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+{{htmlmetatags>metatag-keywords=(journalist RTI course,investigative journalism India,RTI for press,scoop sourcing RTI,Section 4 proactive disclosure)
+metatag-description=(Final certificate page for the Journalists' RTI course - 6 modules on investigative RTI, scoop-grade evidence, Section 4 proactive disclosure exploitation.)}}
+====== Journalists' RTI course - final certificate ======
+**You have completed the 6-module Journalists' RTI course.** The course trains reporters, editors, fact-checkers and freelance investigators to use the **Right to Information Act, 2005** as a primary investigative source - building scoop-grade evidence, exploiting **§4** proactive-disclosure obligations, and drafting RTIs that survive PIO §8 stonewalling.
+===== What you covered =====
+  - **Module 1: The journalist's first-RTI playbook** - converting a tip into a §6(1) application that produces a story-ready record. Pattern: 5 specific records ranked by news-value, all asked in a single RTI.
+  - **Module 2: §4 exploitation** - every public authority is required to **proactively disclose** 17 categories of information under §4(1)(b) of the RTI Act. If the data is not on the website, that is itself a story (and an RTI).
+  - **Module 3: Beat-by-beat strategy** - urban-civic, education, health, defence procurement, environment, electoral. State-specific PIO directories at [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/pio-directory.html|PIO Directory]].
+  - **Module 4: Surviving §8 stonewalling** - the 10 standard refusal grounds and the citation arsenal that beats each. **Bhagat Singh v. CIC** (procedural objections), **Girish Deshpande** (limits of personal info), **Subhash Agarwal** (public-interest balance test).
+  - **Module 5: Deadline busting** - using the §19(1) First Appeal in 30 days flat, escalating to the CIC/SIC under §19(3), and the High Court Article 226 writ.
+  - **Module 6: Editorial integrity** - sourcing rules, redaction protocol, FOIA-style attribution, PII anonymisation per the **DPDP Act 2023** consent rules.
+===== Certificate =====
+  * **Issued to**: [download from the link sent to your registered email]
+  * **Issued by**: RTI Wiki Editorial Team, May 2026
+  * **Verifies**: Completion of 6-module journalists' RTI training, with 30 case studies and 18 sample RTIs
+  * **Verification URL**: https://righttoinformation.wiki/verify-cert.html
+===== What to do next =====
+  - **File your first investigative RTI** - use our [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/ai-rti-draft-app.html|AI RTI Drafter]].
+  - **Set up tracking** for every active RTI - [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/timeline-calculator-app.html|Timeline Tracker]] alerts you on Day 30 + Day 60.
+  - **Read the case-law arsenal**: [[:cases|RTI case-law database]] - 300+ decisions you can cite.
+===== Citations grounded in this course =====
+  * **RTI Act, 2005** - §4 (proactive disclosure), §6(1), §7(1), §8 (exemptions), §10 (severability), §19 (appeals).
+  * **Bhagat Singh v. CIC** (2008) Delhi HC - procedural objections cannot defeat RTI.
+  * **Girish Deshpande v. CIC** (2013) 1 SCC 212 - what is "personal information".
+  * **CPIO SC v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal** (2020) 5 SCC 481 - public-interest balance.
+  * **Anjali Bhardwaj v. UoI** (2019) 9 SCC 199 - IC vacancies and timely appointments.
+  * **DPDP Act, 2023**, §44(3) - amendment to §8(1)(j).
+===== Related on RTI Wiki =====
+  * [[:citizen-rti-playbook|Citizen RTI Playbook]]
+  * [[:cases|Case-law database (300+)]]
+  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/|Free RTI tools]]
+  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/pio-directory.html|PIO directory across all states]]
+  * [[:act|RTI Act, 2005]]
+//Last reviewed: 4 May 2026.//
+{{tag>journalist investigative-rti scoop press-rti section-4 proactive-disclosure final-certificate 2026}}