Former Defence Secretary Radha Krishna Mathur was on 18 December 2015 appointed as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of India. He succeeded Vijai Sharma, who completed his tenure on 1 December 2015.
He will be serving for nearly three years, making him the second-longest serving CIC. – See more at: With this, Mathur became the eigth CIC of India. He will have tenure of about three years, till he attains the age of 65 years.
Breaking the convention
It is for the first time that the Union Government has appointed somebody other than a serving Information Commissioner to the post. Thus, the appointment of Mathur as CIC breaks away from the convention of appointing the Head from among the serving Information Commissioners.
About Radha Krishna Mathur
- Mathur is a retired IAS officer of Tripura cadre.
- He was made Defence Secretary for a fixed two-year term on 28 May 2013.
- He did his graduation from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and post graduation from IIT, Delhi.
- He had been Secretary in Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and in Defence Production and Supplies.
About Chief Information Commissioner
- The Chief Information Commissioner is appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of a selection committee comprising of:
- Prime Minister
- Leader of single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha
- Union Cabinet Minister
- He holds the office for a term of 5 years or till he attains the age of 65 years. He is not eligible for reappointment.
- The Office of Central and State Information Commission was established under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005 as a designated statutory authority to receive and inquire into a complaint from any person.
