The retired IAS officer was a part of Air India before it was privatised.
Pradeep Singh Kharola is the Chairman and Managing Director of the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).
Amid the raging paper leak allegations over NEET and UGC-NET exams, on June 22, the Centre replaced the Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA) Subodh Kumar Singh. The 1985-batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Pradeep Singh Kharola is now the new chief in his place.
Pradeep Singh Kharola is the Chairman and Managing Director of the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and has been assigned the charge of NTA till a new director is appointed.
In an official press release, it was stated, “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the following: Assignment of the additional charge of the post of Director General, National Testing Agency, Ministry of Education to Shri Pradeep Singh Kharola, IAS.”
Earlier, the retired IAS officer was a part of Air India before it was privatised. He was the Chairman and Managing director of Air India. He was put in charge when the government was deciding the disinvestment in the aviation company. He has also served as the Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC).
He is a 1985-batch IAS officer from Karnataka. He was also the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Karnataka in 2012-13. Pradeep Singh Kharola headed the Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) in Karnataka, where he raised funds from international institutions for building infrastructure in cities.
This is not all. He has also served as Joint Secretary of the National Administrative Reform Commission. In his career, he has been a part of urban governance, urban public transport and policy-making. He is believed to be an expert in putting a company out of loss and making it profitable. The very proof is when he brought Bengaluru's city bus service and its Metropolitan Transport Corporation out of huge losses and increased their profits.
For his exceptional work in his field, he was awarded the National Award for e-governance. He was also given the Prime Minister's Outstanding Public Administration Award in 2013. Even though he has worked extensively in Karnataka, he hails from Uttarakhand. He holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Indore University and did his post-graduation in Industrial Engineering from IIT Delhi and was a university topper. He also has a Master's degree in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management in Manila, Philippines.
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