Search Committee for CIC and ICs to meet on January 16

The search committee headed by Cabinet Secretary for the selection of the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners for the Central Information Commission is likely to meet on Friday.
The Committee is likely to shortlist candidates from 203 applicants for the post of the Chief Information Commissioner and 553 applicants for the post of Information Commissioners at the transparency panel.
Last month, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth sought a meeting of search committee which also comprises of Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Secretary (Personnel), Home Secretary, Secretary Department of Expenditure and Professor Ramesh Chand, Director National Centre for Agriculture Economics and Policy.

The meeting is likely to take place on Friday at 3.30 PM with agenda notes to be finalised by the Secretary (Personnel) Sanjay Kothari, file notings of the selection process revealed under the Right to Information Act show.
Once shortlisted, the file for the Chief Information Commissioner will be put before selection committee comprising Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and a Union Minister which will finalise the name.
For the post of Chief Information Commissioner, all the seven present Information Commissioners have applied.

This year, Government has not gone as per the convention of selecting senior most member of the Central Information Commission to be its Chief, who is the administrative head, but advertised the post where anyone fulfilling the criteria could apply for the post.

Such a demand was raised by the many activists who felt that it was not fair for the senior-most CIC member to be elevated to become its Chief.
According to the notings, 89 bureaucrats, 37 law experts, 28 from Management field, 21 from Science and Technology, nine from social service, three journalists, five from mass media, and 11 others are among the 203 applicants for the post.
The RTI was filed by Commodore (retd) Lokesh Batra.
The post of Chief Information Commissioner was lying vacant after the retirement of former Chief Rajiv Mathur on August 22, 2014.