Centre exempts CERT-In from ambit of RTI Act

New Delhi: The Central government has exempted the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) from the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, according to an official order.

The CERT-IN, which functions under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents. It has also been tasked to perform emergency measures for handling cyber security incidents besides issuing guidelines and advisories for their prevention.

The Personnel Ministry has amended Section 24 of the RTI Act and put "Indian Computer Emergency Response Team" or CERT-In under the list of organisations exempted from the purview of the transparency law, according to an official notification dated November 23.

There are already 26 intelligence and security organisations, which are exempted from providing information under the RTI Act except for matters related to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations.

The "Indian Computer Emergency Response Team" has been put, at serial number 27, in the list of the exempted organisations under the RTI Act, according to the notification issued by the Personnel Ministry.

The RTI Act empowers citizens to seek time-bound information on governance-related matters from government organisations by filing an application.

The organisations exempted under the RTI Act include the Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Aviation Research Centre and Enforcement Directorate, among others.