Yashvardhan K Sinha appointed as the new Chief Information Commissioner

The President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind appointed Shri Yashvardhan K Sinha as the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of India.

Key Highlights

The post of Chief Information Commissioner was lying vacant over two months after Bimal Julka completed his term in August, 2020. Sinha was short-listed for the post by a three-member committee headed by PM Modi. Besides the Prime Minister, the opposition party leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Home Minister Amit Shah were the members of the panel.

About Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha

He was born in 1958. He joined the Indian Foreign Service. He was the former High commissioner of India to the UK. He was appointed as the Information commissioner in 2019 and now has been appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner.

Chief Information Commissioner

The roles and responsibilities of the Chief Information Commissioner are defined by the right to Information Act, 2005. The act also defines the tenure, terms of service and salaries of the commissioner.

The Right to Information rules, 2019 were notified in October 2019. The main provisions of the rules are as follows

• The Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) will hold office for three years. Earlier it was five years
• The CIC and the Information commissioners will receive salary of Rs 2,50,000 per month and Rs 2,25,000 per month respectively.

Eligibility to become a CIC

Section 12(6) of the Right to Information Ac, 2005 says that the CIC and the Information Commissioners shall not be a Member of Parliament. Section 12(5) of the act states that he should a person of eminence in public life, experience in law, science and technology.

Central Information Commission

It was constituted in 2005. It acts upon complaints from individuals those who are not able to submit information to a Central Public Information Officer or a State Public Information Officer.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2020