Senior bureaucrat and former information commissioner Heeralal Samariya was sworn in as the chief of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by President Droupadi Murmu on Monday(6, 11,2023), making him the first person from the Dalit community to hold the post.

• A 1985 batch officer of the Telangana cadre, Heeralal Samariya was appointed as an information commissioner on November 7, 2020
• Samariya, 63, takes over as CIC after the retirement of Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha who retired in October.
• A career bureaucrat, Samariya has held several important posts in the government including the posts of secretary, labour and employment ministry, and as joint secretary in the chemicals and fertilizers ministry.
• As many as eight information commissioners’ post remain vacant in the CIC, and at present, there are two information commissioners.