The government on Wednesday appointed Air India chief managing director and Chairperson Pradeep Singh Kharola the secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, PTI reported. Kharola will take over from Rajiv Nayan Choubey, who retired on January 31.

Kharola, an Indian Administrative Services officer of Karnataka cadre from the 1985 batch, was named chairperson of Air India in November 2017. He presided over a turbulent period for the national carrier, which is not doing well financially.

Last week, the government said it would go ahead with its plan to sell its stake in Air India, just days after a parliamentary panel suggested giving the debt-ridden national carrier five years to revive itself. Authorities are currently drafting the invitation for bids and will submit it to the ministerial group given the task of overseeing Air India’s privatisation. The government reportedly wants to wrap up the transaction by June.

In a minor bureaucratic reshuffle, Sports Secretary Rahul Prasad Bhatnagar was moved to the panchayati raj ministry and was replaced by IAS officer Radhesyam Julaniya. IAS officer Sailesh was moved from the department of official language and appointed secretary of the Ministry of Minority Affairs.