Central Information Commission directs IIT-M to disclose utilisation of grant-in-aid funds
The Central Information Commission has ordered IIT-Madras to disclose project-wise utilization details of grant-in-aid funds for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The institute had previously resisted the request, citing the voluminous nature of the data and potential third-party confidentiality concerns.
Why it matters
This case underscores the tension between institutional transparency under the RTI Act and the administrative burden of managing research funding disclosures.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) to provide a detailed, project-wise breakdown of the utilisation of grant-in-aid funds for the financial year 2023-24 sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
The direction came on a petition filed by Ananya Dubey, who sought details of the grant-in-aid received by the institute over the previous three financial years, along with project-wise utilisation of the funds, copies of utilisation certificates, and the names of collaborations that IIT-M entered into.
The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) initially declined the request, arguing that the information sought for three years was voluminous and retrieving and compiling it would disproportionately divert the institute’s resources. The applicant was asked to narrow the scope of her request by specifying the period and information required. Following this, Ms. Dubey restricted her request to the fiscal 2023-24.
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