India-born Anu Aiyengar to co-head JPMorgan’s M&A division for North America
Financial giant J P Morgan Chase has promoted India-born executive Anu Aiyengar as co-head of mergers and acquisitions for North America, making her one of the most senior women running a mergers group at a big bank on Wall Street. Aiyengar, 42, along with Henry Gosebruch, a German citizen who specializes in health care and […]
Indian American Teen Named ‘Child Genius’
Indian American middle school student Vanya Shivashankar beat 20 gifted teenagers from across the U.S. to win the title of “Child Genius 2014.” Thirteen-year-old Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas beat three other finalists to win $100,000 for a college fund in Lifetime’s intelligence contest “Child Genius.” Shivashankar, a student at California Trail Middle School, was one […]
Immigration Reform News 2015: H4 Visa Holders, H1B Dependent Spouses to Obtain Permission to Work, Seek Employment
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will grant employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders or foreign workers in the U.S. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director León Rodríguez, the new policy will take effect on May 26, 2015 for spouses of H-1B visa holders who are […]
Houston Housing Market Losing Energy
Houston’s booming housing market is losing some of its momentum due to the steep decline in oil prices in recent months. The Houston Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that finalized sales of homes in the metropolitan area increased by 6.1% in January from a year earlier, marking a deceleration from the market’s 11.6% year-over-year gain in December. […]
White House Names ‘DJ’ Patil as the First U.S. Chief Data Scientist
Arun Kumar, IANS Washington — The White House has named Dhanurjay ‘DJ’ Patil as its first chief data scientist to help shape policies and practices to help the U.S. remain a leader in technology and innovation. In a memo to the American people Feb. 19, Patil, 45, noted that “the Obama administration has embraced the […]
Rashad Hussain Named U.S. Special Envoy for Counterterrorism
Rashad Hussain has been appointed U.S. special envoy and coordinator for strategic counterterrorism communications, the U.S. State Department announced Feb. 18. The Indian American will lead a staff comprised of a number of U.S. departments and agencies to “expand international engagement and partnerships to counter violent extremism and to develop strategic counterterrorism communications around the […]
Indian workers win $14 million in US labour trafficking case
A federal jury on Wednesday awarded $14.1 million to five Indian guest workers who claimed they were defrauded and made to live in squalid conditions after being lured to work for an Alabama-based marine and fabrication company following Hurricane Katrina. The jury issued its verdict against Mobile, Alabama-based Signal International LLC and its associates in a […]
Outrage in India after Hindu temple vandalized with hate message in US
WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI: There has been strong reactions in India after reports of a Hindu temple being vandalized in the US. A Hindu temple was vandalized with hate message and swastika spray-painted on its wall in the US state of Washington, the latest incident that has shocked the community ahead of the Maha Shivratri festival. The […]
Over $120K in Donations Raised for Sureshbhai Patel; Lawsuit Filed
Sureshbhai Patel, the Indian grandfather who was hospitalized and left partially paralyzed by an Alabama police officer, Eric Parker, has already received more than $120,000 in donations through crowd-funding efforts set up by the Indian American community on his behalf, according to the Web site inquisitr.com. Patel’s recovery fund has raised a total of $121,823 […]
Indian American researcher gets $500,000 Science Foundation award
WASHINGTON: Gurpreet Singh, an Indian American assistant professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering at Kansas State University, has received a $500,000 National Science Foundation Career award for his research on nanosheets. The prestigious award will also help Singh organize educational activities for high school students and teachers. Singh has received the award for his research […]
Physicist for India’s Mars Mission: ‘Worked Perfectly’
Richard Springer, India West Euphoria was the word of the day Sept. 24, as India’s space program took a huge leap forward by sending its Mangalyaan satellite into orbit around Mars, making it the first country in Asia to do so and the only country to succeed on its first try (see separate story). One of the […]
Obama Joins Narendra Modi on Visit to Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Arun Kumar, India west Washington: In a spontaneous gesture, U.S. President Barack Obama joined Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, the American civil rights leader who drew inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi. Modi, who had started his day with a visit to the Gandhi memorial in front of the Indian embassy, […]
Scientist’s Speedy Wound-Healing Products to Launch in India
By IANS , India west Kolkata — An Indian American researcher plans to introduce her pioneering range of speedy wound-healing products in the country to benefit the poor. Molecular biologist Chanda Zaveri ran away from Kolkata 30 years ago to escape an arranged marriage and became a top scientist after training under two-time Nobel prize winner […]
Two Indian Women Named to UN Foundation Advisory Council
By PTI, India west New York — Two Indian American women are among 12 people named to an advisory council of the United Nations Foundation’s campaign that focuses on young American girls and raises awareness about issues facing adolescent girls. Akila Somasegar and Anjula Acharia-Bath are among the 12 people on the advisory council of the […]
U.S Pledges $4.8 M to Fight Child Marriages
By Lalit K. Jha, Indiawest WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States has announced $4.8 million to fund projects in over half a dozen countries, including India, to end child and forced marriages. Other countries include Nepal, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Yemen. “We know the fight against child marriage is the fight against extreme […]
Colin Lobo Receives ASTM International Award of Merit
By a Staff Reporter, Indiawest Dr. Colin Lobo, a senior vice president, engineering, at the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association in Silver Spring, Md., recently received ASTM’s highest organizational recognition for individual contributions to standards activities, the Award of Merit and accompanying title of ASTM fellow. A member of ASTM International since 1992, the Indian […]
Mumbai-Based Kanika Mishra Wins Editorial Cartoonist Award
By Richard Springer, India West Kanika Mishra, a Mumbai-based editorial cartoonist, has won the “Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning for 2014,” an annual honor bestowed by Cartoonists Rights Network International, a U.S.-based nonprofit seeking to protect the creative freedom of social and editorial cartoonists. CRNI said the award goes to “a cartoonist in great […]
Texas Mom Suspected of Killing Son Found Dead With Husband
In a tragic ending to a prolonged police investigation, Pallavi Dhawan, suspected of killing her young son Arnav last January, and her husband Sumeet, were found dead Sept. 3 in their Frisco, Texas home. Initially, Frisco police did not identify the two bodies found in the home, but late Sept. 4, authorities confirmed that Sumeet […]
Former Hindu Temple Leader Annamalai Convicted of Fraud
By India West Staff After a two-week jury trial, Annamalai Annamalai, also known as Dr. Commander Selvam and Swamiji Sri Selvam Siddhar, the former leader of the now-defunct Hindu Temple of Georgia, was convicted in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia Aug. 25 on 34 felony counts. “This defendant traded on his perceived religious […]
New Yorker Arrested for Mowing Down Sikh Man
New York — A 55-year-old man has been arrested here on charges that he called a Sikh man a “terrorist” and mowing him down with his pick-up truck, in an apparent hate crime. Police in Queens arrested Joseph Caleca of Setauket in Suffolk County and charged him with attempted murder and hate crime, ABC 7 News reported. Caleca had […]
