About UsBoard of Directors

Mr. Dammu Ravi joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1989. He served in Indian Missions abroad in Mexico, Cuba, Brussels in various capacities from 1991 to 2001. He served at Headquarters in Ministry of External Affairs as Deputy Secretary/Director in West Europe and UN Divisions from 2001 to 2006. He served as Private Secretary to Minister of Tourism and Culture from March 2006 to May 2009. He was Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs responsible for India’s relations with Latin America and Caribbean countries from October 2009 to December 2013.

He served in Ministry of Commerce as Joint Secretary from January 2014 to February 2020 where he handled India’s Trade Policy, including WTO issues such as trade disputes, NAMA, fisheries negotiations, trade policy review etc. He was part of Indian delegation to WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi (MC X) in November 2015 and (MC XI) in Buenos Aires in December 2017. He also handled India’s trade and investment relations with regional groups such as G20, BRICS, Commonwealth, SCO, APEC, IORA, ASEM, UNCTAD etc. He was India’s chief negotiator in the mega regional free trade agreement ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)’.

On return to Ministry of External Affairs in March 2020, he was appointed as Additional Secretary (COVID & Europe).

Currently, he is Secretary (Economic Relations) in Ministry of External Affairs.

He holds a Masters Degree in Political Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. He has published research papers on trade matters:

(i) Standardizing India’s Exports,
(ii) Liberalizing India’s Agriculture Markets
Mr. Dammu Ravi is married and has a daughter.

Ms. Himani Pande is the Additional Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade handling divisions of Intellectual Property, Foreign Direct Investment, Government Procurement and International Trade Agreements. She holds a master’s degree of Science in Public Management and Governance from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

A 1998 batch IAS officer, Ms. Pande has worked in the state of Jharkhand in various capacities in the state both at the cutting edge of implementation as well as in public policy planning.

Ms. Pande enjoys trekking and is a passionate nature lover.

Shri Siddharth Mahajan, IAS is an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 2003 batch. During his glorious two-decade career, he held various positions in the Government of Rajasthan in the areas of Investment Promotion, Plan, local self-Government, Finance, Food & Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs, Panchayati Raj, Medical & Health and Family Welfare, Disaster Management & Relief and Civil Defence etc.. Prior to his posting in the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, he served as a Joint Secretary in the Lok Sabha Secretariat for a brief period.

Shri Mahajan contributed as a Director since January 2012 on the Boards of numerous Rajasthan State Public Sector Enterprises spread across Power, Finance, Urban Transport, Smart Cities, Industrial Development, Renewable Energy, Tourism and Small Industries and Health. He has rich experience of serving as a Managing Director of Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation Ltd., Rajasthan State Power Finance and Financial Services Corporation Ltd., and Chairman, Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation Limited.

Shri Mahajan is presently posted in the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India and handling the portfolios of Trade Finance, Foreign Trade (ASEAN), Export Promotion (Gems & Jewellery), Kimberley Process, EXIM Bank along with ASEAN-India Trade negotiations, Foreign Trade (South Asia/SAARC/Iran), etc.

Shri Mahajan is a Law graduate and holds a Bachelor degree in Economics.

Ms Aparna Bhatia Adviser in Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and she anchors matters relating to Bilateral Cooperation, Coin and Currency and Administration & Coordination.

Ms Aparna Bhatia is an officer of 1996 batch of the Indian Economic Service.

She has earlier served as Adviser International Economic Relations in Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and represented India as Director on the SAARC Development Fund, served as Sou-Sherpa to India’s G20 Sherpa and Finance Deputy’s Deputy (FDD). In this capacity, she also anchored all matters relating to OECD, BRICS Finance Track, ASEAN, etc.

Ms Bhatia has, in earlier capacities, served as Director (Multilateral Institutions) in Department of Economic Affairs, holding the charge of International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Finance Corporation (IFC), New Development Bank and World Bank (Finance, Infrastructure and Disaster Resilience Projects). She has also acted as Adviser to India’s Director on the New Development Bank. She also steered the setting up of SARTTAC- the South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center- of the IMF in New Delhi, India.

She has also headed the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Cell of Department of Economic Affairs for six years- a period when India witnessed peak roll-out of PPP projects in the country in a vast array of sectors and States.

Ms Bhatia served as Officer on Special Duty to Government of Nagaland for a period of five years where her charges included all externally assisted projects of the State, Urban Development, Skill Development for Self-Employment, Planning, Economics & Statistics, and Evaluation.

Ms Bhatia has authored the Nagaland State Human Development Report, designed websites for PPP projects, PPP policies as well as online PPP toolkits, led the team for development of around thirty documents on PPPs in India- encompassing PPP Curriculum, best practice documents in PPPs for roads, water supply, urban transport, health and education as well as case studies in PPPs.

