The civil aviation ministry is expected to make Rohit Nandan, one of its joint secretaries, the interim chairman and managing director of Air India.
“He is likely to be made the interim CMD for three or four months, until someone permanent is selected. The orders will be issued in a day or two,” said a senior ministry official, who did not want to be identified.
Nandan, 54, is a 1978-batch Indian Administrative Service officer from Uttar Pradesh. He was one of 10 IAS officers selected by the cabinet secretary to monitor and expedite the completion of venues in the run-up to last year’s Commonwealth Games. During his stint in the UP civil aviation department, various runways were let out to pilot training schools, ultimately bringing revenue to the state.
The current incumbent, Arvind Jadhav, who was appointed for a three-year tenure in May 2009, is likely to join as additional secretary, revenue.
Jadhav’s tenure saw three strikes but also various key decisions. During his tenure, AI migrated to single code numbering for its flights; earlier, it had a separate one for those of the erstwhile Indian Airlines (IA). He also took a lot of initiatives to cut cost, closing various global offices where flights were not required and withdrawing Frankfurt as AI’s international hub. Terminal 3 in Delhi became the new hub.
Nandan’s job at the helm will not be easy, as personnel integration issues between the erstwhile AI and IA have still to be achieved. The issue of compensation for the delay in delivery of the Boeing Dreamliner 787 is to be sorted out. Also needing quick attention is the issue of debt restructuring; there is about Rs 40,000 crore of such accumulation. The turnaround plan of AI that is currently being monitored by a sub-committee in the finance ministry also requires focus.