State-owned carrier Air India has sought Rs 2121 crore ($309 million) of additional equity from the government for the fiscal year 2018-19 to make pending payments to its vendors, a source at the airline told Reuters on Monday.
Air India owes about Rs 1800 crore to its vendors, including lessors and banks that have demanded payment from the beleaguered airline, after the government’s unsuccessful efforts to find a buyer for its 76% stake.
The airline expects to receive the additional equity within the next 7 to 10 days after which it will be able to clear all dues, the source said, adding that this is above the 6.5 billion rupees it has already received for the year.
India last month shelved a plan to sell a majority stake in Air India due to lack of interest from bidders, in the latest setback in its ambitious efforts to rescue the ailing airline that has survived for years using taxpayer funds.
The government will continue to support the loss-making airline’s financial requirements while it works on alternatives, Junior Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha had said, without giving a specific timeline for a new plan.
Three banks and two aircraft leasing firms have served default notices on Air India over the last few weeks, the Business Standard newspaper reported earlier on Monday, raising concerns about the state-owned carrier’s finances and credit-worthiness.
San Francisco, United States-based Wells Fargo Trust Services and UAE’s state-owned Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) have sent letters of demand for pending rental payments, the newspaper said, citing sources
A DAE spokesman told Reuters that they were not owed $10 million by Alliance Air, and that they had not issued a notice of default to Alliance. Alliance Air is a unit of Air India that operates regional flights to smaller towns and cities in India. Wells Fargo could not be reached outside usual US business hours.
Three lenders from a 22-bank consortium have also written to Air India raising concerns that the company is turning into a non-performing asset, Business Standard said. The three banks are Standard Chartered Bank, Dena Bank and Bank of India Ltd.
The airline has received a notice from banks for non-payment of dues that is being looked into by the government, the source confirmed. A Standard Chartered spokesman in India declined to comment. Bank of India and Dena Bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trisha Shetty, founder and CEO of SheSays, a nonprofit that provides Indian women with the resources to act against sexual violence, is among the 12 rising social change-makers from around the world selected as the first class of Obama Foundation Scholars at Columbia University in Manhattan.
The university said in a release June 28 that the scholars from Asia, Africa, South America, South Asia, and Europe, have each shown a commitment to finding practical solutions to complex challenges facing society.
“When President Obama left office, he challenged us to believe — not in his ability to bring about change, but ours,” said Obama Foundation CEO David Simas. “Through our partnership with Columbia with this new scholars’ program and through all of the foundation’s work, we are living this call to action. I am incredibly impressed with the talented young leaders who will be joining Columbia and the Foundation this fall and looking forward to helping support and scale their work,” Simas said.
According to its website, SheSays aims to end gender based discrimination and advance women’s rights in India by engaging with the youth and activating them as agents of social change to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
“Equality, Safety and Autonomy should be a guaranteed right and reality for women around the world,” the organization says. Shetty holds India’s leaders to account as evident from a SheSays post on Facebook post April 15, which read – “”We are asking for accountability. We are asking for answers.” Our Founder, Trisha Shetty vehemently condemns all politicans who have failed the girls and women of this country.”
Portraying an activist grassroots agenda, the Facebook post goes on to say, “We cannot be mere bystanders anymore. We cannot let politicians get away with making abhorrent statements. We deserve more from our representatives. Speak up. Take to the streets. Find out where protests are taking place in your area and lend your voice and your support.”
The new, year-long academic program based at Columbia hopes to strengthen the expertise and knowledge of individuals who have demonstrated the ability to be transformative leaders in their communities, nations, and the world. The goals are consistent with the Obama Foundation’s mission to inspire, empower, and connect the next generation of civic leaders, the University says.
“When President Obama left office, he challenged us to believe — not in his ability to bring about change, but ours. Through our partnership with Columbia with this new Scholars program and through all of the Foundation’s work, we are living this call to action. I am incredibly impressed with the talented young leaders who will be joining Columbia and the Foundation this fall and looking forward to helping support and scale their work,” Obama Foundation CEO David Simas is quoted as saying in the press release.
The 12 Obama Foundation Scholars at Columbia University will have the opportunity to interact with the separate but affiliated Obama Foundation Scholars cohort based at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.
The program will include a core seminar led by Columbia faculty that will run the length of the academic year, an experiential learning component that will engage the Scholars in the work of policy development and implementation, involving the Obama Foundation and Columbia World Projects, an initiative designed to apply the best evidence-based academic research to the creation and application of practical solutions to real-world challenges and a non-core seminar coursework that will provide Scholars with the flexibility to select one or two courses at Columbia, according to the press release.
A global trade war has broken out. The United States fired the first salvo and there has been retaliation by the European Union, Canada, China and even India. Tariffs on certain imported goods have been increased in a tit-for-tat reaction.
Analysts see it as a limited war in the understanding that Donald Trump is all for “free-trade”. But this view denies the fact that a tectonic shift is taking place in the world. It is a war for ascendency to global leadership; a contest between the US and China.
China is heaving its might on the world. President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative is an open call for its global influence. In July 2017, China launched the ambitious plan to invest in the technology of the future—artificial intelligence.
There are dark (unconfirmed) whispers about how it is going about acquiring many new-age technologies by rolling over western companies operating in vast markets.
The last century belonged to the US and Europe with Russia as the communist outlier. China became mighty all because of the emergence of the free trade regime in the world. Just some 35-odd years ago, it was behind the iron curtain.
But then the World Trade Organization (WTO) was born in January 1995. China’s trade boomed. It took over the world’s manufacturing jobs. India, too, found its place by servicing outsourced businesses like telemarketing. “Shanghaied” and “Bangalored” entered the lexicon—as jobs (and pollution) moved continents. This way, globalization fulfilled its purpose to usher in a new era of world prosperity. Or so, we thought.
Instead, globalization has made the world more complicated and convoluted. In early 1990s, when the discussions on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) were at its peak, there was a clear North-South divide.
The then-developed world pushed for opening up of trade. It wanted markets and protection through rules on “fair” trade and intellectual property. The then developing world was worried what the free trade regime would do to its nascent and weak industrial economies.
More importantly, there were fears of what these new open trade rules would do to its farmers, who would have to compete with the disproportionately subsidised farmers of the developed world.
In 1999 tensions flared up at the WTO ministerial meet in Seattle. By this time, reality of globalisation had dawned and so it was citizens of the rich world who protested for labour rights, worried about outsourcing of their jobs and environmental abuses.
But these violent protests were crushed. The next decade was lost in the financial crisis. The new winners told the old losers that “all was well”.
Today Trump has joined the ranks of the Leftist Seattle protesters, while India and China are the new defenders of free trade. The latter in fact want more, much more of it.
But again, is it so straightforward? All these arrangements are built on the refusal to acknowledge the crisis of employment. The first phase of globalisation led to some displacement of labour and this is what Trump is griping about.
But the fact is that this phase of globalisation has only meant war between the old elite (middle-classes in the world of trade and consumerism) and the new elite. It has not been long enough or deep enough to destroy the foundations of the livelihoods of the vast majority of the poor engaged in farming. But it is getting there.
But this is where the real impact of globalisation will be felt. Global agricultural trade remains distorted and deeply contentious. The trade agreements targeted basics like procurement of foodgrains by governments to withstand scarcity and the offer of minimum support price to farmers.
Right now, the Indian government is making the right noises that it will stand by its farmers. But we will not be able to balance this highly imbalanced trade regime if we don’t recognise that employment is the real crisis.
It is time that this round of trade war should be on the need for livelihood opportunities. Global trade talks must discuss employment not just industry. It must value labour and not goods.
This is what is at the core of the insecurity in the world. It is not about trade or finance. It is about the biggest losers: us, the people and the planet. The link to the original article follows: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Talk about one industry that’s growing by leaps and bounds in India, aviation gives a tough beating to most others. The market is expected to cater to 478 million passengers by 2036. * And India seen as the third largest aviation market by 2025. According to global airlines’ body IATA, India has been successfully winning the crown for being the world’s fastest growing domestic aviation market for the three straight years till 2017. **
An important factor behind this burgeon is government schemes like UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) and NABH Nirman. While the first aims to connect 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads across the country, the latter targets to expand airport capacity by more than five times to handle a billion trips in a year.
What does this massive expansion translate to? Well, to start with, there are going to be an enormous number of jobs – almost 2.5 to 5 lac job opportunities are being created by the aviation sector. As planned under UDAN, leading airlines such as Vistara & Indigo are procuring more aircraft to fill the supply & demand gap in tier 2 & 3 cities. This will give a major boom to jobs in customer service, operations, logistics, airport management, retail, medical tourism, and many more sectors. If the aviation market excites you, you could easily pursue it. The best way is to get your undergraduate & postgraduate degree in aviation.
It is a thing of the past when the Indian aviation industry was a government-owned industry; it is privately held today. With approximately 15 domestic airlines & above 60 international airlines being operating in India and up to 100% foreign equity allowed by the means of automatic approvals pertaining to the establishment of Greenfield Airports and up to 74% to the existing airports, getting trained in aviation management is a smart move. A BBA in aviation management teaches 12 pass students the fundamentals of Aviation, Travel, and Tourism industry functions, basics of business communication and economics, Aviation Operations, Safety and Security and role of human resource in the aviation industry.
With Indian companies intending to buy 2100 new planes worth US$ 290 billion, and factors such as infrastructure modernization, huge investment, expanding air fleet and an ever-growing economy making aviation the hottest sector in terms of career, you might want to join the party sooner than later. Getting a unique and well-structured MBA programme in aviation management is the cornerstone promising a great career graph. You are not only trained with a specialized domain, providing specialized knowledge and training of areas to be served in the aviation industry – fleet management, ground handling, cargo, safety & security, customer service, medical tourism, crew scheduling, and ticketing.
