India, April 23 -- By removing the public interest safeguard from Section 8(1)(j), the amendment now imposes a blanket exemption on all personal data - even when linked to public duties - thereby crippling the citizen's ability to hold public officials accountable

The recent amendment to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, through the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, marks a pivotal retreat from the transparency regime that India painstakingly built over nearly two decades. By shielding personal information under a blanket exemption, the Modi Government has altered the balance between privacy and the public's right to know.

The operation of the RTI Act - informed by several judgments by the Supreme Court and High...