Vigilance commissioner Suresh N. Patel was on Wednesday appointed the central vigilance commissioner (CVC), a year after the post fell vacant.

Patel, who has been working as the acting CVC since June this year, was sworn in as the chief of the probity watchdog by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

It had been reported last month that Patel’s appointment as CVC had been cleared by a selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“At a ceremony held today at 1000 hrs at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Shri Suresh N Patel, was sworn in as the Central Vigilance Commissioner. He made and subscribed the oath of his office before the President,” a communique issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday said.

The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister and Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu.

Later in the day, Patel administered the oath of office to former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Arvind Kumar and ex-IAS officer Praveen Kumar Srivastava as vigilance commissioners.

With these appointments, the Central Vigilance Commission is in its full strength now.

Patel, former managing director and chief executive officer of Andhra Bank, was in April 2020 appointed vigilance commissioner. He has been officiating as the CVC since June 24 this year after the completion of the term of former IAS officer Sanjay Kothari.

The three-member selection panel had met in July to decide on the CVC and the vigilance commissioners. The other two members on the panel are the Union home minister and the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Arvind Kumar, a 1984-batch (retired) IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, served as the 27th IB director from June 30, 2019, to June 30 this year. He joined the IB as its assistant director in 1991.

Srivastava, a 1988-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, retired as secretary (coordination), cabinet secretariat, on January 31 this year.