The Institute of Logistics and Aviation Management (ILAM), with its state-of-the-art campuses in major metro cities, offers competitive and specialised BBA &MBA aviation programs in partnership with companies such as Indigo, Spicejet, Jet Airways as its recruiters. These programs are not only unique but also come with inbuilt live practical sessions pertaining to emergency exit of the Airbus 320, aircraft ground handling and safety training, and Galileo software training to name a few. It is amazing to see how this course can provide a blend of practical and classroom teaching which makes you a preferred candidate for your future employer. If you were to count the benefits of pursuing a career in the aviation industry, bright professional opportunities, a rewarding salary package, the chance to travel around the world, are some attractive factors. To know more, visit ILAM’s website here.
There are four Indian American-led companies that are among the World Economic Forum’s 2018 cohort of Technology Pioneers, that have been chosen among the group of 61 early-stage companies from around the world, including Cohesity, CognitiveScale, ThoughtSpot and Drive.ai.
The cohort of companies, according to WEF, are pioneering new technologies and innovations ranging from the use of artificial intelligence in drug discovery, the development of autonomous vehicles, advancing cybersecurity and reducing food waste, to applying blockchain to a decentralized engagement platform.
“Innovation comes from all corners of the earth and from a very diverse group of entrepreneurs, and with this selection we recognize that,” said Cheryl Martin, head of the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and member of the managing board at the World Economic Forum. “The next step is to help these pioneers bring their solutions to complex world-critical problems to global markets and to take action for the public good.”
In joining this community and the two-year journey where they become part of the forum’s initiatives, activities and events, they bring cutting-edge insights and novel perspectives to world-critical discussions, WEF said.
“Technology and start-ups are not just about computer software, consumer apps and social networks,” said Fulvia Montresor, head of Technology Pioneers at the World Economic Forum. “Technology Pioneers 2018 are tackling complex challenges such as environmental sustainability, efficient energy use and access to healthcare.”
Cohesity, founded in 2013 in San Jose, Calif., is led by founder and chief executive officer Mohit Aron. The company is an industry-leading platform for hyperconverged secondary storage solutions. Cohesity offers native copy data management on intelligent web-scale storage, end-to-end data protection, and in-place analytics, all on one data platform, WEF said.
“Cohesity is transforming the way organizations manage and extract value from their secondary applications and data by revolutionizing modern data center and cloud operations with a hyperconverged, web-scale, data platform,” Aron said in the company’s bio.
Aron was recently named a finalist in Ernst & Young’s U.S. Entrepreneur of the Year competition. The 2014-founded Austin, Texas-based CognitiveScale, led by chief executive Akshay Sabhikhi, is developing a new generation of augmented intelligence cloud software powered by artificial intelligence and blockchain technology.
“CognitiveScale pairs humans and machines to augment and extend human ingenuity. AI has the potential to transform the economy and society by unlocking human potential and creating new opportunities, and we are on a mission to make it happen,” Sabhikhi said in the company bio page on the WEF website.
It makes sense of unstructured data by emulating cognitive functions like perception, abstraction, reasoning and learning. It finds hidden meaning within all available data to ensure enterprises and their customers have the right answers to and advice for problems they want to solve, WEF said.
Drive.ai develops AI software for autonomous vehicles using deep learning. The Calif.-based company, founded in 2015 and led by CEO Sameep Tandon, designs retrofit kits that are integrated software and hardware solutions, which includes sensors such as radar, high-definition cameras and light detection and ranging, its bio said.
It has developed custom sensor locations enabling a vehicle to gain a full 360 degree understanding of its environment and enabling sensor redundancy to ensure safety.
Drive.ai’s custom sensor locations maintain high fidelity in all data collected as the vehicle drives autonomously and optimizes the performance in Drive.ai’s proprietary deep learning algorithms.
“Drive.ai uses artificial intelligence to create self-driving systems that improve the state of mobility today. We work with public and private partners to solve transportation challenges quickly and safely, with geofenced self-driving solutions,” Tandon said in the bio.
Founded in 2012, ThoughtSpot, a search and artificial intelligence-driven analytics platform, is based in Palo Alto, Calif. It was co-founded by Ajeet Singh, who serves as the company’s CEO.
ThoughtSpot is helping companies succeed in the digital era by putting the power of a thousand analysts in every business person’s hands, its bio said.
Businesses can take advantage of Google-like search to automatically analyze billions of rows of data and gain insights based on this data – all with a single click. The platform connects with any on-premise, cloud, big data or desktop data source, deploying 85 percent faster than legacy technologies.
“With ThoughtSpot’s search and AI-driven analytics, the world’s one billion knowledge workers each have the power of 1000 analysts in the palm of their hands, allowing them to search data in the same way they use Google to search the internet,” Singh said.
The newly selected Technology Pioneers will meet at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2018 in Tianjin, People’s Republic of China, on Sept. 18 to Sept. 20.
Some of them will also participate in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2019 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, in January. As leaders of innovation, they will be supported by the Forum’s new Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and contribute to fostering the innovation ecosystem and delivering critical mass to solve global challenges, WEF said.
Amazon.com’s stock market value reached $900 billion on Wednesday for the first time, marking a major milestone in its 21-year trajectory as a publicly listed company and threatening to dislodge Apple as Wall Street’s most valuable jewel.
After Jeff Bezos founded the online book-selling company in his garage in 1994, Amazon survived the dot-com crisis and then expanded across the retail industry, altering how consumers buy products and setting off a Darwinian struggle among brick-and-mortar stores.
After announcing on Wednesday that it sold more than $100 million products during its annual Prime Day sale, the Seattle, Washington company’s stock briefly touched $1,858.88, giving Amazon a stock market value of $902 billion. It later reversed, trading down 0.16% for the session.
Amazon’s stock has surged more than 57% in 2018, bringing its increase to over 123,000% since it listed on the Nasdaq in 1997. An investor who bought 1 share of Amazon for $18 in the IPO would now have an investment worth more than $22,200, including three stock splits in the 1990s.
Amazon, video streaming service Netflix and a handful of heavyweight technology companies have fueled Wall Street’s rally in recent years and they remain key parts of portfolio managers’ portfolios.
Apple replaced Exxon Mobil in late 2011 as the US company with the largest stock market value. The Silicon Valley company’s shares have risen 12 percent in 2018, bringing its stock market value to $935 billion.
The calculations for Apple and Amazon’s market capitalizations are based on the number of shares outstanding in their March-quarter reports. Amazon has increased its share count by over 1 million shares per quarter in recent years, and if it continued that in the June quarter, its stock market value may already have exceeded $900 billion.
Amazon reports its results on July 26 and Apple, which has been reducing its share count through buybacks, reports its June-quarter results on July 31.
As Amazon expands into grocery retail through its acquisition of Whole Foods Market last year, and as more businesses move their IT departments onto the cloud, its stock price has been red hot, recently trading at 111 times expected earnings, compared to more-profitable – but slower growing – Apple’s valuation of 15 times earnings.
Amazon dislodged Microsoft Corp as the No. 3 US company by market capitalization in February. Since then, Microsoft has been overtaken by Google-owner Alphabet.
AAHOA, the largest hotel owners association in the world, proudly announced a strategic partnership with GlobalHotelNetwork.com, a highly-respected global media brand and resource for the hospitality industry. The partnership will focus on content development and sharing for both GlobalHotelNetwork.com and AAHOA’s members and facilitating a discussion on topics such as domestic implications of global hospitality trends and the industry’s issue advocacy at the state and national level.
AAHOA President and CEO Chip Rogers said, “GlobalHotelNetwork.com is an excellent channel for hotel industry professionals to get timely, relevant, and dependable information on trends and ideas that develop in the hotel industry around the globe. We look forward to working with them and connecting them with AAHOA’s members to facilitate a dialogue about where our industry is headed.”
GlobalHotelNetwork.com CEO and Publisher Robert Harp said, “AAHOA is an industry-leader when it comes to advocacy and organizing its membership to promote policies that support all hoteliers. I am pleased that Chip Rogers will share his insight into advocacy-related issues with GlobalHotelNetwork.com’s readership, and I look forward to providing AAHOA’s members with ideas from some of the influential thought leaders that help shape the global travel and tourism industry.”
Founded in 2000, GlobalHotelNetwork.com (GHN) provides actionable Market Insights and Thought Leadership to CEOs, presidents and decision makers in the global travel and tourism industry. GHN’s Advisory Board consists of 25 hotel company presidents & CEOs. GHN has established a global network of 100+ industry Thought Leaders and is a Sponsor/Supporter of 50+ industry conferences worldwide.
AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world. The nearly 18,000 AAHOA members own almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA members are core economic contributors in virtually every community. AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American dream.
Kavita Rai, Anusha Tandon, and Ina Bhoopalam, three Indian American teens, are among the 24 teenage girls selected as “Girl Up” advisers heading to Washington, D.C., for the upcoming United Nations Women Empowerment Summit. Rai, of Camillo, Calif.; Tandon, of Acton, Mass.; and Bhoopalam, of Lincoln, Neb., will join the 21 other teen advisers for the summit July 8 through July 11.
The purpose of the summit is to improve the lives of other girls, and Rai is hoping she can play a part in achieving that goal, according to a Camarillo Acorn report. “It’s important not to live in a bubble,” the 16-year-old daughter of Rajinder and Mukesh Rai said in the report. The teens were selected to head to the summit by Girl Up, an empowerment campaign of the United Nations Foundation, to speak at the organization’s annual summit on issues facing girls and women, the report said.
