Former Railway Board and Air India chairman Ashwani Lohani made PM Museum director
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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