Bengaluru: Senior IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, official sources said on Tuesday. A 1985 IAS officer of Karnataka cadre, Kharola is currently Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation MD.

Kharola, a Karnataka cadre officer, would replace Rajiv Bansal, who has been serving as the interim CMD for a little over three months.

The appointment comes days after Bansal was given an extension for three months.

The change of guard at the helm of Air India also comes at a time when the government is in the process of finalising the modalities of the strategic disinvestment of the national carrier.