AI boss Pradeep Singh Kharola named new civil aviation secy

New Delhi: Air India chief Pradeep Singh Kharola has been appointed Civil Aviation secretary, a year after he came on board the national carrier, as part of a minor top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected on Wednesday, according to an official order.

Kharola, a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, was in November 2017 named the chairman and managing director of Air India Ltd. He took over the reins of the debt-ridden national carrier on January 9, last year.

It was under Kharola's tenure that the government last year came up with the proposal to sell off 76 per cent of its stake in Air India. However, the proposal was later put on hold due to unavailability of possible buyer.

The Air India has a debt of about Rs 55,000 crore. The government has started the process of restructuring the national carrier to help it reduce its debt.

Kharola has been appointed as the Civil Aviation Secretary in place of Rajiv Nayan Choubey, who superannuated on January 31.

Choubey, after his retirement, has been appointed as a member in the Union Public Service Commission.