Ashwani Lohani, the former Chairman and Managing Director of Air India and ex-Chairman of the Railway Board, has been appointed as the Director of the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) in New Delhi. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved his appointment on June 4, 2025, for a tenure of three years. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly, filling the vacancy left after the exit of former power secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai. Lily Pandeya, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, was officiating in the role in the interim.
Lohani, an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME) officer from the 1980 batch, brings a wealth of experience from various leadership roles across the tourism, aviation, and railway sectors. His appointment is viewed as a significant administrative development at PMML, especially as the institution has recently undergone a restructuring of its society and executive council. With his track record, Lohani is expected to bring transformative direction to the institution.
Known as a "turnaround specialist," Lohani is credited with reviving the Fairy Queen steam locomotive and has a history of improving struggling entities. He is listed in the Limca Book of Records' 2007 edition for earning four engineering degrees at the age of 21 in 1979 and holds a Guinness record from 1998 for running the Fairy Queen. He also played a role in the nomination of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and Bodhgaya's Mahabodhi Temple as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Lohani's previous roles include serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) in 2001 and the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (MPTDC) from 2004 to 2010, serving three terms. He is credited with turning around both ITDC and MPSTDC during his tenures. After retiring from government service, he also served as the CEO of the GMR Group. At Air India, he launched the airline's longest nonstop route between Delhi and San Francisco.
The PMML has recently reconstituted its society and executive council, expanding the executive council from 29 to 34 members. Nripendra Mishra, former principal secretary to the prime minister, has been reappointed as the chairperson of the organization for a five-year term. New members include Smriti Irani, former Union minister; Rajiv Kumar, former vice-chairman of NITI Aayog; General Syed Ata Hasnain (retired); filmmaker Shekhar Kapur; Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister; 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 organization, headed by Nripendra Misra.
