
Former Railway Board and Air India chairman Ashwani Lohani made PM Museum director
Ashwani Lohani, former chairman of the Railway Board and ex-CMD of Air India, has been appointed as the director of the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML), according to an order dated June 4.
The government approved his appointment to the post of 'Director, Prime Ministers Museum and Library in the rank and pay of Secretary to the government of India, on contract basis for three years from the date of assumption of charge, or until further orders whichever is earlier', the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said in the official order.
Lohani, a 1980-batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME), is known for organisational turnarounds during his career. While he has retired from IRSME services, he has held the posts of chairman and managing director of Air India, and chairman of the Railway Board.
The seasoned bureaucrat also holds several notable acclaims. He had entered the Limca Book of Records for having four engineering degrees – mechanical, electrical, metallurgical, and electronics and telecommunication – from the Institution of Engineers (India), Kolkata. He also earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for successfully reviving and operating the 'Fairy Queen', recognised as the world's oldest working steam locomotive.
The PMML Society, which oversees the institution housed at Teen Murti Bhavan, was reconstituted earlier this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi serves as its president, with Union defence minister Rajnath Singh being the vice-president. The society's members include former Union minister Smriti Irani, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and retired Indian Army General Syed Ata Hasnain, among others.
Former principal secretary to the government of India, Nripendra Misra, currently serves as the director of the museum and heads a seven member executive council.
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The Print
a day ago
- The Print
Train to Kashmir: Helicopters ferried men and machines to build engineering marvels in once cut-off areas
'The helicopters of the armed forces played a pivotal role in transforming the dream of connecting Kashmir by rail into reality. They ferried men and machines to begin work in unconnected regions that made this train to Kashmir possible,' a senior railway officer told PTI. The use of helicopters proved to be a game changer, not only in building more than 215 kilometres of approach roads through mountainous terrain, linking around 70 remote villages, but also in paving the way for human resource deployment and the construction of three engineering marvels — the world's highest railway bridge, the country's biggest cable-stayed bridge and the longest transportation tunnel in India. Reasi (J&K), Jun 7 (PTI) As Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated a prestigious railway project connecting Kashmir to the rest of the country on Friday, fulfilling Maharaja Pratap Singh's century-old dream, the Indian Railways remembered the pivotal role of the armed forces' helicopters in ferrying men and machines to the remote and cut-off region to script history. He said the Reasi-Ramban belt was remote and largely inaccessible and initially, labourers and engineers had to trek on foot to undertake basic project work. Former Railway Board member A K Khandelwal, who supervised the project, said, 'To accelerate the construction of the approach road up to the most remote part of the project, Sawalkote, heavy construction machinery was airlifted using Army helicopters from the Jammu airport.' Their extensive logistical support helped the railway overcome one of the most formidable engineering challenges in the country — the 111-km Banihal-Katra section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), a Rs 43,780 crore national project. 'A tabletop helipad was constructed by levelling a 100-metre by 40-metre stretch of land near Surukote village between Dugga and Sawalkote using only hand tools,' Khandelwal said. He added that MI-26 helicopters were used for airlifting heavy construction machines, with sorties conducted and 226 MT of load lifted to Surukote in October 2010. Recalling his first journey to unconnected Sangaldan — which today boasts of a major railway station and infrastructure — another railway engineer said, 'To meet the scale of geographical challenges faced during the construction of the Chenab Bridge, labourers had to be airlifted by helicopters to the worksite in the early days.' He added that workers constructed a helipad on the site, enabling engineers and technical teams to reach the remote location and begin operations on the ground. 'Initially, engineers had to trek long distances on foot or rely on mules to reach various construction points,' he said. In the early years of the project, hundreds of helicopter sorties were carried out to ferry men, material and heavy machinery to remote and inaccessible parts of Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district. This changed the entire outlook of the prestigious project from isolation to connectivity to Kashmir. 