Sunil Arora appointed as new Chief Election Commissioner

President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed senior IAS officer Sunil Arora as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).

He will be the 23rd CEC and shall succeed OP Rawat who retires in December 2018.
He will have a nearly two-and-a-half-year tenure as CEC and General Election 2019 will be conducted under his stewardship.

About Sunil Arora:

He is a 1980-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre.
Prior to this appointment, he was Election Commissioner since September 2017.
At the centre, he has served as skill development secretary before and was appointed as a top bureaucrat in Information & Broadcasting Ministry.
He has also worked in ministries and departments such as Finance, Textiles and Planning Commission and was also the CMD of Indian Airlines for five years.
In his home state, he was one of the most trusted officers of Vasundhara Raje during her earlier term as Rajasthan Chief Minister.
He was her principal secretary from 2005 to 2008.
He had retired from service in April 2016, following which he was appointed as advisor to Prasar Bharti and then as Director General & CEO of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs.

About Election Commission of India (ECI):

It is a permanent and independent constitutional body established directly by Constitution of India to ensure fair elections in the country.

Composition:

It is a multi-member body and currently has three members including Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two election commissioners (ECs).

Service conditions and tenure of office of CEC and ECs:

They are determined by an act of parliament titled The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Conditions of Service) Act, 1991.
They hold the office for a term of six years or until they attain age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Powers of CEC and ECs:

They have equal power and receive equal salary, allowances and other perquisites, which are similar to a judge of Supreme Court.
In case of difference of opinion amongst CEC and Election Commissioner, matter is decided by the Commission by majority.

Question:

Q. President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed which senior IAS officer as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)?
a. Suresh Arora
b. Sahil Arora
c. Sunil Arora
d. Sushil Arora