New Delhi: Usha Padhee, the 1996-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer, has been given additional charge of disinvestment-bound Pawah Hans Ltd.
She is the first woman to head Pawan Hans, the state-run helicopter company which has 46 choppers in its fleet.
Her appointment was announced by Pawan Hans on its Twitter handle on Sunday morning.
Ms Usha padhee, Joint Secratary @MOCA_GoI has taken over the additional charge of Chairman & Managing Director of PawanHans Ltd, a mini ratna CPSE. She is the first woman CMD of the company . Welcome ! @ushapadhee1996 pic.twitter.com/7YPyCy7aEn
— Pawan Hans Ltd (@PawanHansLtd) April 7, 2019
Padhee is currently serving as joint secretary in the ministry of civil aviation and is looking after the government’s ambitious UDAN scheme that seeks to connect major cities and metros with unserved and under-served areas in the country.
She is being widely credited for the successful rollout of the UDAN phase III programme. Jharsuguda airport has reaped a rich dividend from this phase. The airport began operations from March 31 with SpiceJet launching operations from there. In all, six cities will be connected with Jharsuguda.
Padhee takes charge of Pawan Hans at a crucial time when the Centre has shortlisted bidders for selling the government and ONGC’s stakes in the company.
The Centre holds 51 per cent and ONGC 49 per cent stake in the company.
