K V Chowdary appointed new CVC, Sharma new CIC

Former Central Board of Direct Taxation chief K.V. Chowdary has been appointed the new Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), it was announced here on Monday.

T.M. Bhasin, chairman and managing director of the public sector Indian Bank, has been appointed vigilance commissioner, an official release said.

Seniormost Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma was named the new Chief Information Commissioner, said informed sources

The post of CVC had been lying vacant since Pradeep Kumar retired on September 28 last year, while the post of vigilance commissioner was also unfilled since incumbent J.M. Garg completed his tenure on September 7 last year.

Chowdary, a 1979 batch Indian Revenue Service officer, has also headed many high-profile income tax probes, including that of the 2G spectrum allocation case and the HSBC Geneva taxpayers' list.

The appointments have been made for a term of four years from the date(s) on which the officials enter upon their office(s) or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, the release added.

The government was under attack from the opposition for delaying the appointments and various RTI activists had also questioned the delay.