CIC, Public Enterprises Selection Board get ₹39.14 allocation in Budget

The Central Information Commission (CIC) and the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) have been allocated ₹39.14 crore in the Union Budget 2026-27, a nominal increase of around ₹3 crore from the revised estimate of ₹36.94 crore for 2025-26.

However, the Budget Estimate for the CIC and PESB in 2025-26 was higher at ₹42.49 crore.

According to the Budget documents presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the provision is meant for establishment-related expenditure of the Central Information Commission and the Public Enterprises Selection Board.

In Budget parlance, the allocations made at the time of presentation of the annual Budget are known as Budget Estimates (BE), while the updated figures, reflecting changes in revenue and expenditure during the course of the financial year, are referred to as Revised Estimates (RE).

 

The government has also earmarked ₹3.5 crore for the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for the propagation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which is ₹50 lakh higher than the ₹3 crore provided in the revised estimates for the current fiscal.

The CIC was constituted with effect from October 12, 2005, under the Right to Information Act, 2005, and its jurisdiction extends over all central public authorities.

The commission exercises powers and performs functions under the RTI Act, including adjudication of second appeals, inquiries into complaints, directions for record management and suo motu disclosures, imposition of penalties, and preparation of annual reports. Its decisions are final and binding.

The Public Enterprises Selection Board is a high-powered body constituted through a government resolution dated March 3, 1987, for a sound managerial policy for Central Public Sector Enterprises and to advise the government on appointments to top management posts in these entities.