New Delhi: Senior IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre and of the 1985 batch Pradeep Singh Kharola has been appointed as the new chairman and managing director (CMD) of disinvestment-bound national carrier Air India, the government announced on Tuesday.
He will succeed another senior IAS officer Rajiv Bansal — additional secretary and financial advisor in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas — who was given additional charge of the post of CMD of Air India in August this year.
Mr Bansal had himself succeeded then Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani who had been then appointed as Chairman of the Railway Board.
The government is working out the modalities for disinvestment of stake in Air India which has been incurring losses of thousands of crores every year.
The government owns 100 percent stake in Air India.
Mr Kharola will be leading the national airline at a time when the government has started the process for its strategic disinvestment.
Air India has a debt burden of more than Rs 50,000 crore.
