HAL Appoints Ajay Shrivastava As Director (Engineering & R&D) & Manisha Chandra As Government Nominee Director

Ajay Kumar Shrivastava, Executive Director (ARDC) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), has been appointed as Director (Engineering and Research & Development) of the company w.e.f. July 15, 2025, subject to the approval of shareholders.

Further, Manisha Chandra, Joint Secretary (Aerospace) of the company, has been appointed as Part-time Official Director (Government Nominee Director) in place of Amit Satija w.e.f. July 15, 2025, subject to the approval of shareholders.

Shrivastava is a certified Project Management Professional with 37 years of experience at HAL, which he joined in 1988 as a Management Trainee. His contributions include avionics integration and upgrades for aircraft such as HS-748, Do-228, Sea King Helicopters, and IL-78. As head of TARDC, Kanpur, he led DGCA certification for civil HAL Do-228 aircraft and spearheaded indigenisation efforts and system improvements aligned with Atmanirbhar Bharat at HAL’s Transport Aircraft Division. Shrivastava is an electronics engineering graduate from HBTI Kanpur and holds an MS in Aviation Safety & Aircraft Airworthiness from ENAC/ENSICA, France.

Chandra is an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 2004 batch from the Gujarat cadre, currently serving as Joint Secretary (Aerospace) in the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence. She has held administrative roles across three districts and five major departments in Gujarat. As Secretary, Expenditure Department of Finance, she served on the Boards of key state PSUs, including GUVNL, GETCO, and GSFS. She has led multiple technology-driven, citizen-focused initiatives in governance, several of which have received recognition from national institutions such as NITI Aayog. Chandra holds a master’s degree in public policy and management from King’s College, London, and a master’s in political science from the University of Allahabad.