Bureaucrat Rajiv Bansal was appointed the chairperson and managing director of national carrier Air India on Thursday, PTI reported. He will succeed Ashwani Lohani.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment as chairman and managing director, Air India in the rank and pay of additional secretary,” the Ministry of Personnel said in an order.

Bansal is an Indian Administrative Service officer from the 1988 batch. At present, he is the additional secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Last month, the government renewed its push to sell its entire stake in the national carrier. This is a major shift from the government’s stance in 2018 when it wanted to divest only 76% stake in the national carrier. However, the initial attempt at selling stake failed.