Railway officer Ashwani Lohani to be next AI chief

NEW DELHI: It's official now. Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation MD Ashwani Lohani is set to be the next chief of Air India.

Aviation secretary RN Choubey has confirmed to TOI that Railway Service officer Ashwani Lohani will be the next chairman of Air India.

"He will be taking over very soon, may be next week itself. A lot of thought went into choosing the AI chairman," Choubey, who himself was brought in by the PMO recently to infuse life in the virtually stillborn aviation ministry, said. It is reliably learnt that Choubey has the PMO's firm backing to bring about the required changes in Indian aviation.

An Indian Railway Service officer of 1980 batch, Lohani is likely to succeed Rohit Nandan whose three-year term ended last year and who was on a one-year extension till the government was able to find a new chief for Air India.

Lohani, an Indian Railway Service officer of 1980 batch, is currently heading the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. He will succeed senior IAS officer Rohit Nandan who has been empanelled as secretary. Nandan's three-year term as AI chief had ended last year and he was on a one-year extension till Thursday night.

A qualified mechanical engineer, Lohani is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. He is the founder member of the Indian Steam Railway Society and member of CII National Council on Tourism.

He has authored two books — 'Winning at work against all odds' and a coffee table book 'Smoking Beauties' that came out in March 2004. In January 2006, Lohani also authored a report on 'Rail Heritage and Tourism'. He is also life member of Museums Associations of India and Institute of Rolling Stock Engineers.