Aviation PSUs to fill top posts

Airports Authority of India and Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited, which were headless for several months, will soon have their top posts filled

Two major aviation public sector undertakings —Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd — which were headless for several months, will soon have their top posts filled, with the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) shortlisting candidates for the two positions.

While R K Srivastava, a 1984 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, has been selected from 10 candidates as chairman of AAI by PESB, the name of B P Sharma, executive director at AAI who is currently the Kolkata Airport director, has been shortlisted out of 12 candidates to be the CMD of Pawan Hans, official sources said.

The two names would now be sent to the appointments committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for final approval, they said. While Pawan Hans has been without a full-time CMD for about two years, AAI is being headed by Sudhir Raheja, member (planning) of AAI Board, an acting chairman since January.

Air India too has remained practically headless since the incumbent, Rohit Nandan, was granted three month's extension for his successor to be chosen, after his three-year term ended in August. His extended term now ends in mid-November.

The Civil Aviation Ministry had earlier sought a two-year extension for the 1982 batch IAS officer of UP cadre, but the Appointments Committee extended it by three months.

The Ministry has again suggested a 12-month extension for Nandan on the grounds that a top-level change in the ailing national carrier at this juncture could derail it from the gradual turnaround path which was being successfully led by him.

The Star Alliance, which Air India joined in July, has also written to the Ministry to consider an extension to him for the sake of continuity of the integration process between the Indian carrier and the global airlines' grouping.

However, the sources said Nandan could be granted another extension as the last date for submitting the application for the post of CMD Air India is October 28 and the process of short-listing and interviews would begin after that.

It was not likely that the PESB would be able to complete the process of shortlisting a new CMD before November when Nandan's current term expires, the sources said.