Roy Paul to be new A-I chief

new delhi: civil aviation secretary k roy paul is likely to be appointed as the chairman of air-india. he will succeed a h jung, former civil aviation secretary. civil aviation minister shahnawaz hussain has forwarded a proposal to the appointments committee of cabinet to designate paul as the chairman of air-india, highly-placed sources said. though jung has retired as the civil aviation secretary, he continues to be chairman of air-india since a successor has not been appointed. initially, there were doubts over the designation of paul as the chairman of the national carrier since hussain was planning to revamp the air-india board. as the reconstitution of the air-india board is not likely to take place now, it was decided to appoint paul as the chairman. while the long-term goal is to appoint a independent chairman, probably an eminent personality from the civil aviation industry, for the national carrier, the civil aviation secretary will officiate in the short term. many civil aviation secretaries, including jung, p v jayakrishnan and ravindra gupta, served as chair persons of air-india. paul takes over at a time when air-india is poised to return to the black, with net profit of around rs 35 crore for the current financial year. however, a number of challenges remain and topping the list is appointment of a full time managing director. j n gogoi, deputy managing director, is now serving as the acting managing director.