Communication Information Commission (CIC)

Communication Information Commission (CIC)

The Communication Information Commission (CIC) is a statutory body commissioned under the Right to Information Act , 2005 (RTI). The key reason for legislating the RTI Act was to make access to information easy, timely, and inexpensive. The assumption was that these features would help make the legislation effective, powerful, and an overall success. The core authority of the CIC is limited to providing information and it does not have the power to take an action even in case of any oddity. 

All complaints linked to public sector undertakings and financial institutions under the Government of India are reviewed by the CIC. Its role is to look into the complaints of people who have been unable to submit a request for information to a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officers. Thus, the CIC has an important role in upholding democracy by ensuring transparency is maintained in governance. Transparency of this nature keeps corruption, nepotism, oppression and misuse, abuse of authority in check.  

The Commission is led by a Chief Information Commissioner and consists of a maximum of 10  Information Commissioners. They are all appointed by the President based on the recommendation of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister (nominated by the Prime Minister).