Some 400 girls from 17 states and five countries who are active in the Girl Up campaign in their communities applied to be teen advisers, the publication added. The advisers who were selected “share the common goal of supporting girls around the world and achieving global gender equality,” spokesperson Beth Nervig said. Along with several adult speakers scheduled to appear at next month’s summit, the teen advisers will share their stories with about 400 other girls expected to attend, the report added.
Tandon, 17, is a senior at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Acton, Massachusetts and she first joined Girl Up in sixth grade because she wanted to use her voice to help people around the world, according to the Girl Up website.
“I was enticed by Girl Up’s unique format that allows girls to be at the forefront of change, because I had never seen a campaign that was basically run by girls. I helped found a club in my middle and high school, and have taken leadership roles ever since. I feel like I have grown so much over the years and I’ve loved seeing the amazing women in my club grow up along with me,” Tandon stated on the website.
Bhoopalam is a student at both East High School in Cornhusker State, Nebraska and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“My experience with Girl Up starts a little over a year ago, when I made a promise to myself that I would no longer stay silent in the face of so many problems. It was around that time when I heard about Girl Up from a friend and was immediately hooked,” Bhoopalam stated on the website.
Rai is a senior at Newbury Park High School in California and she started a Girl Up chapter at her school, two years ago. “My advocacy for women’s rights has been a passion of mine for years now,” she stated on the Girl Up website. Rai is involved in YMCA Youth & Government where has discussions on prison reform, gun control and women’s reproductive rights.
According to their website, since its launch in 2010, Girl Up has been partnering with the United Nations to support comprehensive programs that give adolescent girls in six developing countries including India, an equal chance for education, health, social and economic opportunities, and a life free from violence.
India and the United States will hold the inaugural 2+2 meeting of their defense and foreign ministers in Washington on July 6, the US state department announced Thursday, ending months of uncertainty dogged by postponements and cancellations over scheduling and personnel changes.
US secretary of state Michael R Pompeo and secretary of defense James Mattis will host external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and minister of defence Nirmala Sitharaman for the first meeting. The two sides are expected to share perspectives on strengthening their strategic and security ties and exchange views on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
This will be the first simultaneous meeting of the Indian defence and external affairs ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Sushma Swaraj and their US counterparts James Mattis and Mike Pompeo in a format announced last August after a call between Prime Minister Narendra modi and President Donald Trump.
The dialogue is seen as a vehicle to elevate the strategic relationship between the two countries. And in the subsequent weeks, the US was focussed solely on President Trump’s meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. India has proposed July 6, as reported by Hindustan Times earlier, but had to wait for a confirmation from Washington DC, which finally came through.
The two sides will be expecting to discuss a whole range of issues in defence and external affairs such as cooperation on counter-terrorism, which is always accorded high priority by the countries, and Afghanistan, which received a significant pitch in President Trump’s new South Asia strategy.
At the July meeting, officials will “focus on strengthening strategic, security, and defense cooperation as the United States and India jointly confront global challenges”, said the state department in a statement. Officials expect to discuss, specifically, the indirect impact of US sanctions on Russia and Iran. A major Indian defence deal for the Russian S-400 air defence systems is at risk of attracting secondary sanction from the US unless an exception was made, as proposed and backed by Mattis and Pompeo.
The meeting will take place among growing defense and diplomatic ties and convergence but increasing trade differences caused by President Trump’s decision to slap a tariff of 25% and 10% on steel and aluminium imports. India has retaliated with its own tariffs on imports from the US and has also challenged Trump’s tariffs at the World Trade Organization. Trade is a separate discussion but and new and continuing issues are being thrashed out by the two countries in other forums.
Earlier this year, the ‘2+2 dialogue’ had been postponed due to uncertainty over the confirmation of Mike Pompeo as President Donald Trump’s new Secretary of State. Pompeo was later confirmed as Secretary of State in April.
“I think it is a dramatic signal suggesting that DOD (department of defense) is taking the challenges of managing the unified Indo-Pacific space seriously,” Ashley Tellis, a leading US expert on South Asia and Asia had said at the time. “It is a task well begun but far from finished,” he had added.
The Maharashtra government and a U.S.-India panel have announced three new projects in the state, an official said June 18. The state will sign an agreement with the Network for Global Innovation to develop a clean tech incubator ecosystem in Maharashtra to accelerate adoption of sustainable technologies and encourage trade and investment in these sectors.
The announcements were made during Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ visit to Washington D.C. last week at a public forum co-hosted by the CSIS Wadhwani Chair and India Initiative at Georgetown University, which he addressed.
Fadnavis spoke about his goals to make Maharashtra the first trillion-dollar economy across India, which he will do by leveraging foreign investments in various sectors, the news release added. “We have focused on building infrastructure, which has subsequently opened up lot of opportunities for international investors in the state,” the chief minister said at the forum.
Along with the U.S.-India State and Urban Initiative, it will collaborate on the development and implementation of a ‘High Performance Innovation Ecosystem’ including planning, funding, build-out and ongoing operations, with plans to invite a state-based nominee organization to become a member of the NGIN.
The Georgia Institute of Technology will launch a new pilot research project to understand the consumer dynamics and responsiveness to adoption of new technologies in the state electricity sector. The project, “The Impact of Consumer Behavior on Efficiency and Sustainability in India’s Power Sector,” will be led by Georgia Tech Indian American professors — assistant professor Anjali Thomas Bohlken and associate professor Usha Nair-Reichert — with support from the Strategic Energy Initiative.
Finally, the Pune Municipal Corporation will host an Urban Mobility Lab in August as part of the Lighthouse City initiative launched after a competition last year, jointly with NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute, Colorado.
The Urban Mobility Lab will advance the design, integration and implementation of new solutions for complex transportation challenges and how these ideas can be replicated and scaled. The goal would be to upgrade transportation services to cater to the needs of rapidly growing cities, with operational efficiency, and simultaneous reduction of pollution, congestion and petroleum demands.
Funded by the Department of State, the U.S.-India State and Urban Initiative promotes energy security and energy sector reform through direct engagement between Washington and Indian sub-national entities.
It builds productive partnerships that can help India achieve its energy goals; and establish close, sustainable working relationships among Indian sub-national officials with their US counterparts and other civil society organizations working in the areas of governance and energy, besides roping in the private sector.
The U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum hosted Fadnavis during his trip to the United States, the forum announced in a June 15 news release. The Forum kicked off the chief minister’s roadshow with U.S. investors at a roundtable in New York City, and hosted him the next day at an event with member companies in Washington, D.C., it said.
The state of Maharashtra, with its progressive measures to facilitate investments and investors, has worked towards the goals it had announced during the “Make in India” initiative in 2014, USISFP said.
To continue to be the preferred business destination for foreign investors, Fadnavis has supported private-public partnerships to promote growth through foreign investments across all sectors. He asked USISPF and Friends of Maharashtra in the U.S. to serve as one nodal point for all U.S. investments into Maharashtra. Both organizations will coordinate and liaise with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, the USISPF added.
With an emphasis on further development of Mumbai and other townships, Fadnavis has supported private-public partnerships to promote this growth, and insisted that his state’s objective of job growth, along with economic development, will be fulfilled through investments across sectors, according to USISPF.
“Maharashtra is growing at a rapid pace and the state is the first choice for many of our U.S companies that manufacture in India,” USISPF president and CEO Mukesh Aghi said.
The government’s top ethics official said some of President Trump’s business dealings “raise serious concerns” but that the office lacks the authority to launch an investigation requested last month by congressional Democrats.
More than 60 Democrats, led by Rep. David N. Cicilline of Rhode Island, had written to the Office of Government Ethics in May asking that the agency investigate reported Chinese government support of an Indonesian real estate development that will include several Trump-brand properties.
David J. Apol, acting director and general counsel at the ethics office, responded last week that he thought concern was warranted. But because the president is not bound by the same conflict-of-interest laws as most federal employees, he said, Congress is responsible for holding the president in check.
“Under the Constitution, the primary authority to oversee the President’s ethics rests with Congress and ultimately, with the American people,” Apol wrote in his Monday response.
At issue is a report in the South China Morning Post saying the Chinese government is issuing $500 million in loans for the project in Jakarta, Indonesia. Days later, Trump announced his support for Chinese-backed telecommunications firm ZTE, a departure from his previously aggressive stance toward Chinese industry.
There is no evidence the two issues are linked. However, the Democrats raised concerns about the deal that amplify arguments being made against the president and his company, the Trump Organization, in a series of court cases.
In their letter, they argued that the loan may be a violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clauses that forbid the president from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments.
The Trump administration has “completely failed to address the suspicious timing between this policy reversal and the Chinese government’s loan to a Trump-backed project,” they wrote. Language in a recently introduced appropriations bill would place restrictions on the use of government funds to purchase equipment produced by ZTE.
“At the outset, I agree that the information cited in your letter raises serious concerns,” Apol said. However he said the agency had “no authority to opine on Emoluments Clause issues.” The office declined to comment further.
Neither White House nor Trump Organization officials responded to requests for comment. Trump resigned his positions with the company upon entering office but retained his financial stake in the business, which includes office buildings, hotels and residential properties in America and abroad.
This is not the first time congressional Democrats have urged the ethics office to take action, and they have received similar rebuffs previously.
A year ago, Democrats, led by Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (Pa.), made a similar request of the ethics office, only to be told by then-Director Walter M. Shaub Jr. that it was outside his purview.
Shaub, now working for the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, has become a fierce critic of the president. “Unless the Department of Justice decides to pursue this as a criminal matter, only Congress has jurisdiction to conduct oversight here, and the Congressional majority has made clear that it’s out of the business of conducting meaningful oversight of the executive branch as long as Trump is president,” Shaub said in an email.
The Trump Organization has retained an outside ethics adviser, Washington attorney Bobby R. Burchfield, to review new deals the company proposes to try to ensure that business partners aren’t seeking political advantage with the president and would pay a fair price in the transactions.
