Government appoints Pradeep Singh Kharola as Air India CMD

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday announced the appointment of Pradeep Singh Kharola, a 1985 batch IAS officer from the Karnataka cadre, as the chairman and managing director (CMD) of Air India.

Kharola will be joining AI at a time, when the government is in the process of selling Air India and exiting from airline business completely. The government plans to start the bidding process of AI in the next nine months.

“The ACC (the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet) today approved the appointment of Pradeep Singh Kharola, presently in cadre, as chairman and managing director of Air India in the rank and pay of secretary to government of India,” said a government order.

Kharola will replace Rajiv Bansal, an additional secretary in the petroleum ministry, who was holding additional charge of CMD of AI. Bansal, late last week had got a three months extension of his tenure at Air India. Air India was without a full-time CMD after Ashwani Lohani left it in September to become the chairman of Railway Board.

Kharola, who is currently the managing director for Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation, has experience of working with various wings of Karnataka and the Central government.