Introducing a freedom of information act has to be a good thing for India’s image abroad. At the moment, people get concerned about the risks of trading with a country where corruption is perceived as endemic. Even if it is not necessarily true.

The Right to Information Act is surely a way out to make the system more accountable. It is always better to have transparency in the system and India having a substantial amount of corruption, required something for people to provide more insight into the system. The act is a way out to have democracy more firmly planted in our system. A Democracy says: Govt Of The People, By The People and For The People and the Act is an effort to give real meaning to this slogan. The Act should have been enacted way back, but as they say better late than never.
It surely does not mean one more department to process applications or one more reason to file cases in the courts. It is an act which has been enacted with due diligence in order to bring awareness to the people of India and to make the system answerable to them and is an effort to uproot corruption from the country. It is an excellent effort to provide transparency and we cannot here on this site decide whether the act is justified or not; as an effort rather than a debate is what is going to change the system and our country requires such efforts.
As mentioned by the author of this write-up any citizen can request for any information, by filing an application, from the Government Agencies and Departments is correct but the point that the agencies have to make that information available to the applicant within 30 days of filing of the application is not correct in entirety as the act does exempt the following informations from being shared:
i. Information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence
ii. Information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court;
iii. Information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;
iv. Information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;
v. Information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;
vi. Information received in confidence from foreign Government;
vii. Information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes;
viii. Information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;
ix. Cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers;
x. Information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual;
xi. Notwithstanding any of the exemptions listed above, a public authority may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.
Only that part of the record, which does not contain any information, which is exempt from disclosure and which can reasonably be severed from any part that contains exempt information, may be provided.

The act excludes Central Intelligence and Security agencies specified in the Second Schedule like IB, R&AW, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Directorate of Enforcement, Narcotics Control Bureau, Aviation Research Centre, Special Frontier Force, BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF, NSG, Assam Rifles, Special Service Bureau, Special Branch (CID), Andaman and Nicobar, The Crime Branch-CID-CB, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Special Branch, Lakshadweep Police. Agencies specified by the State Governments through a Notification will also be excluded. But here again the exclusion is not absolute and these organizations have an obligation to provide information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations. Further, information relating to allegations of human rights violations could be given but only with the approval of the Central or State Information Commission, as the case may be.

Hence to doubt that whether the act has been enacted at the at the right time would be wrong as the same is to protect the rights of the citizens for the act does not even exclude agencies like Central Intelligence and Security agencies specified in the Second Schedule like IB, R&AW, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Directorate of Enforcement etc., from its purview either.