Budgetary Provisions for Promoting Public Access to Media
Availability of and access to information are among the most important elements of a democracy. A democratic system hinges on transparency of the administrative system, enabling the citizens to have complete knowledge of the functioning system. On the flip side, vested interests promote holding back of information from the general public so that their particular actions may go unquestioned. In present times, it is observed that there is a continuous struggle between the forces that tend to withhold information and those that try to make it available to the larger public. The flow of correct information is crucial in a country like India, which has the dual responsibility of economic growth and economic and social development of the people.
In this context, Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) undertook an in-depth study to analyse the extent to which information about various government programmes and schemes is available to the people, the reasons for the information deficit, if any, and the efforts by the government to increase the flow of such information to the public.
