New Delhi, Oct 28 : Vipin Kumar, an IAS officer of the 1996 batch of Bihar cadre, took over as Chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Monday, an official said.

Prior to his appointment as AAI Chairman, Vipin Kumar was serving as Additional Secretary in the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education.

Vipin Kumar, during his tenure at the Ministry of Education, was looking after Samagra Shiksha Scheme, National Education Policy-2020, PM-SHRI Scheme and other important assignments, a statement noted.

During his posting in Bihar, Vipin Kumar worked as District Magistrate in many districts of the state.

He also held several key positions, like the Chairman of Bihar Bridge Construction Corporation; Managing Director of Bihar Milk Cooperative Federation (SUDHA) and Director, Mid-Day Meal Scheme-Bihar, the statement said.

Vipin Kumar holds a degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering.

In his new assignment as the AAI Chairman, Vipin Kumar will lead efforts to achieve the AAI's organisational goals of developing world-class airport infrastructure, leading air navigation services and providing top-of-the-line passenger facilities across the country, the statement mentioned.

His role will be instrumental in charting the roadmap of the Indian aviation sector towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Viksit Bharat-2047, the statement said.

The Airports Authority of India is a statutory body under the Central government's Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The AAI is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India.

The body provides Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) services across the country's airspace and also the adjoining oceanic areas.

Currently, the AAI manages over 130 airports in the country, including over 30 international airports.

Besides, the AAI also has ground installations at all airports to take care of the safety of aircraft operations.

The AAI has its headquarters in the national capital at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, Safdarjung Airport.

The statutory body has over 17,000 employees.

Besides the headquarters in Delhi, the AAI also has regional offices -- Eastern Regional Headquarters in Kolkata; Western Regional Headquarters in Mumbai; Northern Regional Headquarters in Delhi; Southern Regional Headquarters in Chennai and Northeastern Regional Headquarters in Guwahati.

/IANS