Ashwani Lohani, a 1980 batch officer of Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) and presently the commissioner and managing director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, will replace Rohit Nandan as the new chairman of Air India Ltd, media reports said on Thursday.
A PTI report citing an order issued by Department of Personnel and Training said the Appointments Committee of Cabinet approved Lohani's appointment as the chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of the national flag carrier for a tenure of three years.
Nandan, whose tenure as the of Air India CMD ended last year, was on a one-year extension as the government was yet to find his successor. His one-year extension also expires on Thursday night.
Who is the new Air India chief, Lohani?
IRSME officer Lohani is a qualified chartered mechanical engineer from Institution of Mechanical Engineers, United Kingdom. He also holds degrees equivalence in Electrical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering and Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering.
He is a gold medallist in metallurgical engineering and was also named in the Limca National Record in 2007 for holding four engineering degrees.
Lohani is fellow of the Institution of Engineers, India and the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport. He is also a life member of Museums Associations of India and Institute of Rolling Stock Engineers.
He served as the director of National Rail Museum from 1993 to 1998, after which he became a director in the Ministry of Tourism till 2002. During his career, Lohani has also served as Delhi Divisional Railway Manager, Chief Mechanical Engineer for Northern Railways and Chief Administrative Officer at Indian Railways Organisation for Alternate Fuels, Ministry of Railways.
Lohani has also authored two books, 'Winning at Work Against All Odds' and 'Smoking Beauties'.