In comments published in the Texas Review of Law and Politics earlier this year, Burchfield compared Trump’s business activities to those of previous officials, including President George Washington, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. “President Trump has gone beyond the legal requirements to insulate himself and his businesses from ethical issues,” Burchfield wrote.
Atul Gawande, an Indian American surgeon, writer and public health innovator has been named as the CEO of a new U.S. employee health care company, in a joint venture between Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase. Gawande, 52, will start on July 9 and the new company will be headquartered in Boston, operating as an independent entity that is free from profit-making incentives and constraints, according to a PTI report.
“I have devoted my public health career to building scalable solutions for better health care delivery that are saving lives, reducing suffering and eliminating wasteful spending both in the US and across the world,” Gawande told media.
“Now I have the backing of these remarkable organizations to pursue this mission with even greater impact for more than a million people, and in doing so incubate better models of care for all. This work will take time but must be done. The system is broken, and better is possible,” he added.
Gawande, a general and endocrine surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, is probably best known for his work writing about health care for The New Yorker and in books that include the influential Checklist Manifesto.
He was also the founding executive director of Ariadne Labs, a joint project between Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, that tries to put some of his ideas about improvingcare during critical moments, such as childbirth and surgery, into practice.
The three-company partnership was announced in January. At the time, the CEOs were short on details and long on ambition. The nonprofit venture was formed to figure out “ways to address healthcare for their U.S. employees, with the aim of improving employee satisfaction and reducing costs.”
In early June, CNBC reported that Dr. David Feinberg, CEO of Pennsylvania-based health system Geisinger Health System, was among the top picks to lead the health care venture. But he later said that he was staying put. CNBC said that during the CEO selection process, 10 candidates “were asked to write a white paper on how they would fix the health care system.” Three of them were interviewed.
Gawande has written four New York Times bestsellers: Complications, Better, The Checklist Manifesto, and Being Mortal and has received numerous awards for his contributions to science and health care. “All felt that better care can be delivered and that rising costs can be checked. Jamie, Jeff and I are confident that we have found in Atul the leader who will get this important job done,” Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said in a statement.
“Together, we have the talent and resources to make things better, and it is our responsibility to do so. We’re so grateful for the countless statements of support and offers to help and participate, and we’re so fortunate to have attracted such an extraordinary leader and innovator as Atul,” Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said in a statement.
“We said at the outset that the degree of difficulty is high and success is going to require an expert’s knowledge, a beginner’s mind, and a long-term orientation. Atul embodies all three, and we’re starting strong as we move forward in this challenging and worthwhile endeavour,” Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, said in a statement.
The health firm will be independent from the three firms, whose leaders formed the group as a way of contending with what Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett called a “tapeworm” eating the U.S. economy, the report said.
Gawande is a prominent name in health-care policy circles, though he hasn’t run a major business. Many details of the new venture – its name, size, budget and authority — weren’t immediately available, Bloomberg added.
“Almost of the same import is who does Atul hire as his COO,” said Vivek Garipalli, the CEO of Clover Health, a closely held health insurer that serves Medicare patients, and has focused on coordinating their care to try and cut costs, according to the report. “That vision has to be translated by somebody who understands the nuances” of contracting with doctors and hospitals, health insurance markets and other details, it added.
Gawande, 52, rose to prominence among health-care policy experts with a 2009 New Yorker article, “The Cost Conundrum,” that examined why health care was vastly more expensive in some parts of the U.S. than others, despite little difference in the sickness or health of people getting it, Bloomberg reported. The piece focused on McAllen, Texas, and why the Medicare program spent $15,000 a year on the town’s older patients, thousands of dollars more than in other areas, it said.
At the time, the article also attracted the attention of Buffett and his business partner Charlie Munger. Gawande “had an article last summer that was absolutely magnificent,” Buffett told CNBC in March 1, 2010, according to a transcript of the appearance, the report went on.
“You have these enormous variances around the country. And, you know, if you had some really smart people running it that knew a lot about medicine, they’re going to — they could do a lot about it,” Buffett said in the appearance.
Munger thought the article was so socially useful that he blindly mailed Gawande a $20,000 check, Buffett told CNBC at the time, according to Bloomberg’s piece published June 20. Gawande donated the money to an international project to improve surgical equipment in developing countries, according to the report, citing the Huffington Post.
The Association of Indians in America, NY Chapter (AIA-NY), considered among the oldest Indian-American organizations in the country, during its annual fundraiser called, “Spread Hope,” raised over $50,000 towards projects in India. Held on June 9th at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, the event was organized by the philanthropic arm of AIA, which is committed to help meet the needs of the underserved in India.
The team behind Project India shared its evolution over the past 10 years with the 260 guests or so guests at the sold-out event: Project India was created in response to the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS in India. AIA has since partnered with Gujarat AIDS Awareness and Prevention, an NGO based in Ahmedabad and supported by a group of physicians from the Brooklyn Hospital. Their focus is rural areas, including tribal villages.
Programs evolved to eventually include comprehensive healthcare for women and children. More than 2,000 families are now served across 80 rural and tribal villages along the border of Gujarat and Rajasthan that have minimal access to medical care. Programs are monitored, evaluated and refined to align with the need and outcomes.
Gobind Munjal, president of the NY chapter, said key programs of Project India were highlighted in a visual presentation: annual medical camps, training for teachers, women’s health checkups, care for orphans living with HIV/AIDS and prevention of HIV from mother-to-child.
Event was sold out and was a huge success, organizers said in a press release. It was attended by more than 250 movers and shakers from the Tri-state area, including prominent individuals such as Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori, Kalpana and Amit Doshi, Dr. Sudha and Sudhir Parikh, Asmita and Arun Bhatia. India’s Consul General in New York Sandeep Chakravorty was the Chief Guest.
At the event, the Project India team shared the experiences of the last 10 years when it was launched as a response to the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS in India. Those attending were reminded that much work needed to be done and that every dollar raised goes directly to the help of the needy.
“In the past decade, AIA’s partnerships with a renowned NGO called Gujarat AIDS Awareness and Prevention (GAP), located in Ahmedabad, and supported by a group of Physicians of the Brooklyn Hospital, have made immense strides in making a measurable difference in the lives of thousands in rural and tribal villages,” organizers said. Programs have evolved as the Team gained more experience and the attention today is on comprehensive healthcare for women and children.
According to AIA’s Project India, more than 2,000 families across 80 rural and tribal villages along the border of Gujarat and Rajasthan, have been beneficiaries of its program. These areas have minimal access to medical care. Programs are monitored, evaluated and refined to align with the need and outcomes, the audience at the event was informed.
The programs resonated deeply with the night’s keynote speaker, Ambassador Sandeep Chakravarty, who engaged the crowd with his personal story and admiration for the Association of Indians in America and its efforts with Project India.
The evening also included a musical theater with its North American Premiere, called Three Women, written and directed by Isheeta Ganguly. The play was based on Rabindranath Tagore, showcasing the dilemma of women in the past and the present. All actors Avantika Akerkar, Mahima Saigal, Zayn Marie Khan; narrator Samrat Chakrabarti and musician Abhishek Chauhan got a standing ovation. The artists traveled from India, sponsored by Cheapoair and Turkish
Gobind Munjal, president of the NY chapter, said key programs of Project India were highlighted in a visual presentation: annual medical camps, training for teachers, women’s health checkups, care for orphans living with HIV/AIDS and prevention of HIV from mother-to-child.
Project India team member Asmita Bhatia said that the results are encouraging due to the dedication of trained workers, trust of the villagers and local panchayats and school authorities. The guests were reminded that much work is still needed and that every dollar raised goes directly to the help of the needy.
“The net amount from the fundraiser after paying all the expenses would be only about $40,000,” Munjal told India Abroad. He said the programs resonated deeply with the evening’s keynote speaker, Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty who engaged the audience with his personal story and admired the AIA’s efforts for Project India. Chakravorty, consul general of India in New York, was chief guest.
The Association of Indians in America (AIA) is the oldest not-for-profit organization of Indian-Americans, founded on Aug. 20, 1967. It has chapters and membership spread across the United States. Airways. The AIA’s New York Chapter President, Gobind Munjal, invited all to the 31st Deepavali Festival scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 7 at South Street Seaport. For more information on Project India, visit projectindiaaia.org
In an industry not exactly known for its diversity, an iconic American carmaker has appointed its first female chief financial officer (CFO). And she’s from Chennai, India.
General Motors (GM), the maker of Buick, Cadillac, and Chevrolet cars, said in announcement on June 13th that the 39-year-old Dhivya Suryadevara will take over as CFO in September. Suryadevara joined the company in 2005, and has held various positions over the years. Since July 2017, she’s been serving as its vice-president for corporate finance.
With Suryadevara’s appointment, GM joins a handful of companies, including Hershey Co and Signet Jewelers, that have women serving as both CEO and CFO. In 2014, Mary Barra became the first woman to make it to the top of a major automobile company as CEO of GM.
“Any time a woman is added to the C-Suite it’s something that should be celebrated,” Anna Beninger, senior director of research at Catalyst, a non-profit that tracks women in leaderships positions, told Bloomberg. “Given that the rate of change for women into the C-suite and into the CEO level has been so slow, any time we see one, it is certainly progress.”
As the vice president of Corporate Finance, Suryadevara has been responsible for corporate financial planning, investor relations and special projects, and as the vice president of Finance and Treasurer, she helped achieve ratings upgrades from all three credit ratings agencies, completing $2B notes issuance to fund discretionary pension contributions and upsized and renewed GM’s $14.5B revolver.
As the CEO and Chief Investment Officer for GM Asset Management, Suryadevara was responsible for the management of business and investment activities of GM’s $85B pension operations. Suryadevara has also worked on other projects for the company, including Opel divestiture, Cruise acquisition, Lyft investment and SoftBank’s investment in GM Cruise. She joined GM in 2005.
