PM-led panel finalises CIC; suspense over announcement

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Committee today met and is understood to have decided on the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), a post lying vacant for about a fortnight.
The meeting of the Committee, held in the Prime Minister's office in Parliament, was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Leader of the Congress Party in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjuna Kharge, official sources said.
The name of the next CIC has been finalised, they said. However, the name was not disclosed.
The Central Information Commission is working headless, for the second time since the BJP Government came into power in 2014, after Vijai Sharma completed his tenure on December one.

The transparency watchdog was without its chief for nearly 10 months after completion of the tenure of the then Chief Information Commissioner Rajiv Mathur in August 2014.
At present, there are seven Information Commissioners-- Basant Seth, Yashovardhan Azad, Sharat Sabharwal, Manjula Prasher, M A Khan Yusufi, Madabhushanam Sridhar Acharyulu and Sudhir Bhargava-- in the Commission.

As per convention, the senior most Information Commissioner is chosen as chief. Presently, Seth is the senior-most Information Commissioner.
The Commission comprises of one chief and ten Information Commissioners.
A total of 33,724 complaints and appeals are pending in the Commission as on today, as per official data.