New Delhi, Sept. 11 -- The attorney general has endorsed the IT ministry's interpretation that India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act does not weaken the Right to Information Act, a move that comes amid criticism that the privacy law weakens the country's transparency regulation for public officials. According to a senior official from the IT ministry, the attorney general's opinion was sought following criticism from journalist bodies and opposition leaders. The endorsement concerns Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act, notified on August 11, 2023, which deletes a proviso in Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act that allowed public information officers to disclose personal information if deemed to serve the larger public interest. The IT ministry ...