Indian-Americans named to US EXIM advisory councils

New York, July 18 (IANS) The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), which is the official export credit agency of the country, named new members, including many Indian-Americans, to its four advisory subcommittees.

The subcommittees -- Council on Climate, Council on China Competition, Council on Advancing Women in Business and Council on Small Business -- advise EXIM on its initiatives as the agency works to advance key Biden-Harris administration priorities.

Pavneet Singh, CEO of Infobalize, was appointed to the 17-member Council on China Competition. Singh is an independent consultant and currently advises a range of public and private companies and US government agencies on issues related to emerging technology, national security, supply chain resiliency, public finance and broader geopolitics.

Previously, he served in several roles on the National Security Council (NSC) and National Economic Council (NEC) in the Obama Administration.

As part of this council, Singh and other members will provide guidance on advancing comparative leadership of the US with respect to China and supporting US innovation and employment through competitive export finance.

Four Indian-Americans were appointed to the 19-member Council on Climate, including Nava Akkineni, Vice President of Emerging Markets of Nextracker; Karl Mehta, Chairman of Quad Investors Network; Shubha Nagarajan, Managing Director, Global Capital Advisory, North America, GE Energy Financial Services, and Meghan Pasricha, Managing Director of Riverstone Holdings.

As part of this council, they will help the agency identify gaps in private-sector financing opportunities and fulfill the mandate from Congress for EXIM to promote and support environmentally beneficial, renewable-energy, energy-efficiency, and energy-storage exports from the US.

Daniel Rajaiah, who serves as the Director of Global Strategy and Operations for Mastercard, was appointed to the Council on Small Business, which consists of 18 members.

In 2020, Rajaiah was presented with the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Award for advising the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum on foreign investment opportunities.

As an independent federal agency, EXIM contributes to the US economic growth by supporting tens of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the country. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the US Treasury for repayment of US debt.