Right to Information Wiki
Online RTI portals — a 2026 state-by-state comparison

Not all state RTI portals are equal. A comparison of central RTI Online Portal vs 20 state RTI portals on usability, fee, deadline tracking, appeals.

Online RTI portals — a 2026 state-by-state comparison

Online RTI portals — a 2026 state-by-state comparison — RTI Wiki

As of April 2026, all 28 states + 8 UTs have an online RTI portal — in principle. In practice, usability varies wildly.

Central RTI Online Portal

rtionline.gov.in remains the best-in-class: fee payment, SMS/email tracking, document upload, auto-FAA, auto-CIC escalation.

State snapshots

  • Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Delhi — full-featured, mirror central standards.
  • UP, Bihar, MP — basic portals; SMS tracking weak.
  • J&K, Ladakh, Lakshadweep — minimal functionality; manual filing still dominant.
  • Gujarat, Tamil Nadu — state-specific but robust.

Issues on state portals

  1. Fee payment gateway failures (average 8-12% failed transactions per CIC audits).
  2. Deadline-tracking not auto-escalating.
  3. CIC second-appeal flow not integrated.

What to do

  1. Always keep a screenshot + PDF of the submission receipt.
  2. Where the state portal lacks FAA flow, download acknowledgement and file FAA offline by Speed Post.
  3. If fee-payment fails, keep the gateway error screenshot; UCO Bank or SBI e-payment typically.

Sources

  1. CIC audit report on online portals 2024-25.
  2. rtionline.gov.in and state RTI portals (April 2026 review).

Last reviewed: 25 April 2026.

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Why this matters for citizens

This blog post is part of RTI Wiki's editorial coverage of India's information-rights ecosystem under the Right to Information Act, 2005. We track court rulings, policy changes, RTI activist work, and citizen success stories monthly. Subscribe to the monthly newsletter for a curated digest.

Citizen action steps

  1. File a free RTI on a related issue using the AI RTI Drafter.
  2. Track deadlines with the Timeline Tracker (Day 30 + Day 60 alerts).
  3. If your reply is evasive, paste it into the PIO Reply Checker.
  4. For voice input in 11 Indian languages, use AwaazRTI.

Citations and sources

  • Right to Information Act, 2005 — full text
  • CPIO Supreme Court v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal (2020) 5 SCC 481 — Constitution Bench
  • Anjali Bhardwaj v. UoI (2019) 9 SCC 199 — IC accountability
  • DPDP Act 2023 + DPDP Rules 2025 (in force 14 Nov 2025)