Foreign Minister Penny Wong has appointed UNSW Prof. Veena Sahajwalla to the Australian Government’s Centre for Australia-India Relations Advisory Board.
Prof. Sahajwalla, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) at the University of New South Wales, is recognised internationally for her work in materials science, recycling innovation and the development of technologies that support a circular economy.
Announcing three new appointments, Wong also appointed AirTrunk founder and CEO Robin Khuda and Adarsh Australia director Faz Pollard to the advisory board.
Four existing members — Amrit Gill, Catriona Jackson, Mitu Bhowmick Lange AM and Amit Singh — have also been reappointed.
Prof. Sahajwalla has played an active role in Australia-India bilateral engagements, particularly in science, innovation and sustainable materials.
Her research at the UNSW SMaRT Centre includes MICROfactorie™️ technologies and Green Steel™️ Polymer Injection Technology, which aim to recover valuable materials from waste and transform them into new manufacturing feedstock and products.
Prof Sahajwala wrote on social post,
“Delighted to have been appointed by Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong to the Government’s Centre for Australia-India Relations Advisory Board.”
Her work has also focused on materials resource recovery, circular economy solutions and strengthening Australia’s sovereign capability by reducing reliance on vulnerable global supply chains.
Khuda is the founder and chief executive of AirTrunk, a Sydney-based data centre company backed by US private equity giant Blackstone.
AirTrunk recently announced plans to invest more than 3 trillion rupees (about A$50 billion) in data centre projects across India by 2030, targeting the rapidly growing demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
The company plans to develop about five gigawatts of data centre capacity across India. Its largest planned project is a three-gigawatt data centre hub in Maharashtra, involving an estimated investment of about 2 trillion rupees.
Khuda made the investment announcement after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior government officials.
Modi said the investment would strengthen India’s position as a global hub for cloud computing and AI while creating jobs, supporting local supply chains and driving innovation.
The Centre for Australia-India Relations was established by the Australian Government in 2023 to strengthen engagement between Australia and India across government, business, academia and civil society.
Wong said the new board members had been selected for their expertise and experience in areas important to the Australia-India economic relationship.
“The appointments come at a time of great momentum in Australia-India relations,” Wong said, pointing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Melbourne and continued cooperation under the Australia-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The advisory board helps set strategic priorities for the Centre’s programs, supporting collaboration across business, arts, education, health, science, technology and sport.
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