Air India chief Pradeep Singh Kharola to steer Civil Aviation Ministry as secretary

New Delhi: Air India chief Pradeep Singh Kharola has been appointed Civil Aviation secretary as part of a minor top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected on Wednesday, according to an official order.

Kharola, a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, was in November 2017 named the chairman and managing director of Air India Ltd. He took over the reins of the debt-ridden national carrier on January 9, last year. He has been appointed in the Civil Aviation Ministry in place of Rajiv Nayan Choubey, who superannuated on January 31.

Choubey has taken over as member in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), that conducts civil services examination to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.

Besides this, senior bureaucrat Radheyshyam Julaniya has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Sports, in place of Rahul Prasad Bhatnagar.

Julaniya, a 1985-batch IAS officer, is serving in his cadre state Madhya Pradesh. Bhatnagar, a 1983-batch IAS officer, will be Secretary, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Senior IAS officer Sailesh will be Secretary, the Minority Affairs Ministry.

Sailesh, a 1985-batch IAS offcer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, is at present Secretary, the Department of Official Language. The officer will continue to hold the post of Secretary, Department of Official Language on additional charge basis, the Personnel Ministry said in the order.