Dr. Abhijit Phukon is an officer of Indian Economic Service (IES 2004 batch), presently serving as Economic Adviser and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Academically, he holds PhD in Finance, Master in Economics, and Post Graduate Diploma in HRD and Marketing. He published a number of research papers on various issues related to economics, management and finance in internationally reputed Journals.

Professionally, he brings in over twenty years academic, research and cross-cutting governance experience in public policy. He brings in domain knowledge and expertise in sustainable finance, CSR/SDGs/ESG, corporate governance, regulatory and compliance, energy and power sector, infrastructure and Public Private Partnership (PPP), international trade etc.

He worked with Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Commerce and Industry at various capacities including as Secretary, National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA). While being in service in the Government, he instituted large scale reforms and policy frameworks in the economic and social sectors.

Sristiraj Ambastha is the Executive Director of ECGC Limited and is also holding additional charge of Chairman-cum-Managing Director. He is a Whole-Time Director on the Board of the Company as well as the Managing Trustee of the National Export Insurance Account (NEIA), set up by the Government of India to promote project exports.

He joined ECGC as a Probationary Officer in 1995 and has headed Moradabad, Jodhpur and Mumbai Bank Business Branch Offices. He was also the Regional Manager of the Northern Region of the Company in New Delhi.

His 28-year career at ECGC, the premier export credit agency of India, spans a broad range of areas in both the short-term and medium- and long-term lines of businesses, ranging from product and policy development, marketing, audit and compliance, chief vigilance officer, human resource development, training, underwriting methods and models and international relations.

He has represented the Company at various international forums. He has been a speaker at many national and international conferences both in India and abroad.

He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and also professional qualification of MBA in Marketing and Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management.

Mr. Dinesh Kumar Khara is Chairman of the country’s largest Bank - State Bank of India. Having joined the bank as a Probationary Officer in 1984, he has rich experience in all facets of Banking. Before assuming office as Chairman, Mr. Khara has held several key positions in SBI such as MD (Global Banking & Subsidiaries), MD (Associates & Subsidiaries), MD & CEO (SBI Mutual Funds) and Chief General Manager - Bhopal Circle. He was also posted at Chicago for an overseas assignment.

As Managing Director, he led the International Banking Group, Large Corporate and Treasury operations in addition to the non-banking subsidiaries of the Bank viz., SBI Cards, SBIMF, SBI Life, SBI General etc. He also seamlessly executed the merger of five erstwhile Associate Banks and Bhartiya Mahila Bank, with SBI. Additionally, he also headed the Risk, IT and Compliance functions of the bank at various points.

Mr. Khara is a postgraduate in commerce from Delhi School of Economics and an MBA from FMS, New Delhi. He is also a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB). Mr. Khara is passionate about reading and has travelled extensively across the world.

Mr. Rakesh Sharma is the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of IDBI Bank Ltd. Prior to this, Mr. Sharma served as MD&CEO of Canara Bank and Lakshmi Vilas Bank. While in Canara Bank, he also held the position of Chairman in the group companies of Canara Bank.

Mr. Sharma held the position of Chief General Manager in State Bank of India [SBI] before moving to Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd in 2014. He had more than 33 years’ experience in SBI, holding key positions, which included Head of mid corporate accounts in Andhra Pradesh region, supervising retail operations in the States of Rajasthan, Uttarakhand & Western UP, banking operations in International Banking Group, credit assignments in specialized branches/ administrative offices, etc.

Mr. Rakesh Sharma is a Post Graduate in Economics, and a CAIIB.

Shri M.V. Rao is the Managing Director & CEO of Central Bank of India since 1st March, 2021. Before assuming charge of the current position, Shri Rao served as Executive Director of Canara Bank for over three years.

A seasoned banker, Shri Rao is a Post Graduate in Agriculture and began his professional career with erstwhile Allahabad Bank (now Indian Bank) in the year 1988. With over three and a half decades of experience in leadership roles, Shri Rao’s expertise extends to all facets of banking, including Corporate Credit, Retail Assets, Treasury Management, Human Resources, Credit Policy & Monitoring, Stressed Assets Management, Digital Banking, Risk Management, Business Process Transformation etc.

As Executive Director, Shri Rao oversaw the smooth merger of Syndicate Bank with Canara Bank.

Shri Rao is credited with bringing about a turnaround in the performance of Central Bank of India which is now in an advanced phase of transformation into a Digital Bank. Under his leadership, the Bank has made rapid strides in all facets of banking operations.

Being Chairman of the Negotiating Committee constituted by IBA, Shri Rao was instrumental in the smooth and timely conclusion of recently signed industry-level wage revision settlement/joint note between IBA and Unions/Associations representing officers and employees in the banking sector.

Shri Rao is a Director on the Board of Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and United India Insurance Co. Ltd. In addition, he is also a Member of the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Committee of the Reserve Bank of India, Chairman of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), Mumbai, Vice Chairman of Institute of Banking & Finance (IIBF), Mumbai and a Member on the Governing Board of Indian Institute of Bank Management, Guwahati.

