{"id":93871,"date":"2025-06-01T11:58:55","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T11:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/?p=93871"},"modified":"2025-06-01T11:58:55","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T11:58:55","slug":"the-obligation-of-a-public-authority-under-the-right-to-information-ac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-obligation-of-a-public-authority-under-the-right-to-information-ac\/","title":{"rendered":"The obligation of a public authority under the Right to Information Ac"},"content":{"rendered":"

The obligation of a public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005 does not include<\/p>\n

[amp_mcq option1=”publication of all relevant facts while formulating important policies which affect public” option2=”providing reasons for its administrative decisions to affected persons” option3=”publication of all relevant facts while announcing decisions which affect public” option4=”providing information regarding commercial confidence to an applicant except in case of larger public interest” correct=”option4″]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
This question was previously asked in<\/div>\n
UPSC SO-Steno – 2017<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Download PDF<\/a>Attempt Online<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nSection 4 of the RTI Act lays down the obligations of public authorities, emphasizing proactive disclosure.
\nA) publication of all relevant facts while formulating important policies which affect public: This is an obligation under Section 4(1)(c).
\nB) providing reasons for its administrative decisions to affected persons: This is an obligation under Section 4(1)(d).
\nC) publication of all relevant facts while announcing decisions which affect public: This is part of the obligation under Section 4(1)(c).
\nD) providing information regarding commercial confidence to an applicant except in case of larger public interest: Section 8 lists exemptions, meaning a public authority is *not obliged* to provide such information. Section 8(1)(d) specifically exempts information relating to commercial confidence, trade secrets, or intellectual property, unless the public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm. While the public interest clause *allows* disclosure in specific cases, the general stance under Section 8 is one of non-disclosure, not a positive obligation to provide such information. The obligations are primarily defined by Section 4 (proactive disclosure) and Section 7 (responding to requests for non-exempt information). Providing commercially sensitive information is not a general obligation; it is an exception to non-disclosure allowed under the public interest override.
\n<\/section>\n
\n– Public authorities have obligations for proactive disclosure (Section 4) and responding to requests for non-exempt information (Section 7).
\n– Section 8 lists types of information that public authorities are *not obliged* to disclose.
\n– Information concerning commercial confidence falls under Section 8(1)(d) as an exempted category.
\n– The public interest override in Section 8 allows disclosure of otherwise exempt information but does not create a positive obligation to provide such information as a routine matter.
\n<\/section>\n
\nThe structure of the Act is that information is accessible unless exempted (Section 8 or 9). The obligation is to provide non-exempt information. Options A, B, and C describe specific actions required of public authorities. Option D describes a scenario related to an exemption, not a general obligation.
\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The obligation of a public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005 does not include [amp_mcq option1=”publication of all relevant facts while formulating important policies which affect public” option2=”providing reasons for its administrative decisions to affected persons” option3=”publication of all relevant facts while announcing decisions which affect public” option4=”providing information regarding commercial confidence to … <\/p>\n

Detailed SolutionThe obligation of a public authority under the Right to Information Ac<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1095],"tags":[1101,1099,1104],"class_list":["post-93871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-upsc-so-steno","tag-1101","tag-indian-polity-and-governance","tag-the-parliamentary-act","no-featured-image-padding"],"yoast_head":"\nThe obligation of a public authority under the Right to Information Ac<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Section 4 of the RTI Act lays down the obligations of public authorities, emphasizing proactive disclosure. A) publication of all relevant facts while formulating important policies which affect public: This is an obligation under Section 4(1)(c). B) providing reasons for its administrative decisions to affected persons: This is an obligation under Section 4(1)(d). C) publication of all relevant facts while announcing decisions which affect public: This is part of the obligation under Section 4(1)(c). D) providing information regarding commercial confidence to an applicant except in case of larger public interest: Section 8 lists exemptions, meaning a public authority is *not obliged* to provide such information. Section 8(1)(d) specifically exempts information relating to commercial confidence, trade secrets, or intellectual property, unless the public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm. While the public interest clause *allows* disclosure in specific cases, the general stance under Section 8 is one of non-disclosure, not a positive obligation to provide such information. The obligations are primarily defined by Section 4 (proactive disclosure) and Section 7 (responding to requests for non-exempt information). Providing commercially sensitive information is not a general obligation; it is an exception to non-disclosure allowed under the public interest override. - Public authorities have obligations for proactive disclosure (Section 4) and responding to requests for non-exempt information (Section 7). - Section 8 lists types of information that public authorities are *not obliged* to disclose. - Information concerning commercial confidence falls under Section 8(1)(d) as an exempted category. - The public interest override in Section 8 allows disclosure of otherwise exempt information but does not create a positive obligation to provide such information as a routine matter.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-obligation-of-a-public-authority-under-the-right-to-information-ac\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The obligation of a public authority under the Right to Information Ac\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Section 4 of the RTI Act lays down the obligations of public authorities, emphasizing proactive disclosure. A) publication of all relevant facts while formulating important policies which affect public: This is an obligation under Section 4(1)(c). B) providing reasons for its administrative decisions to affected persons: This is an obligation under Section 4(1)(d). C) publication of all relevant facts while announcing decisions which affect public: This is part of the obligation under Section 4(1)(c). D) providing information regarding commercial confidence to an applicant except in case of larger public interest: Section 8 lists exemptions, meaning a public authority is *not obliged* to provide such information. Section 8(1)(d) specifically exempts information relating to commercial confidence, trade secrets, or intellectual property, unless the public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm. While the public interest clause *allows* disclosure in specific cases, the general stance under Section 8 is one of non-disclosure, not a positive obligation to provide such information. 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Providing commercially sensitive information is not a general obligation; it is an exception to non-disclosure allowed under the public interest override. - Public authorities have obligations for proactive disclosure (Section 4) and responding to requests for non-exempt information (Section 7). - Section 8 lists types of information that public authorities are *not obliged* to disclose. - Information concerning commercial confidence falls under Section 8(1)(d) as an exempted category. - The public interest override in Section 8 allows disclosure of otherwise exempt information but does not create a positive obligation to provide such information as a routine matter.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-obligation-of-a-public-authority-under-the-right-to-information-ac\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MCQ and Quiz for Exams\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-01T11:58:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rawan239\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rawan239\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The obligation of a public authority under the Right to Information Ac","description":"Section 4 of the RTI Act lays down the obligations of public authorities, emphasizing proactive disclosure. 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