BANGALORE: Hit by a first-of-its-kind succession impasse, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will continue without a permanent head for some more time. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has now asked P V Deshmukh to continue in his role as an officiating chairman for the next three months, till a new head is appointed.
“We issued his extension orders on January 31 and he will continue holding the chairman’s post in the officiating role, till a permanent decision is taken. He will continue his appointed role of Managing Director of MiG Complex,” sources said. When contacted, Deshmukh confirmed the receipt of the order.
Sources told Express that the appointment of R K Tyagi of Pawan Hans as HAL chairman might be again embroiled in delays, this despite his papers reaching the last lap of clearances.
While Tyagi’s close aides say he will “soon join” HAL, insiders in MoD say there are last-minute issues to be sorted out. “We hope that in the second week of February orders should be out, unless something unexpected happens. A close follow-up of these matters are often seen as an offence,” sources said.
The MoD on Wednesday also appointed T Suvarna Raju as HAL’s Director (Design & Development). He was the General Manager of Aircraft Division, with over 30 years of experience in the company. He is credited with conceptualising and preparing the performance-based maintenance management support system for Hawk Mk 132 Advanced Jet Trainer aircraft and brought on board the customer and MoD authorities to support the implementation of this project for the first time. “The technology development for forming transparencies for Hawk, LCA and IJT aircraft are his major achievements,” says HAL.