'Before the construction of access roads, villagers relied on treacherous footpaths or boats to reach nearby towns. The project has changed that drastically,' the railway engineer said. The officials said more than 215 kilometres of approach roads were laid through mountainous terrain, linking around 70 remote villages, including Guni, Paikhad, Gran, Bakkal, Dugga, Surukote, Sawalkote and Baralla, and improving the lives of nearly 1.5 lakh people. These roads sparked a visible transformation in remote areas of Reasi and Ramban districts. 'Vehicles appeared outside homes for the first time and commercial activity began to flourish with the emergence of markets, roadside eateries and repair shops. Once cut off from development, these villages are now evolving into centres of learning and commerce,' the railway engineer said. Declared a national project in 2002, the USBRL initiative generated more than 525 lakh man-days of employment and provided direct jobs to 804 eligible land losers, besides creating 14,000 indirect jobs during construction, mostly for locals, the officials said. With its blend of strategic value, economic upliftment and social integration, the USBRL project is poised to be a defining chapter in the developmental journey of Jammu and Kashmir. Residents of these once-isolated regions have hailed the Indian Railways for transforming their lives, calling it an 'angel' that brought connectivity, communication and development. 'For us, the railway is a messiah. This was a remote and cut-off area. With this train, we are now fully connected with the rest of the world. There has been huge development due to this railway project. It has changed our fate,' Seerat Tariq of Dugga village told PTI. He added that locals got jobs over the last 10 to 15 years due to the project. 'It has improved our economic health. We can now travel to Kashmir for the best medical treatment in just an hour, which earlier took two days,' he said. Qauser Jabeen, a college student in Reasi, said, 'It has become very easy for us to pursue our studies, which was not possible before this project. This was made possible by the roads and communication infrastructure built here.' Others emphasised the enormous tourism potential created by both natural beauty and man-made wonders. 'We now have the world's highest rail bridge, the country's biggest Anji Khad cable-stayed bridge and T-50, the longest transportation tunnel in India,' Surinder Singh, a businessman from Gulabgarh, said. He further said that with several other tunnels, bridges and scenic places, the area can attract thousands of tourists. Modi dedicated the USBRL project to the nation on Friday by inaugurating the world's highest railway bridge and India's biggest cable-stayed Anji Khad bridge over the Chenab river, and flagged off a Vande Bharat train to Kashmir from Katra. The 272-km-long USBRL project, built at a cost of around Rs 43,780 crore, includes 36 tunnels spanning 119 km and 943 bridges, the officials said. The plan for a rail link to Kashmir was first proposed on March 1, 1892 by Maharaja Pratap Singh and subsequently, in June 1898, British engineering firm S R Scott Stratten and Company was engaged to conduct surveys and execute the Kashmir rail project. PTI AB RC This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.


The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Modi accepts Canadian PM Carney's invitation to G-7, promises 'renewed vigour' in ties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will represent India at the upcoming G-7 summit in Canada next week, he confirmed on Friday (June 6, 2025), after he was invited by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during a telephone call. The visit to Canada, Mr. Modi's first since 2015, could mark a reset in ties after years of tensions over Khalistani separatists targeting Indian diplomats and the killing of Canadian and Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which the previous Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had blamed Indian government agents for. The invitation for India as a guest invitee for the G-7 summit to be held in Kananaskis, Alberta province of Canada could also herald the restoration of India and Canada's diplomatic presence in each other's capitals, where both sides expelled High Commissioners, stopped visas temporarily and cut staff strength drastically in 2023 and 2024. In October 2024, India and Canada also expelled each other's deputy High commissioners, over further charges in the Nijjar case, and spying respectively. This month also marks two anniversaries - 40 years since the bombing of the Air India 'Kanishka' flight on June 23, 1985 by Khalistani separatists in Canada, and two years since the killing of Nijjar on June 18, 2023 near Toronto, and both governments would have to work around each other's sensitivities during the visit. Glad to receive a call from Prime Minister @MarkJCarney of Canada. Congratulated him on his recent election victory and thanked him for the invitation to the G7 Summit in Kananaskis later this month. As vibrant democracies bound by deep people-to-people ties, India and Canada… — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 6, 2025 Announcing the visit, Mr. Modi said his meeting with Mr. Carney would give ties 'renewed vigour'. 