The move shows how far Suryadevara, who holds an MBA from Harvard University, has come from her childhood in Chennai. Suryadevara received her bachelor’s and master’s degree in commerce from the University of Madras in Chennai, India.
She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Chartered Accountant. “Dhivya’s experience and leadership in several key roles throughout our financial operations positions her well to build on the strong business results we’ve delivered over the last several years,” Mary Barra, the chairman and CEO of GM, said in a statement.
Suryadevara will move into her new job in September. She replaces Chuck Stevens, 58, who plans to retire next year after more than 40 years with the carmaker. Stevens will remain with the company as an adviser until his retirement, it said.
Richard Verma, the first ever Indian-American U.S. ambassador to India, is joining a leading U.S.-based international investment advisory group. Paladin Capital Group is pleased to announce that Richard Verma, former U.S. Ambassador to India (2014-2017) and current Vice Chair at The Asia Group, will join Paladin’s Strategic Advisory Group (SAG). Ambassador Verma brings 25 years of experience across senior levels of business, law, diplomacy, and the military. “We are very excited to have Rich as part of Paladin’s strategic network,” said Lt. General (Ret.) Kenneth Minihan, Managing Director at Paladin. “Rich’s subject matter expertise and experience as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on critical security and intelligence policy issues will provide invaluable advice and guidance to Paladin and our portfolio companies.”
Nominated as U.S. Ambassador to India by President Obama and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in December 2014, Ambassador Verma oversaw one of the largest U.S. diplomatic missions in the world and championed historic progress in U.S.-India relations, with critical evolutions to bilateral cooperation in defense, trade, and clean energy. The Ambassador also oversaw an unprecedented nine meetings between President Obama and Prime Minister Modi – leading to over 100 new initiatives and more than 40 government-to-government dialogues.
Ambassador Verma was previously the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, where he led the State Department’s efforts on Capitol Hill. He worked as Senior National Security Advisor to the Senate Majority Leader and also spent time in the House of Representatives. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, where he served on active duty as a Judge Advocate. His military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.
The Ambassador brings to bear a distinguished career in the private sector. He was a partner in a major global law firm for many years and led the South Asia practice of a Washington-based consulting firm. He is also currently a Centennial Fellow at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he supports the India Initiative, and co-chairs the Center for American Progress’ U.S.-India Task Force.
Ambassador Verma holds degrees from the Georgetown University Law Center (LLM), American University’s Washington College of Law (JD), and Lehigh University (BS). “I am delighted to welcome Richard Verma back to Paladin’s Strategic Advisory Group,” said Michael Steed, Managing Partner of Paladin. “Rich was integral member of the Strategic Advisory Group before being nominated and serving as Ambassador of India. He will further strengthen Paladin’s unique commitment and capability to add strategic value to its portfolio companies in accessing U.S. federal market opportunities as well as navigating the evolving security and compliance policy landscape in international markets.”
Paladin Capital Group was founded in 2001 and has offices in Washington DC, New York, London, Luxembourg, and Silicon Valley. As a multi-stage investor, Paladin focuses on best-of-breed companies with technologies, products, and services that meet the challenging global cyber security and digital infrastructure resilience needs for commercial and government customers. Paladin has over $1 billion in committed capital across multiple funds. Follow the firm on Twitter @Paladincap, visit their website at http://www.paladincapgroup.com
RealMe, the new e-commerce sub-brand of smartphone giant OPPO, announced the launch of its limited-edition Moonlight Silver variant that will be up for sale from June 18, 2018 on Amazon India. Last month saw the launch of RealMe 1 with two variants – the Diamond Black and Solar Red. This new variant will offer 4GB RAM and 64 GB storage at a pocket-friendly price point of INR. 10,990/-.
RealMe 1 is the first smartphone designed by OPPO that is focused on offering great designs with powerful specifications at a pocket friendly price. While the variants launched earlier offered storage capabilities of 3GB RAM and 32 GB ROM and 6 GB RAM and 128 GB ROM, the new edition will also offer an alternate 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM variant in 3 colors: Moonlight Silver, Solar Red and Diamond Black.
Speaking on the soon to be launched variant, Madhav Sheth, Chief Executive Officer of RealMe India said, “The response to RealMe 1 has been phenomenal. We sold lakhs of units only within our first two sales. Our phones were ranked as the Best Seller on Amazon India securing the top four positions. We are glad to announce a new Moonlight Silver edition to our range of phones. In line with the trend of reflecting effects in the industry, this limited-edition range offers shiny, reflecting glossy designs that cater to the needs of our customers. At the price point we are offering, we are hoping that this new variant will be equally well received by the audience.”
The 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM variant, that comes in Diamond Black, Solar Red and a limited-edition Moonlight Silver, allows users great multi-tasking capabilities at one go without hanging and provides uncompromised storage. RealMe1 has a phone’s screen body ratio of almost 85%, it comes with a 6-inch display bearing full-HD+ 1080×2160 pixels resolution. The RealMe 1 also has an impressive An Tu Tu score that can go up to 140,000. The Mediatek’s HelioP60 NeuroPilot AI technology, gives the device an enhanced edge, particularly in photography, real-time beautification, real-time video preview. The phone also has a dual-core AI-specific chip for providing AI-assisted features.
The phone’s 3410mAh battery + AI battery management promise + the sharp AI processor ensures that longer and higher usage doesn’t affect its performance or heat up the phone. The enhanced Facial Unlock function can accurately identify 296 facial points to provide better security and takes less than 0.1 seconds to unlock your phone, even in low-light conditions. The ColorOS 5.0 UI based on Android 8.1 has been completely revamped with a brand new and fresh interface design that is easy on the eyes. The 13MP rear camera with an LED flash and an 8MP selfie camera. Both the front and rear cameras also support AR stickers.
Manufactured by OPPO factories, RealMe also assures its users of superior quality through its stringent quality control measures that is executed around 10,000 drop tests, 100,000 button tests, 10,000 USB tests to ensure the durability of the Realme 1 smartphone. RealMe customers will also have access to over 500 OPPO service centers across India with guaranteed 90% of repair cases resolved within an hour. Along with online service supports, RealMe is offering a 360-degree customer service system.
People flying between India and the rest of the world through United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) mega hubs like Dubai and Abu Dhabi will soon be able to get a free transit visa to spend up to two days there. The UAE government has decided that to grant free transit visas for first 48 hours to transit passengers and this visa can be extended for up to 96 hours by paying 50 Dirham (about Rs 930). The date from which this will be allowed is yet to be announced, say Indian travel industry majors.
UAE is already the single biggest international destination for Indian travellers. Almost a quarter of all international travel to and from India happens on mega UAE carriers like Emirates, flyDubai and Etihad. Jet Airways, in which Etihad has a 24% stake, + also serves as a feeder to Etihad’s long haul flights to Abu Dhabi.
Anywhere up to 75% of people flying on Gulf, including UAE, carriers are only transiting through those hubs between India and rest of the world. So the decision to grant free 48-hour transit visas is expected to further increase the number of visitors to UAE.
Karan Anand of travel major Cox & Kings said: “The move by UAE to exempt transit passengers from all entry fees for the first 48 hours is significant. Travellers who have onward connections can now stay in the UAE and enjoy a range of attractions that the various Emirates have to offer. In fact, this will give a boost to Dubai and Abu Dhabi which are promoting its attractions aggressively in the Indian market. Many new attractions are opening up in these destinations and as Dubai gears up for the 2020 Expo, these measures will boost tourism inflows.”
Indian travel majors are awaiting the date from which this change will be implemented. In terms of flying people in and out of India, Emirates is the biggest international airline. The Jet-Etihad combine is the biggest airline in terms of international travel to and from India.
“According to Dubai Tourism statistics, Dubai attracted over 2.1 million Indian tourists in 2017 +— 15% more than the previous year. India is the number one source market for the emirate,” said a senior official of a travel major. “Similarly, in 2017 Abu Dhabi attracted over 3.60 lakh Indian tourists, 11% more than previous year 2016. Emirates such as Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah have also stepped up promotion in the Indian market. This is aided by more flight connections from India to the UAE,” said the official.
Gulf nations are going all out to woo Indian travelers and are relaxing visa norms. UAE grants visa on arrival to Indian Nationals with a valid US Visa. Oman will also do the same to Indians who reside in or hold an entry visa to US, Canada, Australia, UK, Japan and Schengen States. Last August, Qatar had allowed Indians and nationals of 46 other countries to stay for up to 60 days there without a prior visa.
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi is the world’s highest-paid female CEO, with a compensation of $25.9 million, the Associated Press reports. Although women make up only 5 percent of the CEO ranks at S&P 500 companies, median compensation for a female CEO was valued at $13.5 million for the 2017 fiscal year, versus $11.5 million for their male counterparts, according to an analysis by executive data firm Equilar done for the AP.
The AP’s compensation study covered 339 executives at S&P 500 companies who have served at least two full consecutive fiscal years at their respective companies, which filed proxy statements between Jan. 1 and April 30. Some companies with highly paid CEOs do not fit these criteria, such as Oracle. Debra Cafaro, CEO of real estate investment trust Ventas came in second at $25.3 million. And Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, wrapped up third.
Nooyi was named president and CEO on Oct.1, 2006 and assumed the role of chairman on May 2, 2007. She has directed the company’s global strategy for more than a decade and led its restructuring, including the divestiture of its restaurants into the successful YUM! Brands, Inc. She also led the acquisition of Tropicana and the merger with Quaker Oats that brought the vital Quaker and Gatorade businesses to PepsiCo, the merger with PepsiCo’s anchor bottlers, and the acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann, the largest international acquisition in PepsiCo’s history.
