Raj Kumar Goyal Appointed as New Chief Information Commissioner
Photo by Nem Malosi
Key Facts
Raj Kumar Goyal is the new Chief Information Commissioner.
Goyal is a retired 1990-batch IAS officer.
The CIC's term is three years.
UPSC Exam Angles
Constitutional and legal framework of RTI
Role and functions of the CIC
Transparency and accountability in governance
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Appointment Process of the Chief Information Commissioner
Illustrates the steps involved in the appointment of the CIC, highlighting the key players and their roles.
- 1.Vacancy arises for CIC
- 2.Committee formed: PM (Chair), Leader of Opposition, Union Cabinet Minister
- 3.Committee recommends candidate
- 4.President of India appoints the CIC
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Background
Latest Developments
Practice Questions (MCQs)
1. Consider the following statements regarding the Central Information Commission (CIC): 1. The Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee chaired by the Prime Minister. 2. The CIC can only receive complaints related to central government departments and not state government departments. 3. The Right to Information Act mandates that the CIC must include at least one member from a minority community. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A.1 only
- B.2 and 3 only
- C.1 and 3 only
- D.1, 2 and 3
Show Answer
Answer: A
Statement 1 is correct. The CIC members are appointed by the President based on the recommendation of a committee headed by the PM. Statement 2 is incorrect as the CIC's jurisdiction is limited to Central Public Information Officers. Statement 3 is incorrect as there is no such mandate.
2. With reference to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, which of the following statements is NOT correct?
- A.The Act provides for penalties for providing incorrect or incomplete information.
- B.The Act applies to all constitutional authorities, including the judiciary.
- C.Information that cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature can be denied to any person.
- D.The Act allows for the rejection of information requests that would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India.
Show Answer
Answer: C
Option C is incorrect. Information that cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature cannot be denied to any person. The other options are correct statements about the RTI Act.
3. Assertion (A): The Right to Information Act, 2005, is considered a landmark legislation for promoting transparency and accountability in governance. Reason (R): The Act empowers citizens to access information held by public authorities, thereby enabling them to participate more effectively in the democratic process. In the context of the above statements, which of the following is correct?
- A.Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
- B.Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
- C.A is true, but R is false.
- D.A is false, but R is true.
Show Answer
Answer: A
Both the assertion and the reason are true, and the reason correctly explains why the RTI Act is considered a landmark legislation. The Act's empowerment of citizens to access information directly contributes to transparency and accountability.
4. Which of the following committees is/are associated with recommendations on reforms related to the Right to Information Act? 1. Second Administrative Reforms Commission 2. Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee 3. N.N. Vohra Committee Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- A.1 only
- B.1 and 2 only
- C.2 and 3 only
- D.1, 2 and 3
Show Answer
Answer: B
The Second Administrative Reforms Commission made recommendations on strengthening the RTI Act. The Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee was related to data protection. The N.N. Vohra Committee was related to the nexus between politicians, criminals, and bureaucrats.