Overview
- President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath at Rashtrapati Bhavan on December 15, with Vice President CP Radhakrishnan in attendance.
- The appointment followed a recommendation by the Prime Minister-led three-member committee constituted under the RTI Act.
- The panel also proposed eight Information Commissioners, a step transparency advocates say will help cut RTI backlogs and restore the commission’s full complement for the first time in over nine years.
- Goyal is a 1990-batch IAS officer from the AGMUT cadre who retired as Secretary, Department of Justice, and earlier served as Secretary (Border Management).
- During consultations, sources said Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi recorded dissent, while government sources highlighted representation from disadvantaged groups among the shortlisted names.