Ravi Kota, widely known as the “LCA man” within defence circles, has been selected to take over as the head of state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) from May this year after the current Chairman and Managing Director, DK Sunil, retires at the end of April.
As per sources in the defence establishment, Kota, who currently serves as Director (Operations) at HAL, has been chosen by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), with the remaining procedural formalities now underway.
The PESB considered a pool of eight candidates for the post, at least six of whom were from within HAL. The Board met on Thursday to finalise its selection.
Kota’s appointment comes at a critical juncture for HAL, particularly in the context of delays in the delivery of the Tejas Mk1A aircraft. The programme has missed multiple delivery deadlines due to a combination of factors, including delays in engine supplies from US manufacturer GE, as well as setbacks in the integration of the weapons package and the radar.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has made it clear that it will induct the aircraft only after all commitments made by HAL for the IAF-specific variant of the Tejas are fully met.
It is hoped that Kota, given his strong operational background and long association with the Light Combat Aircraft programme, will be able to fast-track deliveries and scale up production to meet the country’s operational requirements.
Significantly, Kota will assume charge just as the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is set to submit a report to the Ministry of Defence on measures to transform HAL into a modern aircraft manufacturing company. The report is expected to be handed over by 31 March.
A mechanical engineering graduate, Kota is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and ISAE-SUPAERO (IAS), Toulouse, France. He previously served as General Manager in HAL’s LCA division, where he played a key role in the operationalisation of the LCA Tejas fleet within the IAF.
Kota led the team that concluded the landmark contract for the supply of 83 LCA Mk1A aircraft in 2021, a deal valued at over Rs 36,000 crore. He also worked closely with the IAF on plans for an additional order of 97 LCA Mk1A fighters, which are expected to form the backbone of the Air Force in the years ahead.
He was instrumental in establishing infrastructure and capacity for the manufacture of 16 LCA aircraft per year and oversaw the delivery of the LCA twin-seater aircraft for the first time in the programme’s history.
According to his HAL biography, Kota also led the indigenisation drive to enhance local content in the LCA-Tejas programme and transformed the LCA division into a lead integrator by successfully outsourcing major fuselage assemblies to private industry partners.