Actor Kal Penn will star in a new documentary, as yet untitled, about the global economy for Amazon, to be produced by Adam McKay, Will Ferrell and Adam Davidson (co-founder of NPR’s “Planet Money”), according to Variety. The docuseries will offer viewers insight into the global economy.
“Look, I’m terrible at math and really good at sophomoric humor, so the idea that we can explore economics around the world by visiting places like a dildo factory in California piqued my interest,” Variety quoted the Indian American actor as saying. “To have an opportunity to explore the world while we combine the serious with the bizarre with Adam and Will is super exciting.”
The untitled show will offer insight into the global economy and its “comedic eccentricities.” Amazon Studios is ready to explore the global economy with Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Kal Penn.
The retailer/streamer has handed out a straight-to-series order for an untitled docuseries examining the world’s finances. Penn will host the series, which is exec produced by Ferrell and McKay (The Big Short) as well as Adam Davidson (the co-founder of NPR’s Planet Money).
Amazon says the docuseries will offer “extraordinary insight into the global economy and its comedic eccentricities, all through a sardonic lens unique to McKay.”
“Adam Davidson is one of the more brilliant and funny minds out there. After collaborating with him on The Big Short, I jumped at the chance to continue trying to make economics and finance accessible to a wide audience,” McKay said.
Penn, the former White House associate director of public engagement, will invite viewers to meet the “geniuses, madmen and huskers” who make the decisions and investments that impact society. Topics to be explored include cryptocurrency, money laundering, death and corruption as the show sets out to explore how money, greed and power affect the hyper-connected world.
“Adam McKay is well known for finding the humor and absurdity in mind-blowing true stories, and we’re excited to bring that to Prime members with this series,” said Heather Schuster, head of unscripted at Amazon. “As with all of our unscripted series, we are committed to providing our customers with unprecedented access — this time to the fascinating and often illusive back rooms of global wealth and industry.”
Ferrell, McKay, Kevin Messick, Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman and Aliyah Silverstein exec produce the docuseries from Intellectual Property Corp. and Gary Sanchez Productions. Davidson will be credited as a co-EP, while Penn will consult.
Penn will take viewers around the world to meet the “geniuses, madmen and hucksters” who make the decisions—and investments—that change people’s lives. The series will reportedly cover a range of topics, including cryptocurrency, money laundering, death and corruption, to explore how money, greed and power affect the hyper-connected world.
Penn was last seen on ABC’s “Designated Survivor.” Previously, he served as the host of Fox’s one-hour unscripted competition series, “Superhuman,” that tested the abilities of ordinary people to use their extraordinary skills – in fields such as memory, hearing, taste, touch, smell and sight.
Anil D. Ambani owned Reliance Entertainment and one of India’s most celebrated filmmakers, Imtiaz Ali, today announced the formation of Window Seat Films, LLP, a 50:50 Joint Venture for production of movies. This is Reliance Entertainment’s 5th creative partnership with leading Indian filmmakers to form a production company.
An incredibly talented and successful writer, director, Imtiaz has received wide appreciation and acclaim from audiences and critics alike, in addition to blockbuster success at the box office. He has won several awards over the years since the release of his first film in 2005.
Starting with “Socha Na Tha” Imtiaz has made several films with newcomers and superstars alike. His filmography includes “Jab We Met”, “Love Aaj Kal”, “Rockstar”, “Tamasha”, “Highway” and “Jab Harry met Sejal”. Some of his films have achieved a sort of cult status with the youth in India and abroad.
This creative & business mix will benefit from the artistic abilities of Imtiaz, and the global marketing and distribution capabilities of Reliance Entertainment.
Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, Vice Chairman, Reliance Entertainment, said, “We are proud to have Imtiaz as our partner. He is a person of deep simplicity and humility despite his enormous successes, and we are looking forward to making great movies together.”
Commenting on the partnership, Imtiaz Ali said: “There is a common vision that Window Seat Films & Reliance Entertainment share in terms of the content that we’d like to make, the kind of stories we’d like to tell and the way we’d like to collaborate in running this partnership. Working under this partnership is like working for myself. ”
Reliance Entertainment has produced, distributed and released more than 300 films in multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, etc.
Reliance Entertainment already has creative partnerships with Phantom Films (Anurag Kashyap, Madhu Mantena, Vikas Bahl and Vikramaditya Motwane), Rohit Shetty Picturez, Plan C Studios (Neeraj Pandey) and Y NOT Studios (S. Sashikanth).
Reliance Entertainment is the media and entertainment arm of Reliance Group and is engaged in the creation and distribution of content across film, television, digital and gaming platforms. Internationally, Reliance Entertainment has partnered since 2009 with iconic film producer and director, Steven Spielberg, in the formation of DreamWorks Studios, and thereafter, Amblin Partners.
This relationship has produced several highly successful films such as The Help, War Horse, Lincoln, The Hundred Foot Journey, The Girl on the Train, A Dog’s Purpose, Bridge of Spies, and The Post.
Axovant Sciences (NASDAQ:AXON) has announced that Gavin Corcoran, MB BCh, FACP, will join the Company as Executive Vice President of Research & Development, and Michael Hayden, MB ChB, PhD, FRSC, has been appointed as a senior scientific advisor to the company and Chairman of Axovant’s newly established Scientific Advisory Board.
“I am pleased to welcome Gavin and Michael to the Axovant team,” said Pavan Cheruvu, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Axovant. “Since starting as CEO in February, I have been focused on transforming Axovant into a leaner organization, introducing heightened standards of quality and excellence throughout the business, and establishing a new pipeline strategy. We are now poised for growth, and I am excited to have Gavin and Michael join us as we look toward expanding our pipeline in the coming months.”
“I am very excited to join Axovant at this turning point,” said Dr. Corcoran. “I look forward to working closely with Pavan and the senior management team to bring new investigational medicines into the portfolio as we build upon Axovant’s capabilities in research and development. We have a wonderful opportunity to develop life-changing medicines for patients with CNS diseases. I am also eager to leverage the Roivant platform to accelerate the development of Axovant’s pipeline.”
“I share Pavan’s vision of rebuilding the company on a foundation of transformative science and I look forward to expanding Axovant’s Scientific Advisory Board,” said Dr. Hayden. “I have been very impressed with the caliber of the Axovant team and am excited about the future growth of the company.”
Dr. Gavin Corcoran has overseen successful drug development across multiple therapeutic areas including neurology and psychiatry. He currently serves as Chief Medical Officer at Allergan plc, and previously served as Chief Medical Officer of Actavis. Dr. Corcoran was Executive Vice President for Global Medicines Development at Forest Laboratories prior to the acquisition of Forest Laboratories by Actavis. In addition, Dr. Corcoran served as Head of Late Stage Clinical Development for Inflammation and Immunology at Celgene, and as Chief Scientific Officer and head of R&D at Stiefel Laboratories. Earlier in his career he held leadership roles in clinical development and regulatory affairs at Amgen, Schering-Plough, and Bayer. He received his MB BCh from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and completed his clinical training in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
Dr. Michael Hayden is one of the world’s leading experts in the genetic basis of movement disorders and CNS drug development. He recently served as President of Global R&D and Chief Scientific Officer at Teva. Prior to Teva, he founded multiple biotechnology companies, including Aspreva Pharmaceuticals. He currently serves as Killam Professor of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia and Canada Research Chair in Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine. Dr. Hayden played a key role in the discovery and development of GLYBERA®, the first approved gene therapy product in the Western world, and has received numerous awards including the Order of Canada, granted for his contributions to the understanding of Huntington’s disease and other genetic disorders. In 2008 he was named Canada’s Health Researcher of the Year and in 2017 he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. Dr. Hayden received his MB ChB, PhD in Genetics, and DCH Diploma in Child Health from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He completed his clinical training in internal medicine and clinical genetics at Harvard Medical School.
Beginning in February 2018, Axovant initiated an organizational restructuring to simplify its organization, reduce costs, and streamline business processes in preparation for future business development activities.
As part of the restructuring plan, Axovant enhanced its capabilities in clinical research and business development, while reducing the size of its global commercial team. Overall, internal headcount has decreased by approximately 43%, and Axovant has increased its use of the Roivant platform to supplement internal capabilities. Forward-looking G&A expenses are expected to decrease in the current fiscal year. Most of the affected employees were transferred to roles within the Roivant family of companies.
“Roivant supports Axovant’s plans for pipeline expansion and organizational transformation,” said Vivek Ramaswamy, Chief Executive Officer of Roivant. “We are committed to hiring and developing high-caliber talent, and we were pleased to support many of Axovant’s employees in finding new roles within the Vant family. I am excited about the new direction that Axovant is taking.”
Axovant is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to advancing innovative treatments for patients with serious neurologic and neuropsychiatric conditions, and turning promising therapies into lasting solutions for patients. Axovant is committed to developing and commercializing a pipeline of product candidates by identifying and developing novel treatments for unmet needs in neurology and psychiatry.
Roivant Sciences is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on reducing the time and cost of the drug development process to improve the lives of patients and their families. Roivant partners with innovative biopharmaceutical companies and academic institutions to ensure that important medicines are rapidly delivered to patients.
The number of women leading the largest companies has always been small. This year, it got 25 percent smaller, according to Fortune magazine. The reversal is leading to a search beyond the usual explanations for why women don’t become chief executives — things like not being competitive enough, failing to chase opportunities for promotion and choosing work-life balance over high-powered jobs.
That’s because evidence shows that the obstacles for female executives aren’t just because of their individual choices. There are larger forces at work, experts say, rooted in biases against women in power, mothers who work or leaders who don’t fit the mold of the people who led before them.
