Meet the new Air India chief, a former Indian Railways Service officer!

Air India is soon going to see a change of guard. As the current tenure of CMD Rohit Nandan’s one-year extension ends today, Ashwani Lohani will be appointed the new CMD of the state run carrier.

Ashwani Lohani is currently the Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. An Indian Railway Service officer of the 1980 batch, Lohani is likely to have a three-year term that is likely to extend till December 2018.

"Lohani is a perfect choice for the job due to his considerable experience with public sector undertakings in the past and his operational experience as Divisional railway Manager in Delhi," said a person in the knowledge of the developments.

Lohani's experience of running PSUs goes back to 2002, when he was the CMD of Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), where he was credited with turning around Delhi's Ashoka Hotel by making it profitable following years of losses.

A qualified mechanical engineer, Lohani is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Current CMD Rohit is likely to get an extension of another month.