RTI changes in 2025-26: what citizens need to know

The major verified statutory change for RTI users in 2025-26 is the new wording of section 8(1)(j), brought into force through the Digital Personal Data Protection Act notification on 13 November 2025. Core RTI routes still matter: request identifiable records, use section 10 severability, explain public interest where needed, and appeal a blanket privacy refusal point by point.

Before the amendment, section 8(1)(j) contained a longer test dealing with personal information, relationship to public activity or interest, unwarranted invasion of privacy and larger public interest. The substituted clause is much shorter: information which relates to personal information.

The amendment was enacted in 2023, but enactment and commencement are different. The official commencement notification dated 13 November 2025 brought sub-section (3) of section 44 into force on its publication date. That is the provision which changes RTI section 8(1)(j).

Do not cite an article merely saying the DPDP Act was passed in 2023 as proof that every provision applied immediately. Use the Act and the commencement notification together.

Several RTI safeguards and procedures remain in the statute.

The twenty-year provision in section 8(3), copyright rule in section 9, proactive-disclosure duty in section 4 and life-or-liberty route in section 7(1) also remain subject to their actual statutory terms.

The most effective response to the shorter privacy clause is not to add emotional language. Define the government record and public function precisely.

Weak request:

Give me all personal details of every employee involved.

More focused request:

Provide the certified note-sheet pages, approval dates, recorded reasons,
office designations and file-movement entries for File No. ____.
Personal addresses, personal phone numbers, bank details, signatures and
other fields considered exempt may be severed under section 10.

Ask for official designations, decisions, attendance required for a public function, sanctioned amounts, inspection records, contract performance, selection criteria or the portion of a file relevant to public action. Avoid collecting unrelated home addresses, family details, medical records, personal account data or identity numbers.

A record can contain both public-function information and protected personal fields. Section 10 says access should be provided to the part that can reasonably be severed from exempt information.

Add a sentence such as:

If any part of a requested record is considered exempt, provide the
reasonably severable remainder under section 10 and identify the exemption
applied to each withheld portion.

This is especially useful for registers, inspection reports, beneficiary files, disciplinary records, evaluation sheets and correspondence containing contact or identity data.

Section 8(2) is not a magic phrase. Connect the requested information to a concrete public consequence, such as expenditure of public money, safety, discrimination, conflict of interest, abuse of statutory power or systemic failure.

A useful public-interest note identifies:

• the public function or expenditure involved;
• the specific suspected failure, supported by a record or event;
• why aggregated or redacted information is insufficient, if that is the case;
• safeguards requested to reduce privacy harm;
• how disclosure would permit accountability rather than curiosity.

Do not allege corruption as a fact without evidence. State the discrepancy and the records needed to examine it.

Check whether the PIO did more than quote the clause. A valid rejection notice should comply with section 7(8), including reasons, appeal period and appellate-authority particulars.

In a first appeal, address these questions:

1. Did the PIO identify the record or merely label the entire subject “personal”?
2. Could names, addresses, signatures or identifiers be redacted under section 10?
3. Does the requested part document an official decision or public expenditure?
4. Was a section 8(2) public-interest submission considered?
5. Was third-party procedure confused with an automatic exemption?
6. Were non-personal portions ignored?

Ask the First Appellate Authority for a point-wise, reasoned order. Use the first-appeal guide and preserve proof of filing.

Section 11 may apply when the PIO intends to disclose information that relates to or was supplied by a third party and was treated as confidential. The third party receives an opportunity to make a representation. The public authority still makes the disclosure decision under the Act.

Do not assume that a third party has an absolute veto. Equally, do not publish the third party's personal identifiers merely because some official record was released.

Many posts mix Bills, court observations, proposed fees, vacancies and portal outages into a claim that “RTI changed”. Check four things:

1. the enacted or notified text;
2. the commencement provision or notification;
3. whether it applies to Central or State authorities;
4. whether the source is an official Gazette, India Code, DoPT, CIC or the relevant State authority.

A consultation, press report or draft rule is not the same as a commenced amendment. A court order may govern a legal issue without rewriting the statutory text. Commission staffing is an operational issue, not itself an amendment to the RTI Act.

• Identify the public authority that holds the record.
• Ask for existing records, not explanations or fresh analysis.
• Use date range, file number, project, office and record category.
• Exclude unnecessary Aadhaar, bank, family and contact data.
• Request section 10 severance if a mixed record is involved.
• Add a short evidence-based section 8(2) case where genuinely needed.
• Save the application, payment and submission proof.
• Appeal a blanket refusal with point-wise grounds.

The digital RTI guide explains portal filing, while the State portal directory helps identify the right platform.

MeitY's G.S.R. 843(E) brought DPDP Act section 44(3), the RTI amendment, into force on 13 November 2025.

It exempts “information which relates to personal information” under section 8(1)(j), subject to the rest of the RTI Act.

No. The RTI Act, its application process, appeals and other provisions continue.

Yes. It provides a public-interest override where the public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to protected interests.

Section 10 requires consideration of reasonably severable access. Ask for redaction of the exempt field and disclosure of the remainder.

No. It is a third-party consultation procedure. The disclosure decision must still be made under the Act.

Usually the official designation, office posting and decision record are the relevant accountability records. Avoid unrelated private contact data.

Check India Code, the Gazette, DoPT's RTI site, CIC notifications and the relevant State Information Commission or government portal.

• RTI Act complete guide
• Digital RTI filing in 2026
• File a first appeal
• File a second appeal
• State RTI portals directory
• Search the RTI case database
• RTI Wiki home

• MeitY G.S.R. 843(E): DPDP Act commencement timeline
• Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, including section 44(3)
• Department of Personnel and Training: updated RTI Act, 2005
• Department of Personnel and Training RTI portal
• Central Information Commission compilation of RTI notifications