Rajiv Bansal has taken over as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, succeeding Ashwani Lohani, who has now become the Chairman of Railway Board.
After taking over charge at the Headquarters of Air India, Bansal said, "I feel happy and proud to be given this opportunity to lead the national carrier. The company has been growing from strength to strength - inducting new aircraft and introducing new routes. We will plan to work on profitability with a missionary zeal, improve our 'On Time performance' and ensure customer satisfaction. I seek the support of all fellow Indians to fly Air India our national carrier - Air India - Truly Indian!"
An IAS officer from the Nagaland Cadre of 1988 batch, Bansal has earlier been Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY).
In addition to a rich experience in civil aviation, Bansal's repertoire boasts of 30 years of holding key portfolios like Secretary, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and Joint Secretary, Department of Heavy Industries, Government of India. He has also served on the Boards of BHEL, AYCL, HMT and the GITA.
A civil engineer by profession, Bansal has earlier served as Director in the Ministry of Civil Aviation and as a Board member of the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) during the formative years of the merged national carrier. He has also earlier served as a board member of the Alliance Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India.
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