Right to Information(RTI)
Implementation of the Right to Information Act,Mr.Suresh Kumar, Vice Consul has been appointed as the Public Information Officer (PIO) e-mail:admn[dot]houston[at]mea[dot]gov[dot]in Fax : 713 6272034 and Mr.Prashant K Sona, Consul, as the First Appellate Authority email:oci[dot]houston[at]mea[dot]gov[dot]in Fax :713 6272034 .
Please Click below for reading full PDF text to Right to Information Act
2. It may be noted that information provided under the Act is available to citizens of India only. OCI/PIO card holders are not eligible to seek information under RTI act 2005. Applications should be submitted along with documentary proof of Indian Citizenship (like copy of personal particulars pages of passport.) More information is available at http://rti.gov.in. Applications seeking information under the Act may be sent to, Girish Mehta, Vice Consul, Consulate General of India, 4300 Scotland Street, Houston, TX-77007 along with the prescribed fee in Dollars, equivalent to Indian Rs.10/- by demand draft/banker's cheque/money order or postal order favoring "Consulate General of India, Houston". [The official Rupee-Dollar conversion rate may be first checked with the Consulate].
3. Recently, the Department of Personnel and Training, Department of Posts has launched a service called "eIPO" (Electronic Indian Postal Order). This is a facility to purchase an Indian Postal Order electronically by paying a fee on-line through e-Post Office Portal i.e. http://www.epostoffice.gov.in 
. It can also be accessed through India Post website www.indiapost.gov.in . As per RTI Rules, 2012, fees may be paid by electronic means, if facility for receiving fees through electronic means is available with the public authority. This facility is provided only for Indian Citizens across the globe to facilitate them to seek information from a government Ministry or Department in India as well as from 176 Indian Missions and Posts abroad under the RTI Act, 2005. Debit and Credit cards (powered by Visa/Master Card) can be used to purchase eIPO.
4. The RTI applicant is required to register on the website to create his/ her profile. Then he/she has to select the Ministry/ Department as well as from Indian Missions/Posts from whom he desires to seek information under the RTI Act. The eIPO so generated can be used to seek information from that Ministry/ Department or Indian Mission/Post. A printout of the eIPO is required to be attached with the RTI application sent in hard copy. In case RTI application is filed electronically, the eIPO should be enclosed as an attachment.
5. The RTI application accompanied by an eIPO is similar in all respects to the RTI application accompanied by fees through any other approved mode. All the provisions regarding eligibility, time limit, exemptions etc; as provided in the RTI Act, 2005 will continue to apply. The Department of Personnel and Training and Department of Posts have launched a service called e-IPO (Electronic Indian Postal Order) to enable Indian Citizens residing in India or abroad to purchase an Indian Postal Order electronically by paying fee on-line through e-Post Office Portal i.e. http://www.epostoffice.gov.in , to enable them to seek information under the RTI Act, 2005. It can also be accessed through India Post Website, i.e. www.indiapost.gov.in . An e-IPO so generated must be used only once with an RTI application.
The User needs to get himself registered at the website. He has to select the Ministry/Department from whom he desires to seek the information under the RTI Act and the e-IPO so generated can be used to seek information from that Ministry/Department only. A printout of the e-IPO is required to be attached with the RTI application. If the RTI application is being filed electronically, e-IPO is required to be attached as an attachment. For more details please visit the website http://www.epostoffice.gov.in .
This facility is only for purchasing an Indian Postal Order electronically. All the requirements for filing an RTI application as well as other provisions regarding eligibility, time limit, exemptions, etc. will continue to apply.
6. It may also be pointed out that as per section 6(1) (a) of the RTI Act, 2005, a person who desires to obtain information under the Act is required to submit the application to the Information Officer of the concerned public authority. Applicants are therefore, advised to send their requests under the RTI Act to the Consulate only when the subject matter can reasonably be presumed to pertain to the Consulate. While section 6(3) provides for the transfer of an application by a receiving PIO to another [concerned] PIO, this is clearly meant to cover situations where the application is addressed to a PIO on the assumption that it has been directed to the concerned PIO. Where the information required obviously does not pertain to the Consulate, the application may be addressed to the concerned PIO directly.
INFORMATION REQUIRED UNDER SECTION4(1)(B) OF THE RTI ACT, 2005
