Presentation on The Right to Information Act - By Rtr. Rahul Kothari

On 3rd October 2008, the Rotaract Club of Pune Kalyani Nagar held a joint meeting with their parent Rotary for a very special event. It was their first such joint meeting. It came under the avenue of Professional Development.
Our active member and current Director of Public Relations, Rtr. Rahul Kothari held a presentation on ‘An Understanding of the Right to Information Act, 2005’ at the Rotary Club of Pune Kalyani Nagar. Rahul thought of doing this presentation as a part of our club’s ‘Birthday Month Project’. He was the brainchild behind holding such a presentation on a large scale i.e. involving our Parent Rotary. With the support of his fellow Rotaractors and of course, the Parent Rotary, this became a reality.
The presentation was extremely informative and was conducted in a simple, yet exceptionally effective manner. Though a law student himself, and a future lawyer in the making, Rahul had considered that his audience would primarily consist of non-law individuals and he had taken extra effort in making the whole presentation in a very simple and non-technical manner.
The presentation started of by creating a foundation and a basic understanding of the Right to Information Act. Rahul explained as to what it is that makes this Act so very unique and different from other legislations, and though one of the shortest Acts by size, what a powerful tool it could prove to be, when used in a correct manner.
Thereafter, Rahul focused on the main aspect of his presentation, which was the procedural details, on how to procure the information sought from the relevant authorities. This was especially informative and was explained quite thoroughly by Rahul.
At the very end of this presentation, there was an interactive session where the floor was open to the audience and Rahul was asked queries and he answered each of them in detail, clearing any doubts in the minds of the audience.
On the whole, the presentation was well received by all the members of our Rotaract Club as well as the Rotary Club, and appreciated by one and all present in the audience. It was a big step ahead for our Rotaract Club.
A special mention needs to be made here for the President of the Rotary Club of Pune Kalyani Nagar, Rtn. Dharmaraj Kheny and his Board of Directors to put faith in a young Rotaractor like Rahul and give him an opportunity to make a presentation at this level and spread awareness about such a topic. This could be seen as a precedent for giving opportunities to young speakers to showcase and spread their knowledge. We Rotaractors look forward to holding and attending many such events in the future.