Ravi Kota set to be next CMD of HAL

The PESB panel has recommended the name of Kota Ravi for the top post of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Thursday

Published on:

29 Jan 2026, 4:08 pm

New Delhi: Ravi Kota is set to be next Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a PSU under the Ministry of Defence. He has been recommended for the top post of HAL by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) panel on Thursday. Presently, he is serving as Director (Operations) in the same organisation.

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Ravi has been recommended for the post of CMD of HAL from a list of eight candidates who were interviewed by the PESB selection panel in its 8^th selection meeting of 2026, held on January 29. Out of eight candidates six candidates were from HAL and one each from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-Dac).

Ravi is a Mechanical Engineering Graduate and is an alumunus of IIM, Ahmedabad & IAS, Toulouse-France and has rich experience of over 30 years across various sectors.

Prior to his current role, he had rich and varied experience in various facets of fixed wing business of HAL and was responsible for operationalisation of LCA Tejas fleet in Indian Air Force. He spearheaded a team to conclude the biggest ever Contract in Indian defense sector for supplying 83 LCA Mk1A with a contract value of more than Rs 36000 crore in 2021 and also worked with IAF for additional 97 LCA Mk1A Order which would form the backbone of Indian Air Force in times to come.

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The PESB recommendation will now be forwarded to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for final approval. Upon clearance, Ravi will take over the leadership of HAL, India’s premier aerospace and defence manufacturing PSU, which plays a critical role in the country’s defence preparedness and indigenous aerospace capabilities.

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