“The number of calls coming in every day has been on the rise. A substantial number of callers are those wanting information from the municipal authority or the passport office,” said the leader of the 10-member team which answers the calls.

“We also get many calls from people complaining about the police,” he added.

The team has been specially trained by RTI experts on the provisions of the Act and on how to use them.

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy inaugurated the helpline on November 19, the first death anniversary of Manjunath Shanmugam in whose memory the Trust was set up. Manjunath, an employee of Indian Oil Corporation, was murdered on duty in 2005 for fighting corruption. The helpline operates between 8 am and 8 pm all seven days and is equipped to take calls in Hindi, English and Tamil.

The agents here have a database on RTI for reference as well as names and contact details of RTI volunteers living across the country. “When we feel that a caller needs more help than we can give, we put them through to the RTI volunteers living in their city or village for further assistance,” explained the team leader.

The team says it’s enthusiastic about this unique venture. “In the first month we got a call from Javed Akhtar who wanted help with filing an RTI application. We also got calls from people who wanted to become RTI volunteers,” said the manager.

The people behind the initiative are also pleased with the response. “When we set it up, we saw this more as a project. But after seeing the response and listening to the callers, we realised how useful this facility is,” says Anjali Mullatti, one of the founders of the Manjunath Shanmugam Trust.