From the workshop floor at Mancheswar to the chairman’s chair in New Delhi, the IIT-trained mechanical engineer now leads a Navratna company at a defining moment for Indian logistics
A Chairman Who Rose From Within
Container Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR) appointed Ajit Kumar Panda as Chairman and Managing Director effective August 1, 2026, after approval from the Ministry of Railways. He succeeded Sanjay Swarup, who retired on July 31, 2026. The Public Enterprises Selection Board had recommended him after an interview round on April 18, 2026, in which eight senior candidates took part. His tenure runs until his superannuation on August 31, 2028, or until further orders.
An Engineer Forged at NIT Rourkela and IIT Delhi
Panda holds a BE (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from NIT Rourkela and an M.Tech in Thermal Engineering from IIT Delhi. He joined the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers in the 1990 batch, and his career now spans more than three decades across railway services, operations, production, infrastructure, rolling stock and public-private partnerships. He has twice received the Railway Minister’s National Award for Outstanding Service.
From Mancheswar Workshop to Railway Board
His railway career runs through Odisha. He served as Chief Workshop Manager at Mancheswar on East Coast Railway and held several positions on South Eastern Railway. He later became Director (Production Units and Efficiency & Research) at the Ministry of Railways’ Railway Board. Colleagues credit him with transformational leadership at the Mancheswar Workshop, where a series of interventions drove organisational change and development.
The RVNL Years: Factories, Depots and Record Production
At Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), Panda served as Executive Director for Mechanical Engineering and for Project Planning & Development. He led the setting up of several state-of-the-art factories and depots through fast-track turnkey execution using composite contracts. He piloted rolling stock plans at the Railway Board for a rapid switch to high-horsepower locomotives and LHB-type coaches. He also sat on the boards of four SPV companies: Haridaspur Paradip Railway Company, Angul Sukinda Railway, Kutch Railway Company and Krishnapatnam Railway Company.
Building CONCOR’s Backbone as Director (Projects & Services)
Panda joined CONCOR’s board as Director for Projects and Services in December 2022. Under his leadership, the company focused on infrastructure such as Multi-Modal Logistics Parks and the procurement of new rolling stock and handling equipment. That groundwork made him a natural choice for the top job, and his elevation reflects continuity in leadership from within the organisation.
Taking Charge of a Company Under Competitive Pressure
Panda inherits a company with steady volumes but tight margins. CONCOR’s Q1 FY27 throughput grew 8.89% year on year to 14.04 lakh TEUs, backed by 9.78% growth in EXIM volumes, while revenue stayed near ₹2,160 crore. Analysts attributed the flat earnings to price-based competition in the logistics market. The board declared an interim dividend of ₹1.60 per share for FY27.
Cold Chain and Customers Become the Early Agenda
Two priorities have already shown in Panda’s first weeks. On cold chain, he told the ASSOCHAM Cold Chain & Warehousing Summit 2026 in New Delhi on September 10 that India needs integrated, cost-effective cold chain infrastructure for its agri, food and pharma supply chains, and he shared CONCOR’s work on rail-based reefer services, Hybrid IceBattery technology and temperature-controlled warehousing. On customers, CONCOR’s Customer Meet in Kanpur, the event his LinkedIn activity now features, carried the theme “Stronger Partnerships | Greater Opportunities | A Connected Future.” The meet was addressed by Director (International Marketing & Operations) Vijoy Kumar Singh, and it highlighted CONCOR’s readiness to run daily container trains from ICD Kanpur to ports, subject to operational requirements and demand. The meet also reflects the “Customer Value Creation: Our Ethos” line on Panda’s profile banner.
Corridors, Parks and Alliances: The Test of Execution
Panda’s tenure will turn on three things: Dedicated Freight Corridors, multimodal parks and new partnerships. Enhanced Dedicated Freight Corridor connectivity between NCR and JNPT took effect on June 1, 2026, and CONCOR is exploring integrated logistics collaboration with global shipping major CMA CGM. If his background in projects and public-private partnerships translates into execution, his time at the helm could reshape how India moves its containers.
