Why was the Right to Information Bill passed ?

Babji Yana's Answer at Quora on 5th July 2019

It is one of the outcomes of Democracy and got evolved with the idea of transparency. Right to Information Act 2005 replaced Freedom of Information Act 2002 and trumped Official Secrets Act 1923. Before India could pass this bill, scores of Countries had RTI-like legislation, already.

RTI was enacted in keeping with the spirit of Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and in pursuance of Article 19 (1) (a) of Indian Constitution that guarantees to its citizens, the right to freedom of speech & expression, as one of the fundamental rights.

This Act provides for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the basic object being empowering citizens, contain corruption and make democracy work for the people in real sense.