Background
The Central Information Commission was established by a Gazette Notification issued by the Central Government.
Members: The President of India will appoint one Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and up to ten Information Commissioners (IC) to the Commission.
Oath: The oath of office will be administered by the President of India in accordance with the First Schedule Commission. With the approval of the Central Government, additional offices in other parts of the country may be established.
The Commission's authority shall be exercised independently.
Chief Information Commissioner
The officer in charge of all information under the Act is the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).
CIC is required to submit a report at the end of each fiscal year detailing the number of requests made to each public authority, the number of decisions denying applicants access to requested documents, the provisions of the Act under which these decisions were made and the number of times such provisions were filed, and the details of any disciplinary action taken against any officer in connection with the requests.
State Information Commission
The First Schedule specifies how the Governor will administer the oath of office. The State Information Commission's headquarters will be in a location determined by the State Government. Additional offices could be opened across the state.
The Commission's authority shall be exercised independently of any other authority. Several state governments have already passed legislation requiring access to information in some form and have successfully established State Information Commissions in their jurisdictions.
According to Mahatma Gandhi 'True swaraj' will be achieved not by the acquisition of authority by a few, but by the acquisition of the capacity to resist authority when it is abused by all. To that end, the right to information, in addition to literacy, is critical for raising literacy levels.
Transparency, accountability, openness, good governance, citizen empowerment, and the prevention of corruption are all promoted. It is, without a doubt, democracy's lifeline.
Way Forward
The first Chief Information Commissioner of India was Wajahat Habibullah. The first female Chief Information Commissioner was Deepak Sandhu.
Following the retirement of Bimal Julka on November 7th, 2020, Yashwardhan Kumar Sinha was appointed as India's 11th Chief Information Commissioner.
Under the new rules, the terms of commissioners have been shortened to three years.