Commerce Ministry ups vigilance to stop info leak

Ministry decides to be prudent while 'liberally supplying information' under RTI Act

To check leak of key information, the Commerce Ministry has asked its officers to clamp down on unauthorised persons loitering around their departments and also keep a track on personnel carrying the files from sections to officers.

Besides, the ministry has decided to be prudent while "liberally supplying the information" under RTI Act and deny the access in cases like bilateral trade, prosecution or litigation and "trade secrets" of exporters and importers, sources said.

The matter was discussed in a meeting Chaired by Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher recently in the ministry.

The secretary has asked the Directors and Deputy Secretary's to visit their section offices, where all the files originate, at least once a day to ensure that no authorised persons are loitering in the sections or seeking to gather information from the sections.

Further, it has been asked to occasionally track personnel who carry files from sections to officers in order to make sure that that no unauthorised photo copies and transmission of information is taking place, while in transit, they said.

The move follows a major crackdown on the alleged leak of classified official documents at the behest of corporates.

Cracking down on a suspected case of corporate espionage, Delhi Police had arrested at least 12 persons, including two Ministry officials and some middlemen, in connection with the alleged leak of classified government documents to private sector companies for money.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade, an arm of the ministry, had also issued a communication that Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) should be careful while providing information related with matters where the country's economic interest is involved.

The Secretary has also advised the Additional and Joint Secretary level officers to periodically review the working of their CPIOs to see the kind of information sought from them.

He has directed for a quarterly review of the working of CPIOs so that without affecting transparency, the right processes and procedures were being followed in disclosing the information.