The 25 percent decline is so large in part because women’s numbers are so small to start with. There’s also a phenomenon known as the glass cliff, in which women are more likely to be put in charge of failing companies. But in many ways, the reasons the number of female chief executives is falling are the same reasons there aren’t more of them in the first place.
For many years, it seemed as if the share of women at the top of corporate America would slowly increase over time. The number of women leading companies in the Fortune 500 had grown to 6.4 percent last year, a record high, from 2.6 percent a decade earlier.
After reaching an all-time high of 32 in 2017, the number of female Fortune 500 chiefs has slid back down to 24. That’s a one-year decline of 25%. The drop is due primarily to a number of powerful women leaving their corner offices. In the past year alone, more than a third of those women (12) have left their CEO jobs, including a few long-time veterans of the ranking.
As the Fortune 500 list went to print last week, Campbell Soup Co. CEO Denise Morrison announced she was retiring, effective immediately (thus, while Morrison appears on the June 2018 ranking, she is no longer in office). The company did not explain her abrupt departure and did not take questions from analysts on the matter. The 64-year-old had been at the helm since 2011; she was with the company for 15 years.
There were also some newcomers to the—far too exclusive—club this year: Ulta Beauty’s Mary Dillon, Kohl’s Michelle Gass, Yum China’s Joey Wat, and Anthem’s Gail Boudreaux. Dillon, who appeared on Fortune‘s list of Most Powerful Women for the first time last year at No. 48, has been running the cosmetics company since July 2013, though this is the first time that Ulta has appeared on the Fortune 500. The other three CEOs have been appointed in the past year.
Women in business start out equal to men in terms of jobs and pay. But at each level, they disappear. Only 22 percent of senior vice presidents are women. And of those, just 21 percent have roles related to generating revenue, which generally lead to C-level jobs, according to the annual Women in the Workplace study by Lean In and McKinsey. The drop-off starts with the first promotion to management: Women are 18 percent less likely to be promoted to manager than their male peers.
“Men and women are all going into high-powered jobs,” said Robin Ely, a professor at Harvard Business School and chairwoman of its gender initiative. “The question is what happens to them down the road, and that’s a messy story. People say they’re opting out, they want work-life balance, but we know from a lot of research that it’s not as simple as that. They’re not given opportunities.”
For 2018, the basic structure of Social Security is the same in terms of how workers are taxed and how benefits are calculated and paid. However, there are a few notable changes to be aware of, such as the gradually increasing full retirement age and several thresholds and other Social Security figures that adjust over time with inflation. With that in mind, here’s a rundown of eight 2018 Social Security changes that are set to go into effect.
Image source: Getty Images.
The full retirement age is increasing for some eligible seniors
The full or normal retirement age for Social Security benefits has been 66 years of age for some time now but is set to gradually increase to 67 for Americans born after 1954.
If you were born in…
Your full retirement age is…
1954 or earlier
66 years
1955
66 years, 2 months
1956
66 years, 4 months
1957
66 years, 6 months
1958
66 years, 8 months
1959
66 years, 10 months
1960 or later
67 years
Data source: Social Security Administration.
The reason this is important now is that the change has begun to affect people who are reaching the age of eligibility for Social Security benefits. Specifically, Americans who will turn 62 in 2018 (born in 1956) have a full retirement age of 66 years and four months, and those who will turn 63 in 2018 have a full retirement age of 66 years and two months.
Here’s why this is important. Since most Americans claim Social Security before they reach full retirement age, this means that early retirement will have a more dramatic reduction. For example, if a worker with a full retirement age of 66 claims at 62, he or she would face a 25% reduction. If their full retirement age is 66 years and four months, the reduction percentage would be 25.8%.
Finally, a decent cost-of-living adjustment for retirees
The Social Security Administration announced a 2% cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for beneficiaries, starting with the Dec. 2017 payment. This is the highest COLA in six years and is due to higher inflation — specifically, the rise in the CPI. However, this is still historically low. Social Security COLAs have averaged roughly 3.8% since the current method was implemented in 1975. Furthermore, for many retirees, this year’s increase could be consumed by rising Medicare Part B premiums.
Higher payments for beneficiaries
While many retirees will see some or all of their increase swallowed up by rising Medicare premiums, the COLA should produce higher checks for beneficiaries. The SSA estimates that the average retired worker will get a $27 raise to $1,404, and that the average couple receiving benefits will see their combined payments rise by $46 to $2,340.
Additionally, because of the higher taxable earnings cap from 2017, the maximum benefit is increasing significantly. The highest possible benefit payable to a worker retiring at their full retirement age is rising by more than $100 to $2,788 per month in 2018.
A slightly higher taxable earnings cap
Speaking of the taxable earnings cap, this is rising for 2018 as well. Each year, there is a maximum amount of wage income that is subject to Social Security tax. For 2017, this maximum was set at $127,200 — meaning that any amount of earned income above this threshold was not taxable for Social Security. In 2018, the maximum taxable earnings amount is rising by $1,500 to $128,700, meaning that high-income individuals will end up paying more in Social Security tax than they did in 2017.
Disability thresholds are rising
Social Security pays disability benefits to more than 10 million people, and there are maximum amounts of income that people can still earn while collecting disability benefits. For 2018, these monthly thresholds are rising slightly.
Type of Disability
2017 Threshold
2018 Threshold
Non-blind
$1,170
$1,180
Blind
$1,950
$1,970
Data source: Social Security Administration.
So are SSI payments
There are two Social Security disability programs — Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSDI payments are based on a beneficiary’s work record, just like retirement benefits.
On the other hand, SSI payments are based on a standard payment amount. For 2018, the SSI federal monthly payment standard is increasing.
Status
2017
2018
Individual
$735
$750
Couple
$1,103
$1,125
Data source: Social Security Administration. Table by author.
The earnings test limits are going up
If you claim Social Security before reaching full retirement age and are still working, the amount of money you earn could potentially reduce your Social Security benefits. This is known as the Social Security earnings test, and there are two different versions of the test, depending on your age.
If you will reach full retirement age after 2018, $17,040 in earnings ($1,420 per month) will be excluded from consideration. Beyond this threshold, your retirement benefits can be reduced by $1 for every $2 in excess earnings.
If you will reach full retirement age during 2018, $45,360 in annualized earnings ($3,780 per month) are excluded. Beyond this threshold, your retirement benefits can be reduced by $1 for every $3 in excess earnings. For this test, only the months before you reach full retirement age are considered. If your benefits are withheld because of the earnings test, it could permanently increase your benefit once you reach full retirement age, so this money isn’t necessarily lost.
Social Security “credits” represent more earnings
As a final Social Security change for 2018, the “credits” workers need to earn to qualify for benefits are getting a little more expensive.
Specifically, in order to be eligible for a retirement benefit, you need to earn 40 Social Security credits, up to a maximum of four per year. In 2018, each credit represents $1,320 in earnings, so you’ll need to earn at least $5,280 in order to earn the four possible credits for the year.
The 26th annual The Indus Entrepreneurs conference, TiE Inflect 2018, held from May 4 and May 5, and attended thousands of business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors at the Santa Clara Convention Center focused on artificial intelligence and featured 15 tracks all centered on the human impact of artificial intelligence.
TiE Silicon Valley board member Manish Gupta explained the change of name at the onset of the event, and the conference discussed on Artificial Intelligence: Executives from companies like Oracle, eBay, Capital One, Google, Cisco and more spoke about Artificial Intelligence and its impact on our daily lives; Internet of Things: VPs and managers from Trimble, Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia and more spoke about Internet of Things and connect IoT with cars, daily living, and food. Yes, food!; TiE Women: One of the best tracks of TiE Inflect as it featured women executives from marketing and tech companies; and, TiE Youth: The TiE Youth track featured many young entrepreneurs with successful startups. The track will be hosted by Miss San Jose and there is a shift as we will see more female speakers in this track. Budding student entrepreneurs from Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, Calif., spoke in this track.
The two-day-long event, co-convened by Ravinder Paul Singh and Sandeep Vij and hosted by TiE Silicon Valley with a cohort of more than 350 volunteers, featured 275 speakers including several grand keynotes provided to the more than 5,000 event-goers, including many from the Indian American community. “The need for what TiE can do has changed, and the need to change the name is working towards the new entrepreneur to help inflect,” Gupta said.
Some of the prominent speakers included, Splunk chief executive Doug Merritt, former Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka and SymphonyAI Group and Wadhwani Foundation founder Romesh Wadhwani. In citing his young life of moving 11 times by the time he was 13 years old, Merritt said he learned change is constant and led him to wonder how he could control the change. “The ability to imagine, conceive … is the core foundation why I got into tech,” Merritt added.
In advising the entrepreneurs in the crowd, the Splunk CEO said there is a need to adopt a growth mindset. “You’re either growing or you’re dying,” he said. “Data is the foundation of the future of economy, and it’s still in its infancy.”
Sikka, the former head of Infosys, focused on how AI, while it has grown leaps and bounds over the years, is still very far from being at a point where robots are superior to humans. Sikka said there needs to be more balanced research, better policy-making and regulatory work, better education, easier to use tools, and lots more applications. “We are either people that wait for people to tell us what to do, or we are people who use their imagination and see what isn’t there,” Sikka said. “(Our imagination) is the destiny that can keep us going in the long run.”
Like Merritt, other speakers gave advice on how entrepreneurs should be ever watchful over market changes. Delivering the grand keynote on the second day of the conference, Jay Chaudhry, founder and chairman of Zscaler, told the audience not to solely rely on feedback from their customers but to read the market and make decisions.
Wadhwani took the time to talk some sense into individuals who feel that AI and robots will take away jobs from humans. “At the end of previous revolutions (highlighting the industrial revolution and others) the economy was better and society was much better,” he said. “The claims of doom and gloom … I’m not a believer. It’s just the normal evolution of time.”
