It does not take a superhero to recognize that there is corruption in India and to fight it. Thanks to the RTI act, we have in this country the right to question the government and we have the power to change. Now is the time for us to honour the men and women who have fought to keep RTI alive - this through RTI national awards.

The Right to Information or RTI gives each one of us the power to question, to challenge and to fight for change. Now we honour the men and women who helped keep RTI alive, help end corruption.

I would first and foremost like to congratulate NDTV for instituting the first ever RTI awards. I am personally happy because I had the chance almost 4 years ago to initiate this landmark debate in parliament which the UPA government strongly believes will actually go a long way in strengthening the hands of the common people to fight against corruption, to improve governance and overall to improve transparency in governance, I would like to congratulate all the awardees of this prestigious award for not only winning this award but for continuing the movement towards greater transparency towards fighting corruption, and towards taking RTI to the hands of the common man.