is one of the most empowering Acts and the mindset of the Public Information Officer (PIO) is pivotal and they must be prompt in giving replies of RTIs. He also emphasized that such programs must be organized frequently to create better awareness about the Act.
Shri Atul Sobti in his address shared that SCOPE decided to organize this National Meet in Shillong due to the rising prominence of the city, as it takes steps towards becoming a Smart City. Calling RTI the most unique, vital and empowering legislation, DG, SCOPE emphasized that the idea to conduct this meet across various regions was to facilitate more clarity, inform and deliberate on the various provisions of RTI.
Addressed by a unique mix of Government representatives and faculty, the interactive meet was another step by SCOPE to take its capacity building endeavour to different regions of the country, through workshops on pertinent topics ranging from Corporate Governance, Climate change to Women empowerment, Leadership, Digital transformation etc.
SCOPE organizes ‘National Meet on RTI Act’ in Lucknow
Chief Information Commissioner inaugurates SCOPE’s National Meet on RTI Act
Y.K. Sinha enunciates that PSEs must ensure transparency, accountability and good governance
The ‘National Meet of RTI Act’ organized by Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) was inaugurated by Shri Y.K. Sinha, Chief Information Commissioner in the presence of Shri K. Ravinder Naik, IAS, Principal Secretary, Secretariat Administrative Department, UP Government. Shri Atul Sobti, Director General, SCOPE also addressed the inaugural session of the two-day program. Senior officials of UP Government and Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) were also present. The meet is being attended by over 100 participants from 37 PSEs.
In his inaugural address, Shri Y.K. Sinha said that Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) play a crucial role in development of our country, but besides their significant role they must ensure transparency, accountability and good governance. He emphasized that transparency and accountability are the cornerstones of performance of an organization, which reinforces the need to conduct workshops like this one being organized by SCOPE.
Shri K. Ravinder Naik addressing the participants appreciated SCOPE in organizing RTI Meet in Lucknow for the benefit and knowledge upgradation of information seekers and public authorities, especially in the largest state of the country, receiving maximum RTI applications.
Shri Atul Sobti said that RTI is a citizen centric Act facilitating transparency, ethics, accountability and empowering citizens. He highlighted that as PSEs are important pillars of the Indian economy, SCOPE as the apex body of PSEs, has been organizing knowledge and experience sharing programs in diverse regions of the country.
SCOPE’s National Meet aims to enhance the knowledge of Senior Officials, PIOs, Nodal Officers & Executives of PSEs and enable them to gain better appreciation of the RTI Act and the issues involved, for its effective implementation in their respective organizations.
SCOPE, an apex body of Indian PSEs, regularly conducts workshops and capacity building programs across the country on subjects like RTI, Corporate Governance, Climate change, Women empowerment, Leadership, Digital transformation, etc.
Hon’ble Lt. Governor, Ladakh inaugurates SCOPE’s National Meet on RTI Act
Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) organised a ‘National Meet on RTI Act,’ in Leh, Ladakh which was inaugurated by Shri Radha Krishna Mathur, Hon’ble Lt. Governor of Ladakh, in the presence of Shri Y.K. Sinha, Chief Information Commissioner. Shri Atul Sobti, DG, SCOPE and Shri Pradip Kumar Das, CMD, IREDA also addressed the inaugural session of the two-day program. Senior officials of Ladakh Government and Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) were also present. The meet is being attended by over 75 senior officials from 35 PSEs.
Calling RTI, the legal responsibility of every single Public Sector Enterprise (PSE), Shri Radha Krishna Mathur in his address, emphasised the need for a more conscientious understanding of the RTI Act. Stating that the primary role of SCOPE is to steer PSEs in the right direction, he complimented them for hosting the National Meet in Ladakh and building the capacities of officials. Shri Mathur launched the webpage of ‘Disclosure of Information under RTI Act Section 4(2)’ for Ladakh during the meet. SCOPE’s film on 'PSEs in pursuit of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat' was also released by Lt. Governor, Ladakh during the event.
Addressing the session, Shri Y.K. Sinha said that we need to look at how to implement the RTI Act more effectively and not merely as a grievance redressal mechanism and called for inculcating an innovative approach towards addressing RTI issues.
Shri Atul Sobti in his address said that it is SCOPE’s prime endeavour to provide a platform for PSEs to deliberate on the most pertinent topics, like this National Meet on RTI being organised to simplify and demystify the provisions of the Act. He added that, SCOPE remains committed towards creating a conducive environment of constant learning and development in PSEs across the country.
Shri Pradip Kumar Das in his Vote of Thanks encouraged participants to imbibe the most important aspects of RTI from the workshop and follow the same in their organisations.
‘Expedite RTI appeals by adhering to timelines’: Chief Information Commissioner at SCOPE Symposium
Calling the Right to Information (RTI) Act a landmark legislation that has withstood the test of time, Mr. Y.K. Sinha, Chief Information Commissioner, CIC addressed Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE)’s symposium on Right to Information Act. Mr. Atul Sobti, DG, SCOPE; Ms. B.K. Sokhey, Director (Finance), NBCC and Mr. O.P. Khorwal, Consultant, SCOPE also addressed the concluding session of the two-day program, which saw large participation of senior officials of various PSUs from across the country.
Mr. Y.K. Sinha said that the RTI Act has brought about a huge change empowering the common man and enunciated the need for proactive and effective grievance redressal mechanisms in PSUs. He further added that Public authorities must go for voluntary disclosure to expedite the process, file timely returns while sticking to guidelines to enable effective transparency audits.
Mr. Atul Sobti addressing the participants called RTI Act the cornerstone of corporate governance enabling efficiency and transparency in processes. He added that SCOPE with the support of Central Information Commission has been continuously organising symposiums and workshops on RTI Act for capacity building of PSEs.
Ms. B.K. Sokhey shared that the symposium encapsulated important aspects of RTI Act with regard to CPSEs which will be a great learning for the participants.
RTI is at the heart of Indian Democracy- Mr. Sudhir Bhargava, CIC
December 6, 2019
Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), Mr. Sudhir Bhargava interacted with the Chief and Senior Executives of Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) on range of issues pertaining to recent provisions of the RTI Act and concerns in implementing the amended RTI Act. In his address to PSEs, CIC said that RTI is at the heart of Indian democracy and it facilitates people’s participation in governance. Director General, Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), Mr. Atul Sobti also addressed the gathering. While appreciating the act as the most progressive legislation, Mr. Sobti pointed out that PSEs need a level playing field in the current volatile business environment.
Director (HR), NTPC and Member, SCOPE Executive Board, Mr. Saptarshi Roy; also presented his views on RTI Act. The interaction was organized by SCOPE which saw the presence of a large number of representations from 43 PSEs.