Ashok Lavasa to be new Civil Aviation Secretary

New Delhi: Ashok Lavasa, Special Secretary in the Power Ministry, has been appointed as the new Civil Aviation Secretary to take over from incumbent KN Srivastava.

Lavasa, a 1980 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, would take over his new post on January 01, a day after Srivastava`s retirement. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment earlier this week, officials said. A double-MA and an MBA, Lavasa had earlier served in various capacities in the Power Ministry and the Home Ministry, besides being the Resident Commissioner of Haryana in Delhi. The Civil Aviation Ministry would also shortly appoint a Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), as the incumbent Arun Mishra has been selected as the head of the UN watchdog International Civil Aviation Organization`s (ICAO) new Regional Director for the Asia-Pacific region. Mishra, a 1986-batch West Bengal cadre IAS officer, will replace Pakistani diplomat Mokhtar Awan at the ICAO regional office in Bangkok in January. As this is not an Indian government`s posting, Mishra is likely to quit the civil service before taking over his new appointment. Another crucial vacancy under the Ministry is that of the Airports Authority of India chairman, though incumbent VP Agrawal is learnt to have been given a three-month extension in view of the ongoing process of privatisation of six state- run airports.