CHIEF INFORMATION COMMISSIONER

Jan. 1, 2019

The Government of India has appointed Sudhir Bhargava as the new Chief Information Commissioner. He takes charge from January 1. Four new members have also been appointed to the Central Information Commission (CIC), taking its total strength to seven. Four vacancies still remain.

Central Information Commission (CIC):

The CIC is the highest appeal body under the Right to Information Act. It is an independent body formed in 2005 for enforcing the provisions of the act.
HQ:
Composition: It consists of one Chief Information Commissioner and Maximum 10 Information Commissioners.
Appointment process: They are appointed by President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of Prime minister as chairman, Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha and Union cabinet minister nominated by PM.
Tenure:
- Chief Information Commissioner and IC shall hold office for term of 5 Years or until they age of 65 years, whichever is earlier
- Chief Information Commissioner is not eligible for reappointment but IC is eligible for appointment as CIC.

Sudhir Bhargava:

Sudhir Bhargava, a former Secretary to the Ministry of Social Justice, was sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind as the new Chief Information Commissioner.
He takes over as the ninth Chief Information Commissioner.
Like all of his predecessors, he is a retired bureaucrat. The previous chiefs have all been from Central service — IAS, IPS and IIS — backgrounds.

Source : The Hindu