Right to Information (RTI)

The Government of India has enacted the "Right to Information Act 2005" to provide a practical regime of right to information for citizens, enabling access to information under the control of public authorities in order to promote transparency and accountability in their working.

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) was established on April 27, 2020, under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019. It is headquartered at GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The Preamble of the International Financial Services Centres Authority describes its basic function as “...to develop and regulate the financial services market in the International Financial Services Centres in India and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) is a public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005, and is obliged to provide information to the public in accordance with the provisions of the said Act.

IFSCA maintains an updated website at [www.ifsca.gov.in], where all publicly available information is shared in PDF and/or Word formats. The site is updated regularly.

According to Section 2(f) of the RTI Act 2005, information means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks. contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by public authority under any other law for the time being in force.

The Right to Information Act, 2005 under Sections 8 and 9 exempts certain categories of information from disclosures. These include:

• 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.
• 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.
• Information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature.
• 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.
• 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.
• Information received in confidence from foreign Government.
• 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.
• Information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
• Cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers.
• 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 unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information.
• Without prejudice to the provisions of section 8, a Central Public Information Officer or a State Public Information Officer may reject a request for information where such a request for providing access would involve an infringement of copyright subsisting in a person other than the State.

As per section 3 and section 6(1) of the RTI Act, any citizen can request information by making an application in writing or through electronic means in English or Hindi or in the official language of the area in which the application is being made together with the prescribed fees.

You can submit an RTI application online at https://rtionline.gov.in.

A request for obtaining information under Section 6(1) of the Act needs to be accompanied by an application fee of Rs.10/- by way of:

• Cash (with receipt)
• Demand Draft (DD)
• Banker’s Cheque payable to the Accounts Officer of the International Financial Services Centres Authority
• Indian Postal Order (IPO) favoring International Financial Services Centres Authority
• Applications can be sent in writing or through electronic means, accompanied by the prescribed fee, but processing starts only after the fee is received.

As per the Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005, for providing the information under section 7(1), the public authority shall charge:

• Rs.2/- for each page (in A-4 or A-3 size paper) created or copied;
• Actual charge or cost price of a copy in larger size paper;
• Actual cost or price for samples or models; and
• For inspection of records, no fee for the first hour; and a fee of Rs.5/- for each subsequent hour (or fraction thereof).

Further, to provide information under Section 7(5) of the RTI Act, the public authority shall charge:

• Rs. 50/- per diskette or floppy; and
• For information provided in printed form at the price fixed for such publication or Rs. 2/- per page of photocopy for extracts from the publication.

If IFSCA has the information and can provide it to you, it will, within 30 days of receiving the application along with the fee of Rs.10/-, communicate to you the cost of providing the information as prescribed under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act.

As per section 7 of the RTI Act, each public authority appoints Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) to process and provide the requested information. Public authorities must respond within 30 days of receiving an RTI request.

If you are not satisfied with the response provided by the CPIO, you can appeal to the First Appellate Authority at IFSCA within 30 days of receiving the response.

You can address the appeal to the Appellate Authority designated by IFSCA under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has been maintaining its website (www.ifsca.gov.in) since August 2020. The site is updated regularly and all the information released by IFSCA is also simultaneously made available on the website. The information published in public domain include the following:

• Acts, Rules, Regulations, Guidelines, Circulars, etc.
• Orders passed by IFSCA
• Reports of Committees
• Press Releases
• Annual Report
• IFSCA Bulletin