Delhi govt officials to write RTI exam
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government is all set to assess its own employees’s knowledge about the Right to Information Act, senior government officials said on Thursday.
Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, one of the leaders of the Right to Information (RTI) movement, had received the Ramon Magsaysay award in 2006 for his contribution to bringing in the law which empowers citizens to seek information about government’s programmes and the progress of their applications to avail various welfare schemes. The Right to Information Act was passed in 2005.
For the assessment, the Delhi government has designed a test which will have a mix of multiple choice and subjective questions.
There will be 100 questions to be answered within 90 minutes, senior officials said.
Delhi government had organised similar tests in 2010 and 2015. All department heads were on September 30 directed to inform officers about the assessment but the test could not be made mandatory without an official notification, said a senior official adding, “All senior officers have been asked to encourage their subordinates to take the test. It is likely to be organised next week.”
The objective of the test is to assess knowledge of employees on RTI “gained in their day-today working” in their respectively departments, said a circular issued in connection with the test on September 30. HT has seen the circular.
The test is open for employees of all ranks — from top bureaucrats to officers in the lowest rung, officials said.
The government in its circular has also announced cash awards for employees who secure above 50% in the test — ₹1,800 for those securing 80% or above, ₹1,000 for those securing between 70% and 79%, ₹800 for those who score between 60% and 69% and ₹600 for score between 50% and 59%.
FOR THE ASSESSMENT, THE DELHI GOVERNMENT HAS DESIGNED A TEST WHICH WILL HAVE A MIX OF MULTIPLE CHOICE AND SUBJECTIVE QUESTIONS.