NEW DELHI, INDIA (ANS) -- The previous Telecom Secretary of India, Mr. P. J. Thomas, a committed Christian, was appointed as the 14th Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) of India on Tuesday, September 7, 2010.

P. J. Thomas pictured in his office

The President of India, Mrs. Pratibha Patil, administered the oath of office to Thomas at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan (House of the President) in New Delhi.

The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Vice President, Hamid Ansari, Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, Law Minister, M. Veerappa Moily, Chief Information Commissioner, Wajahat Habibullah, and Cabinet Secretary, K. M. Chandrasekhar, were also among those present at the swearing-in ceremony.

Thomas succeeded Pratyush Sinha, who has left his post after a four-year tenure as the CVC.

Mr. Thomas has held important assignments in Kerala state as Secretary in Finance, Industry, Agriculture, Law and Justice and Human Resource Development Departments. He was the founder director of the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, Kerala State.

He became the Kerala Chief Secretary in 2007 and moved to the Central government as Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs in January, 2009. Later he went on to become the Telecom Secretary.

James Varghese is a reporter for Masihat newspaper in India, and is also a freelance journalist working for ANS.