Rohit Nandan to continue as Air India CMD till Aug 2015

Air India CMD Rohit Nandan was today granted extension till August next year, ending a phase of uncertainty in the national carrier which is going through a difficult process of financial restructuring.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the extension of Nandan as the airline's Chairman and Managing Director "till August 21, 2015 or till the appointment of a regular incumbent, whichever is earlier," an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.
This was the second time 57-year-old Nandan, a 1982 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, was granted an extension in two months.

The first extension came on August 11 after he completed a three-year term at the helm of Air India, steering it through a difficult phase of merger with the direction that "the process of selection of a new CMD may be completed in the meantime".
Following this, the Civil Aviation Ministry had sought his continuation in the post crediting Nandan with improving the performance of the loss-making airline and successfully making Air India a member of the 27-member global airlines grouping, Star Alliance.
The Ministry was also understood to have pointed out that a new appointment would disturb continuity and affect Air India's performance at a critical stage when its overall performance had started looking up.

In another order, the DoPT extended the tenure of Ramesh Abhishek, Chairman of Forward Markets Commission, for a period of three months beyond October 8 said. Abhishek is a 1982 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre.
The ACC also extended tenure of Ashok Kumar Gupta, Additional Secretary in Department of Defence Production, for a period of six months beyond October 15. Gupta is a 1981 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.