<p>Senior IAS officer Rajiv Bansal today took charge as the interim CMD of Air India, saying that he is committed to working on the airline's profitability with a "missionary zeal".<br /><br />The state-owned airline, which has a debt burden of more than Rs 50,000 crore, has been in the red for long but managed to eke out operational profit for the first time in a decade in 2015-16.<br /><br />"We will plan to work on profitability with a missionary zeal, improve our on time performance and ensure customer satisfaction," Bansal said in a statement soon after assuming charge as Air India's Chairman and Managing Director.<br /><br />"I seek the support of all fellow Indians to fly Air India our national carrier - Air India - Truly Indian," he said.<br /><br />Bansal replaced Ashwani Lohani, who has assumed office as Railway Board Chairman.<br /><br />"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," Bansal said after formally taking office from Lohani.<br /><br />Bansal, Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser at the petroleum ministry, was appointed Air India's interim CMD on Wednesday.<br /><br />According to the release, Bansal had served as a director in the civil aviation ministry and played a crucial role as a board member of the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL) during the formative years of the merged national carrier.<br /><br />He has also served as the board member of the Alliance Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, the release said.<br /><br />A Nagaland cadre IAS officer, Bansal had been a joint secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) where he had handled the areas of digital payments, IT Act, Aadhaar, and internet governance.<br /><br />A civil engineer by profession, Bansal graduated from IIT Delhi in 1986. He also has a Diploma in Finance from ICFAI, Hyderabad and an Executive Masters in International Business from IIFT, Delhi.</p>
<p>Senior IAS officer Rajiv Bansal today took charge as the interim CMD of Air India, saying that he is committed to working on the airline's profitability with a "missionary zeal".<br /><br />The state-owned airline, which has a debt burden of more than Rs 50,000 crore, has been in the red for long but managed to eke out operational profit for the first time in a decade in 2015-16.<br /><br />"We will plan to work on profitability with a missionary zeal, improve our on time performance and ensure customer satisfaction," Bansal said in a statement soon after assuming charge as Air India's Chairman and Managing Director.<br /><br />"I seek the support of all fellow Indians to fly Air India our national carrier - Air India - Truly Indian," he said.<br /><br />Bansal replaced Ashwani Lohani, who has assumed office as Railway Board Chairman.<br /><br />"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," Bansal said after formally taking office from Lohani.<br /><br />Bansal, Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser at the petroleum ministry, was appointed Air India's interim CMD on Wednesday.<br /><br />According to the release, Bansal had served as a director in the civil aviation ministry and played a crucial role as a board member of the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL) during the formative years of the merged national carrier.<br /><br />He has also served as the board member of the Alliance Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, the release said.<br /><br />A Nagaland cadre IAS officer, Bansal had been a joint secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) where he had handled the areas of digital payments, IT Act, Aadhaar, and internet governance.<br /><br />A civil engineer by profession, Bansal graduated from IIT Delhi in 1986. He also has a Diploma in Finance from ICFAI, Hyderabad and an Executive Masters in International Business from IIFT, Delhi.</p>