After nearly six months, Namma Metro will be headed by a full-time Managing Director. The state government appointed Maheshwar Rao M, a Karnataka-cadre IAS officer from the 1995 batch, as Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on Thursday. Mr. Rao succeeds Anjum Parwez, an IAS officer from the 1994 batch, who has led the BMRCL since July 2021.

During Mr. Parwez’s tenure, the Bengaluru metro network expanded from 48 kilometers to 74 kilometers, making it the second largest in India. The state government appointed Mr. Parwez as the Principal Secretary of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department last year.

Mr. Rao graduated from Nizam College in Hyderabad with a BA in Mathematics, Economics, and Statistics and an MA in Economics from the University of Hyderabad. He served in the Karnataka government in a variety of capacities. He served as Commissioner of Industrial Development, Director of Industries and Commerce, and Principal Secretary of Labour.

In 2020, he was assigned as Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor at the Department of Space in Bengaluru. He was promoted to Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor in the same department two years later. The Union government repatriated him to the Karnataka cadre in December 2023.

Because Namma Metro is a joint venture of the state and union governments, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has mandated that the full-time MD may be removed/transferred only with the government of India’s prior agreement. Furthermore, the Karnataka government shall not assign him to any other/additional task without prior approval from the ministry.

Mr. Rao will have his work cut out for him this year, as Namma Metro plans to open the Yellow Line (RV Road-Bommasandra) and the northern extension of the Green Line. The other two under-construction lines are the Pink Link (Kalena Agrahara-Nagavara) and the Blue Line (Silk Board-Airport). The BMRCL is also focusing on network expansion through Phases 3, 3A, and 4.