Supreme Court directs RBI to disclose information on bank inspection report under RTI
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to disclose information pertaining to its annual inspection report of banks under the Right to Information (RTI) Act unless they are exempted under law.
A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao also directed the federal bank to review its policy to disclose information relating to banks under RTI, saying "it is duty bound under the law".
The bench, which did not go ahead with contempt proceedings against the RBI, made it clear that it was giving a last opportunity to it to comply with provisions of the transparency law.
The bench said it would have taken a serious view to the refusal of RBI to part with information under RTI. "Any further violation shall be viewed seriously," the bench said.
In January this year, the top court had issued contempt notice to RBI for not disclosing annual inspection report of banks under RTI.
Earlier, the apex court and the Central Information Commission, both had held that the RBI cannot deny information to an information seeker under the transparency law unless the material is exempted from disclosure under the law.
The RBI, in its defence, had said that it cannot disclose information as the annual inspection report of the bank contained "fiduciary" information as defined under the transparency law.
The bench was hearing a contempt petition filed by RTI activist S C Agrawal against the RBI.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
CBSE plan for 2026-27: Three-language formula from Class 6; two levels of maths, science for Class 9
New Delhi (PTI): The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has rolled out its new curriculum, launching a phased implementation of the three-language formula from Class 6 and a two-level system of mathematics and science for Class 9 starting in the 2026-27 academic session, officials said on Friday.
While the three-language formula mandated under the new National Education Policy (NEP) will be implemented from 2026 for Class 6, introduction of the two-level system of mandatory standard and optional advanced courses in mathematics and science will be done for Class 9.
"Languages are organised through a structured three-language framework across stages: R1, R2 and R3. As per recommendations of new National Curriculum Framework (NCF), two of these three languages must be native to India. In continuation of the board's phased implementation of multilingual education, a third language will be made mandatory from Class 6 with effect from the academic session 2026-27, ensuring that every learner studies at least two Indian languages," a senior board official said.
"While it is desirable that the same scheme of languages is adopted, under exceptional circumstances for students returning from foreign schools where the third language studied till Class 8 or 9 is not available in domestic schools, such students may be exempted as per approved norms. However, such students will be required to study the total number of subjects as stipulated in the scheme of studies," the official added.
Mathematics and science will see a major structural shift with the introduction of a two-level system starting in the 2026–27 academic session.
"All students will study the standard curriculum and appear for a common 80-mark examination of three hours; those opting for higher proficiency can choose an additional 'advanced' level in either or both subjects. This advanced component will consist of a separate 25-mark, one-hour paper designed to test higher-order thinking skills and deeper conceptual understanding.
"Students must mandatorily take the standard exam, while the advanced paper remains optional. Importantly, performance in the advanced paper will not be added to the overall aggregate; instead, students scoring 50 per cent or above will have the advanced-level qualification reflected separately in their mark sheet," the official said.
The two-level system (standard and advanced) in mathematics and science will begin in the 2026–27 academic session for Class 9 students, and the first board exams for Class 10 students with this structure will be held in 2028 for that cohort.
