New Delhi . Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha was sworn in as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) on Saturday. This information has been given in the statement issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan. According to the statement, President Ramnath Kovind administered the oath to Sinha at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. On 26 August this year, after the completion of Bimal Julka’s term, the post of Chief Information Commissioner was lying vacant for more than two months. Sinha assumed the post of Information Commissioner on 1 January 2019. He has served as the High Commissioner of India to Britain and Sri Lanka. The 62-year-old Sinha’s tenure as a CIC will be around three years.
The CIC or Information Commissioner is appointed for five years or till the age of 65 years. Sinha has been selected by a three-member committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apart from Modi, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary and Home Minister Amit Shah are members of this committee. Apart from Sinha, the committee approved the appointment of journalist Uday Mahurkar, former Labor Secretary Hira Lal Samaria and former Deputy Controller and Auditor General Saroj Punhani as information commissioners. Officials say that these three people will also be sworn in on Saturday.
With the joining of Mahurkar, Samaria and Punhani, the number of Information Commissioners will increase to seven while their sanctioned capacity is 10. Currently, Vanaja N Sarna, Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Suresh Chandra and Amita Pandowe are the other information commissioners. Mahurkar has worked as a Senior Deputy Editor with a premier media institute. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Indian History, Culture and Archaeology from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Gujarat. Samaria is a 1985 batch IAS officer of Telangana cadre. He retired as secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Employment in September. Punhani has been a 1984-batch Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS) officer.
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