Ashwani Lohani: The man who turned around Madhya Pradesh's tourism scene

BHOPAL: Not long after BJP's Uma Bharti took charge as Madhya Pradesh CM in December 2003, she brought Ashwani Lohani, an officer of Indian Railways Engineering Services, to revive a bleeding Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation.

It turned out to be a short first stint, as Lohani returned to the railways once Bharti was forced to step down in August 2004 as CM.

Then, when Yashodhara Raje took over as MP's tourism minister in 2006, Lohani was roped in to transform the ailing department. It was in his second stint that Lohani became instrumental in launching the successful promotional campaign 'Hindustan Ka Dil Dekho' ­ one of the most successful and talked about government tourism initiatives.

Lohani's experience of running PSUs dates back to 2002, recalled an MPTDC officer. Helming Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) as CMD, he had turned Delhi's Ashoka Hotel into a profitable venture, the officer said. A qualified mechanical engineer, Lohani is also a fellow of Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

This would be Lohani's third stint as the MD of a corporation. As CMD, Air India, Lohani is likely to have a three-year term, which may be extended till December 2018.