The Parliament passed the Right to Information Act, 2005 (22 of 2005), and it became operative
on June 15th, 2005. In order to encourage openness and accountability in how each public
authority operates, this Act grants citizens the right to access information that is within the
control of public authorities. To be considered a public authority for the purposes of this Act,
a university or college must be established by law passed by the legislature of a state or by
the federal government, or by notification from the relevant government, and it must also be
owned, controlled, or substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by funds provided by the
government.
While several aspects of this legislation took effect right away when it was passed (15 June),