'As vibrant democracies bound by deep people-to-people ties, India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests. Look forward to our meeting at the Summit,' said PM Modi in social media post, adding that he had thanked Mr. Carney for the invitation to the G-7 and congratulated him on his recent victory in Canadian elections. Mr. Modi's attendance at the G-7, that he has been to every year as a special invitee since 2019, will also give him the opportunity to meet other Western leaders from member countries such as the U.S., U.K., France, Italy, Japan and Germany, for the first time since Operation Sindoor. In particular, Mr. Modi will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, after a strain in ties over Mr. Trump's repeated assertion that he mediated to end the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan, a claim the Ministry of External Affairs has denied consistently. Ahead of a possible meeting of Mr. Modi with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Canada, which would be their first since India and U.K. finalised a Free Trade Agreement, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy is due in Delhi for a one-day visit on Saturday, and will meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. Quad partner Australia as well as leaders of BRICS countries Brazil and South Africa are also expected to be special invitees at the summit. Mr. Modi is likely to travel to Brazil next month, where he will share the stage with leaders of Russia and China and other members at the BRICS summit in Rio. At the G-7, all eyes in India will be on the meeting with the Canadian PM, and whether ties can be restored after the bitterness, particularly of the last two year between them. In 2024, Mr. Trudeau's government had suggested restoring High Commissioners, and the Canada's Foreign Ministry, called 'Global Canada', had forwarded the name of Canadian diplomat Christopher Cooter for the post. However, New Delhi had given Ottawa no response. This year, the Ministry has named India's Ambassador to Spain Dinesh Patnaik for the High Commissioner's post in Ottawa, and it remains to be seen whether both sides will now agree to exchange diplomats at the High Commissioner and other levels. The invitation to Mr. Modi comes after some speculation that Canada would not invite the Indian PM given the relationship at present, and the very short notice, with just over a week to go for the Summit added to the surprise of the announcement. However, officials explained that Mr. Carney took over as PM only on April 29 this year after winning polls where he defeated the conservative party considered the frontrunner in elections. The Ministry declined to comment on whether the upcoming G-7 had been discussed during a call between the new Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Mr. Jaishankar on May 29. It is understood that while the governments had discussed the issue through interlocuters in recent weeks, a formal invitation for special invitees was only sent on Friday.

The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
South Coast Railway Zone's work set to gain steam with the appointment of General Manager
The appointment of General Manager for the Visakhapatnam-headquartered South Coast Railway (SCoR) Zone has come as a big relief for rail activists, from the region, who have been seeking early operationalisation of SCoR, since it was announced more than six years ago, in February 2019. The Railway Board issued orders on June 5, appointing Sandeep Mathur, as General Manager of SCoR. While welcoming the development, trade union leaders opine there should be no further delay in the issue of a gazette notification on the zone. The gazette will give the boundaries of SCoR and the Railway Divisions under its purview. The Railway Board has already agreed to retain the residual portion of the existing Waltair Division, instead of merging it with Vijayawada Division as was planned earlier. One part will be merged with the newly formed Rayagada Division, under East Coast Railway (ECoR), and the residual portion of Waltair Division would be renamed and continued as 'Visakhapatnam Division' and the Divisional Headquarters will continue to be located in Visakhapatnam city. The work on construction of the 9 plus 2 storeyed SCoR Zonal Headquarters building, at Mudasarlova, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone in January, this year, has commenced. Meanwhile, the Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti buildings, constructed close to the Visakhapatnam Railway Station, are available for use by the GM, pending construction of the Zonal Headquarters building. The Prime Minister is scheduled to participate in the International Yoga Day event in Visakhapatnam on June 21. 'The gazette notification should be issued without any further delay. During his visit to the city, the Prime Minister should announce a date for operationalisation of SCoR, preferably from August 15, the day on which India attained Independence,' says Chalasani Gandhi, veteran trade union leader and a Member of the Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee (DRUCC) from Visakhapatnam. 'A separate notification should also be issued for establishment of a Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) in Visakhapatnam, to conduct examinations for filling up of vacancies in the four Divisions – Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntakal and Guntur – under SCoR,' he says. Hailing the appointment of the GM, rail activists took to social media saying that the long-pending problem of SCR trains, coming to Visakhapatnam junction, being held by up ECoR, at the zonal interchange point at Duvvada, would be a thing of the past after the operationalisation of the new zone. Mr. Sandeep Mathur is likely to assume charge in Visakhapatnam in a few days, according to official sources.