Recently, Shri Rao has been elected as Chairman of Indian Banks’ Association.

Shri Ashwani Kumar is a Chartered Accountant, Post Graduate in Commerce and also a certified
member of Indian Institute of Banking and Finance. He has more than two decades of rich
experience in banking.
Shri Ashwani Kumar rose through the ranks serving in various Public Sector Banks such as Bank
of Baroda, Corporation Bank, Oriental bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank and Indian
Bank. His experience includes Wholesale Banking Division and Head of several Branches
including Industrial Finance Branches and Large Corporate Branches. As a General Manager, he
was heading Mid Corporate and Large Corporate verticals. He has served as a Zonal Manager,
heading various Zones and also as the Chief Finance Officer (CFO).
As an avid learner, he has attended various training programs in premier institutes in India and
abroad including IIM and CAFRAL. He has also completed the Leadership Development
Programme of IIM Bangalore, curated by the Banks Board Bureau in consultation with IBA and
Egon Zehnder International Pvt. Ltd.
Prior to joining UCO Bank as MD & CEO, he was Executive Director of Indian Bank.

Shri Ashok Kumar Gupta is a tax consultant and the proprietor of A. K. Gupta & Co. He has over 34 years of experience in tax and regulatory domains, having expertise in tax planning, litigation support, due diligence review, FEMA and other tax laws. He holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce (hons.) from St. Xavier’s College and in law from Calcutta University. Shri Gupta is a life member of Direct Taxes Professionals Association and has interests in reading books and periodicals and playing cricket and football.

Ms. Harsha Bangari is the Managing Director of the Bank. Prior to this, she was the Deputy Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the Bank.

Having joined the India Exim Bank in 1995, Ms. Bangari is a seasoned finance professional with experience of more than 27 years in the financial sector and has thorough knowledge of the Bank’s processes and business policies across functions, covering all products of the Bank including cross border project financing as well as Risk Management, Client Servicing and Liability side management, including Treasury Functions and Foreign Currency Resources. Her areas of interest include international debt capital markets and international project finance, where she has an operational experience of more than 14 years.

Ms. Bangari is a Bachelor of Commerce and a Chartered Accountant.

Tarun Sharma is the Deputy Managing Director of India Exim Bank. Prior to this, he was the Chief Financial Officer of the Bank and also lead the Bank’s technology initiatives. He has over two decades of global experience in trade, competitiveness, industry and infrastructure development and policy.

Prior to his stint as the CFO, Tarun was heading the Bank's New Delhi Office, with responsibilities covering structuring finance for enhancing capability of Indian companies; supporting socio-economic development projects in partner countries; handling government affairs, and contributing to policy formulation. During this time, Tarun was also responsible for launching a new initiative ‘Ubharte Sitaare Programme’ to identify enterprises that have latent potential by way of technology, product or process, and support them through a mix of debt, equity and technical assistance.

Tarun has, over the past two decades, worked across various functional groups across the Bank, including the Bank’s policy business, strategy formulation and a stint as the Executive Assistant to the Chairman. He has also served as the Bank’s Resident Representative (Americas) based in Washington DC, followed by a stint as a consultant with the World Bank’s Capacity Development and Partnerships Unit.

Tarun has authored a book ‘Project Exports: Connecting Continents with Indian Expertise’, exploring the instrumental role that project exports are capable of playing in India’s quest for a sustainable rapid economic growth. He has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Pune, followed by a postgraduate programme in management studies from Mumbai, and an advanced executive management programme from Cornell University in the U.S.

Tarun enjoys reading, listening to music and dabbling in technology in his spare time.

Ms. Deepali Agrawal joined the Bank in 1995 after completion of her master’s in management studies (Finance) from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. She is a commerce graduate and has worked in different capacities at both the domestic and international offices of the Bank over the past twenty-eight years. She has headed the Bank’s Western Region Representative Office and Singapore Representative Office. Having worked in diverse areas like Corporate Banking, Project Exports, Communications and Brand Management, Upliftment of Grassroots level artisans, Women Empowerment and Skill Development, Human Resources Management, Special Situations Group, she has successfully delivered the organisational goals, set in domestic and international markets. She is currently the Chief Financial Officer and head of the Treasury and Accounts Group of the Bank.

Ms. Agrawal is a qualified assessor for the Confederation of Indian Industry-Exim Bank Award for Business Excellence, which was instituted with the aim of enhancing the competitiveness of Indian companies. As a nominee director, she has been on the Board of several companies in diverse sectors. She has participated and contributed as a working group member at government-level committees related to policy development and road map development. Her key achievements include enhancing the Bank’s brand image and visibility, besides the upliftment of the grassroots level artisans and women empowerment through ideating, conceptualising, and implementing new initiatives. During the pandemic, she exceptionally managed the manpower resources and ensured safety of all staff by proactively bringing in innovative measures and ensured smooth functioning. She has also contributed majorly to building the asset base, increase in income and substantial recoveries for the Bank.