Information Commissioner Bimal Julka was appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) on Friday, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique. President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Julka as the CIC in the Central Information Commission at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, it said.
The transparency watchdog has been functioning without a chief after Sudhir Bhargava retired on January 11. It is working with a reduced strength of six information commissioners, against the sanctioned strength of 11 (including the CIC). There is a vacancy of five more information commissioners at the commission after Julka’s appointment as the CIC.