Joint secretary Kumar proposed as new DGCA

New Delhi: The aviation ministry has proposed the name of its joint secretary Prabhat Kumar as the next Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to PM Manmohan Singh-headed cabinet committee of appointments (ACC). Kumar is a 1985 batch IAS officer of UP cadre. Current DGCA Arun Mishra will demit office after four days.
The ministry's last-minute action of finally proposing a name for the post, that will otherwise fall vacant on December 31, came after realizing the fact that leaving DGCA headless and giving joint charge of it to an official at this stage could lead the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) downgrading the Indian aviation safety oversight system. The FAA just finished auditing the DGCA and will decide next month if India should retain its top billing or be downgraded to sub-Sahara Africa levels.
Read News in full 27/12/13 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India