Former Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani is new director of Prime Ministers Museum and Library
Former Air India chief Ashwani Lohani, an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME) officer of the 1980 batch, has been appointed as the director of the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) in New Delhi, months after the tenure of former power secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai came to an end. In the interim, Lily Pandeya, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, was officiating in the role.
In an order dated June 4, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved Lohani's appointment for a tenure of three years. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly.
Besides serving as the Air India chairman and managing director twice, Lohani has also served as the chairman of the Railway Board of Indian Railways after being appointed to the post in 2017. After retiring from government service, he joined the GMR Group, where he served as chief executive officer.
Earlier, in 2001, he joined the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) as chairman and managing director. In 2004, he became the commissioner and managing director of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (MPTDC), a position he held for almost six years, spanning three different terms. He is credited with turning around the ITDC and MPSTDC during those stints.
The Centre recently reconstituted the society and executive council of PMML, with several new names being added. The executive council, which previously had 29 members, has now been expanded to 34 members.
While Nripendra Mishra, former principal secretary to the prime minister, was reappointed for a five-year term as the chairperson of the organisation, prominent new members included former Union minister Smriti Irani, NITI Aayog former vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar, retired Army General Syed Ata Hasnain, renowned filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, and Vasudev Kamath from Sanskar Bharati, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Culture.
Some of the other new members include Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, and educationist Chamu Krishna Shastry, archaeologist K K Mohammad, who was part of the Babri Masjid excavation team in 1976, and B R Mani, the former head of the National Museum.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the president of the PMML society, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is the vice president. As the director, Lohani will also become a member of the seven-member executive council of the organisation, headed by chairman Nripendra Misra.
Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
28 minutes 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.
Mint
5 hours ago
- Mint
Why India-Turkey aviation connect has long been jinxed
Last week, with hours to the IATA AGM in Delhi with IndiGo being the host airline, the government told IndiGo about its 'last and final' extension for the Turkish Airlines B777s, which IndiGo has in its fleet and operates to Istanbul from Delhi and Mumbai. India cancelled the licence of Celebi, a ground handling agency with a Turkish stake, citing security issues. The issues started after Turkey actively supported Pakistan with military hardware and other means during Operation Sindoor. The clamour for breaking ties with Turkish entities was strong since then for both IndiGo and the Air India group. IndiGo has planes from Turkish Airlines, and both IndiGo and the Air India group utilise the services of Turkish Technic, the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) arm. In December 2018, IndiGo and Turkish Airlines announced a codeshare and mutual cooperation agreement. This was the first codeshare for IndiGo, after which the airline has expanded this arrangement with multiple airlines from across the world. The flights began on January 1, 2019, subsequently increasing to double daily from Delhi. Within weeks, the Balakot strike took place and Pakistan shut its airspace, leading to a very long detour and a stop for IndiGo, which went on until July that year. No sooner had things become normal, exceptionally high headwinds that year led to the airline being in the news again with baggage being left behind to cater to additional fuel or lower weight. The winter of 2019 never transitioned to the summer of 2020 as the world went into a lockdown due to the pandemic. As flights restarted across the world, starting February 2023, IndiGo inducted a Turkish Airlines B777 to fly on its behalf as a damp lease to Istanbul from Delhi. This was augmented by another in May 2023 to fly between Mumbai and Istanbul. Air India was taken over by the Tata group in January 2022. Within a month of this, the airline's first big decision was to appoint a new CEO, which was Ilker Ayci, the former CEO of Turkish Airlines. Within weeks, Ayci cited negative media attention and refused to join as multiple groups started opposing Ayci's appointment citing his past record and proximity to the ruling dispensation in Turkey which had been pro-Pakistan even then. Campbell Wilson, the CEO and MD of Air India, has indicated that the company is looking for options to shift its maintenance needs from Turkish Technic to other options. These could be expensive and hard to come by since slots at MROs are also facing issues due to supply chain constraints. In case of Air India, it could have an option of relying on the government-owned entity AIESL or equity partner Singapore Airlines' facilities in Singapore. As for IndiGo, the challenges are bigger with the government directive. The airline is expected to induct five more 787-9 Dreamliners from now until the early parts of 2026. It remains unclear when the airspace over Pakistan will be available for use by Indian carriers. The flight to Turkey will not only be long, but it will also be one-stop on the narrowbody aircraft. Will it deploy the 787s, which it is getting, or will it go ahead with the deployment plans, which it had chalked out? A lot will depend on how the loads shape up for the future. When the Ilker Ayci controversy erupted, the writing was pretty much clear on the wall; yet IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India continued doing business with entities in Turkey in one way or another. Nobody had anticipated that events would lead up to Operation Sindoor and Turkey would openly support Pakistan in the manner in which it did. The repercussions are for all to suffer. It is not that only the Indian entities will be impacted, since Turkish carriers like Corendon have been providing damp lease services to Indian carriers. Will things change in the future? Current indications are that they won't with Celebi's staff already accommodated by other companies and more players planning to enter the segment. Likewise, permissions for wet/damp-leased planes from Turkey will be hard to come by. Lastly, the public sentiments are harsh and brands generally evaluate those before taking commercial calls, especially in the current case where issues of national security are being discussed.
The Wire
10 hours ago
- The Wire
Former Air India Chief Ashwani Lohani Appointed as Director of Prime Ministers Museum and Library
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Government Former Air India Chief Ashwani Lohani Appointed as Director of Prime Ministers Museum and Library The Wire Staff 43 minutes ago Lohani is an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME) officer of the 1980 batch. Prime Ministers Museum and Library. Photo: public domain. Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now New Delhi: The Prime Ministers Museum and Library, previously known as the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, has got a new director – former Air India chief Ashwani Lohani – months after the post was vacated earlier this year. Lohani is an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME) officer of the 1980 batch. Before his appointment, Lily Pandeya, joint secretary in the Union culture ministry, had taken over as interim director after the tenure of former power secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai ended in March 2025. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved Lohani's appointment on June 4 for a three-year tenure, the Indian Express reported. Lohani has served as the chairman and managing director of Air India in the past. He was also the chairman of the Railway Board of Indian Railways in 2017 and joined the GMR group as chief executive officer after retiring from government service. The Union government has also expanded the executive council of PMML from 29 members to 34. The new members include former Union minister Smriti Irani, NITI Aayog former vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar, retired Army General Syed Ata Hasnain, renowned filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, and Vasudev Kamath from Sanskar Bharati, according to a notification issued by the culture ministry. Former principal secretary to the prime minister Nripendra Mishra has been reappointed as the chairperson of the organisation. Other new members include Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, archaeologist K.K. Mohammad, who was part of the Babri Masjid excavation team in 1976, and former head of the National Museum, B.R. Mani, the paper reported. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Make a contribution to Independent Journalism Related News From Colonial Loot to Cultural Genocide at the British Museum Choksi Abduction Complaint Shines Light on Modi Government's Attitude to Global Passport Business An Exhibition in London's Imperial War Museum Breaks the Silence on Sexual Violence in Conflict An Open Letter: 'I Have Small Eyes, Mr Prime Minister' The Grand Tamasha of Jammu and Kashmir Politics Profit and Sales Growth Slow Down as Compared to Last Year Amid Rising Cost and Trade Uncertainties 'It's a Huge Tragedy': In Visit to Poonch, Rahul Gandhi Meets Families Bereaved in Pak Artillery Shelling Trump's Drive for Ocean Bed Mining Threatens Law of the Sea 'In Public Interest': MMRDA Tells SC as it Scraps Tender for Mumbai Elevated Road, Tunnel Projects View in Desktop Mode About Us Contact Us Support Us © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
