New government plans to induct more Information Commissioners; selection process here

CIC Rajiv Mathur

ARE you someone with wide knowledge and experience in any of these disciplines – law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass-media, administration or governance? Then, the new government’s decision to induct a few more Information Commissioners for Central Information Commission should help you. Here is how you can go about it. You need to send your particulars to…
Under Secretary (RTI), department of personnel and training (DoPT), North Block, New Delhi by August 19, 2014. You can also email at usrti-dopt@nic.in.
Ahead of the last parliamentary elections, on February 25 to be precise, the DoPT issued advertisements looking for suitable candidates for the posts of Information Commissioners. Now, it’s proposed to appoint more Information Commissioners. It is also made clear that those who had applied in response to the February circular don’t need to apply once more. These appointments are made according to law laid down by the RTI Act, 2005.
Currently, 1972 batch retired IPS officer of UP cadre Rajiv Mathur is the Chief Information Commissioner. He retired as director of Intelligence Bureau (IB). There are seven other Information Commissioners. They are Vijay Sharma (former IAS; former environment secretary), Basant Seth (former CMD of Syndicate Bank), Yashovardhan Azad (former Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS of 1976 batch; former secretary, security in cabinet secretariat), Sharat Sabharwal (ex-Indian Foreign Service officer of 1975 batch; former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan), Mrs Manjula Prasher (former Indian Postal Service officer of 1976 batch; retired as secretary, department of post in Government of India), MA Khan Yusufi (former joint secretary and legal adviser in ministry of law) and Madabhushanam Sridhar Acharyulu (known with his pen name Madabhusi Sridhar; author of 30 books on law and journalism). The RTI Act allows appointment of 10 Information Commissioners in addition to Chief Information Commissioner.  
Significantly, no MP or MLA or for that matter any person holding an office of profit can become an Information Commissioner. An Information Commissioner gets a five-year tenure, but the upper age is 65 years. The salary and perks that an Information Commissioner gets are the same with that of an Election Commissioner.