The Right to Information Act came fully into force on:

The Right to Information (RTI) Act was passed by Parliament in May 2005, received the President's assent on 15 June 2005, and came fully into force on 12 October 2005.

Earlier law:

The Freedom of Information Act, 2002 had been passed earlier, but it never came into force and was replaced by the RTI Act.

The RTI movement:

• The demand for a right to information grew out of grassroots movements, especially the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) in Rajasthan, led by Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey and Shankar Singh.
• They organised "jan sunwais" (public hearings), where people examined government records on wages and works in their villages.
• States such as Tamil Nadu, Goa, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Delhi passed their own information laws before the central Act.

Main provisions of the RTI Act:

• Every citizen has the right to seek information from public authorities.
• A Public Information Officer must reply within 30 days, or within 48 hours if the life or liberty of a person is involved.
• An applicant who is not satisfied can file a first appeal within the public authority and a second appeal with the Information Commission.
• Public authorities must proactively publish information about their functions, budgets and decision-making (Section 4).
• A small application fee is charged, but people below the poverty line are exempt.

Exemptions:

Section 8 lists exemptions, such as information affecting the sovereignty, security and strategic interests of India, cabinet papers, information received in confidence from foreign governments, and personal information with no public interest.

Information Commissions:

The Act set up the Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions.

Impact:

• Millions of RTI applications are filed every year.
• The Act has helped expose corruption and improve transparency.
• RTI activists have sometimes faced threats and violence.

Amendment:

The RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019 gave the Central Government the power to fix the term and salaries of Information Commissioners.

Why not the other options?

• ✗15 June 2005 is the date of the President's assent.
• ✗15 August 2005 and 26 January 2006 do not match.