Air India begins rehaul of top deck

New Delhi: Crisis-ridden Air India was in for its first shake-up on Wednesday, with two of its senior directors getting reassigned, and the government ordering a probe into the recruitment of about 300 retired Air India professionals in the past three years.
The move follows civil aviation minister Praful Patel’s statement on Tuesday that the board of the national carrier, which is struggling to meet even its salary commitments, would be overhauled and that “some heads would roll”.
Directors Anup K Srivastava (personnel) will now oversee the integration and wage-related issues of Air India and the erstwhile Indian Airlines, while S Chandrasekhar (finance) will look after the restructuring plan being worked out by SBI Caps.
People close to the development told ET that, in effect, the reassignment puts these two board members lower in the pecking order.
“The plan is to gradually ease out some of these officials,” the person said requesting anonymity.
The company board will have to take the approval of the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) before the removal of a director.
The government is also planning to appoint seven independent directors on the board, besides setting up an international advisory committee. This new panel will have members comprising top aviation leaders from the world, and will supplement the work of the airline management.
09/07/09 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Categories: NACIL Jul 2009