A look at the career of the new CIC Vijai Sharma

He was one of the architects of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and is credited with ensuring that it took a favourable view of developing countries. He was also instrumental in bringing the annual climate change talks to New Delhi in 2002.

Ironically, Sharma’s second stint with the ministry came when developed countries had stepped up efforts at doing away with the Kyoto Protocol. The re-election of the UPA in 2009 brought Jairam Ramesh as environment minister.

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The two did not always agree, with Sharma being seen more as a traditionalist. Times had changed and Sharma’s bid to become the head of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN climate body, in 2010 did not succeed.

This stint saw the denial of clearances to a series of high-profile projects and the ministry was seen as a roadblock to growth. The decisions on POSCO, Vedanta, Lavasa and others won the approval of courts, however.

Sharma retired in 2010. With degrees in law from London and Harvard, he became one of the expert members at the newly established National Green Tribunal, which he had been instrumental in setting up. Soon after, he got selected as an information commissioner, from where he has been elevated.

A soft-spoken officer, Sharma is described as a man of integrity and knowledge. While his contribution to environmental governance distinguished him, he has an interest in history and culture too.  With his wife, Rita Sharma, also an IAS officer, he has authored a book on the forts of Bundelkhand. Their daughter is named after the river Betwa.