“My strong believe is that the next 10 years will be the golden age in AI,” Wadhwani said, stressing the importance to be bold and shoot for scalable companies rather than settling for creating a small company with intentions to be bought out. “I believe AI can be much more beneficial to helping underprivileged people across the world – more so than helping businesses.”
Three women – Madhura Konkar Belani, Shanthi Iyer and Julia Castro Abrams – in the “Road to Innovation Success: Journey, Advice and Collaboration Stories” session, discussed their careers to success. They offered insights to the more than 100 women in the crowd into their path to success and recommendations on how to move up the chain in any given company.
“Make sure not to just have a mentor, but have an advocate,” Iyer said to the crowd, citing a story about an advocate who pushed her to stick with her current position. “I think that changes the game. If everyone did it for one or two people, imagine the impact we can have.”
Building on the 25-year legacy of TiEcon, TiE Inflect 2018 was designed to focus on the business and human impact of AI, said Jay Visvanathan, executive director of TiE Silicon Valley, in his introductory remarks. A broad range of business-related topics was discussed at the event that drew about 5,000 people, including over 250 speakers.
Silicon Valley entrepreneur Suhas Patil, who co-founded TiE 25 years ago and is currently emeritus board member of TiE Global, observed that over the years TiE has given “startup guys” to make connections and keep pace with changing technologies. It also lets them know that “you don’t need a rich uncle to help you build a company.”
They came all spruced up, looking cool and “lit,”as they would say, to the TiE Youth Track on the second day of The Indus Entrepreneurs convention here, to show that despite their youth, they had a head start in the world of entrepreneurial leadership.
Nearly a dozen teenagers with titles adults traditionally have to earn through years of hard work — chief executive officer and president among them — strutted their business acumen and entrepreneurial achievements with aplomb. Many came dressed like pros. Nearly all of them had a philanthropic streak.
“We had decided to focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning at the conference this year, which is increasingly gaining currency in both tech-talks and laymen conversations these days and has become critical component of almost all industries. The importance that we attached to AI and machine learning or blockchain is evident from the title of the theme of this year’s conference: ‘Imagination AI,’ “said Ram Reddy, founder, chairman and CEO of Global Industry Analysts, Inc and president of TiE Silicon Valley.
“There needs to be more education on artificial intelligence as there are fewer than 250,000 people at present who could use machine learning tools,” he said. Earlier this year, Sikka exuded optimism about the future of AI saying, he is “personally extremely excited about doing something in AI, something that fundamentally improves the world.” That optimism reflected in his keynote at the conference.
The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) was founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley, seeking to create a bridge between budding entrepreneurs needing guidance for their ventures, and those who could offer that. While TiE continues to essentially pursue that mission of giving back to the community, 26 years later that goal has to some extent been adjusted keeping in consideration the needs of the present-day, young generation entrepreneurs. “So, our whole model has shifted to becoming mostly relevant to what is really happening out there, tailormade to the needs of people in our times,” Reddy said.
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association, AAHOA, kicked off its two-day Spring National Advocacy Conference as over 250 hoteliers from across the country visited Washington, DC on May 8th to meet with their legislators on Capitol Hill. They highlighted how the hospitality industry is a key economic driver in the United States, a press release said.
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association, whose members are mostly Indian-Americans, and which represents an estimated 50 percent of the U.S. hospitality industry, also launched a new digital training for members and their employees May 2, that focuses on raising awareness of human trafficking in the hospitality industry.
“America’s hoteliers create jobs, welcome guests into our communities, and provide a valuable service to travelers across the nation. AAHOA members are eager to share their knowledge of the hospitality industry with our congressional leaders. Whether its highlighting how they are reinvesting the tax savings generated by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as they create new jobs, increase wages, and expand their properties, or discussing the important steps our industry is taking to combat human trafficking, AAHOA members are letting our lawmakers know about the issues that matter most to them,” said AAHOA Chairman Hitesh (HP) Patel.
The AAHOA Vice Chairwoman Jagruti Panwala testified before the House Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access. Panwala focused on the impact of the travel and tourism industry on the American economy and highlighted the contributions of hotels and discussed the challenges the industry faces.
“It is a privilege to appear before the Congress and share the story of our industry and the important role that travel and tourism play in driving the American economy. This week, hundreds of AAHOA members are meeting with their elected officials and sharing their stories of small business success and helping our lawmakers understand how the policies they create are affecting their constituencies, Panwala said, according to an AAHOA press release.
“The economic indicators in America’s travel and tourism industry point to strong economic performance and a promising future. Unemployment is low, and business and consumer confidences are high. Hoteliers are increasing wages and workers are in demand,” said Panwala.
Earlier, in the May 2 AAHOA announcement of a joint partnership with Polaris, an organization that fights against ‘modern slavery’ the Indian-American hoteliers announced that the AAHOA Human Trafficking Awareness Training (HTAT) is available exclusively to AAHOA’s nearly 18,000 members and the over 600,000 employees at member properties at no cost, the news release said.
“Hoteliers have a moral imperative to prevent human trafficking at their properties,” AAHOA Chairman Hitesh (HP) Patel is quoted saying in the press release. “Unfortunately, the privacy and anonymity that are inherent in the hotel industry, as well as the frequent turnover of clientele, make hotels an attractive venue for criminals looking to exploit trafficking victims,” Hitesh Patel noted.
“With a membership that owns about one in every two hotels across the United States, AAHOA is capitalizing on that reach to promote education and awareness of human trafficking,” said AAHOA President and CEO Chip Rogers. “This important training not only focuses on sex trafficking, but also on labor trafficking, which can be difficult to spot,” Rogers added.
Being a conscientious employer means understanding how labor brokers and recruiters exploit workers and requesting supply chain transparency to ensure that no one is being forced to work against his or her will, Rogers said. “Hoteliers are uniquely positioned to disrupt the criminal networks and individuals that exploit society’s most vulnerable through human trafficking, and they can save lives in the process,” Rogers emphasized.
“This new training developed with Polaris will go a long way to help hoteliers and their employees identify the signs of sex and labor trafficking, assist victims, and work with law enforcement to keep this criminal activity out of our communities,” Hitesh Patel said speaking at a Houston, Texas roundtable discussion on the issue, hosted by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-TX. The roundtable also included representatives from the Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign, and Polaris.
“This training is a vital tool in the fight against sex trafficking and forced labor,” said Joe Racalto, director of Government Relations at Polaris said, adding, “Education is one of the keys to ending modern slavery and restoring freedom and dignity to survivors. By making it freely available to so many hoteliers and hotel workers, we can quickly raise awareness of the issue.”
AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world, its website says. The more than 17,700 AAHOA members own almost one in every two hotels in the United States, with billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees. “AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American dream,” the website notes.
The Simon Business School at the University of Rochester announced the establishment of the Rajesh Wadhawan Chair for Development Economics, according to a report in BusinessWire. The investiture is in commemoration of the WGC Group’s Indian American founder and his vision of economic equitability.
Over the last three decades, the WGC Group has been at the forefront of developing solutions for financial inclusion of the marginalized sections. The Chair is a part of its social investments to enable opportunities for the transformative progress of these communities. It is aimed to be a critical driver of new insights and enabling wisdom in the understanding of development economics. The WGC Group will continue to support the Chair’s curriculum by offering internships and other associations to students across its Group companies’ offices in India and the UK.
“Through the investiture of the Rajesh Wadhawan Chair, the Wadhawan family and the WGC Group reinforce their commitment towards creating a more equitable society. Their generosity will enable us to channelize analytical research towards solutions for inclusive growth. Through this partnership, we are hopeful of deepening our participation in the global dialogue for financial inclusivity,” remarked Dean Andrew Ainslie of Simon Business School.
Kapil Wadhawan, chairman of the WGC Group, said, “The Rajesh Wadhawan Chair reinstates our founder’s legacy of doing business with purpose. As we take our partnership with the Simon Business School to the next level, we aim to shape a future of equitable progress and create a larger impact globally.”
The Wadhawan family, represented by Mrs. Aruna Wadhawan, wife of late Rajesh Wadhawan, and son Kapil Wadhawan, his wife Vanita and daughter Tiana and son Kartik, were present at the plaque ceremony at the campus.
Prof. Gregory H. Bauer, Associate Dean of Full-Time Programs, Simon Business School, has been nominated as the permanent faculty for the Chair. He was associated with the Bank of Canada as the Senior Research Director for Financial Markets. Bauer has taught at the Simon School for 22 years. He is a four-time winner of the Superior Teaching Award from the Simon MBA program and a multiple winner of awards from the Executive MBA program. His research concerns international capital flows and the origins of financial crises.
Simon Business School is the business school of the University of Rochester and one of the world’s top graduate business institutions. It offers an education that attracts students who value analytic bias. The school believes strongly in the value of economics and statistics in the analysis of all business problems, and it is reflected in its ranking as a top five school for economics and finance.
University of Rochester is one of the top-tier research universities in the US. The private, non-profit university was founded in June 1850. It offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional degree programs. University of Rochester Medical Center Rochester’s Headquarters are located at 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, New York, USA 14642.
Wadhawan Global Capital is a leading financial services group head-quartered in India. The group manages $22 billion of assets through its lending, asset management and insurance businesses. WGC Group has partnered with leading financial institutions such as the International Finance Corporation, Washington, and Prudential Financial Inc., in transforming the lives of millions of customers.
WGC is the parent company for some of the top brands in India such as DHFL, Aadhar Housing Finance Company, Avanse Financial Services Ltd., DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance Company Ltd., Arthveda Finance, Wadhawan Wealth Managers, DHFL General Insurance and DHFL Pramerica Asset Managers Private Ltd. The company has a London-based wholly-owned subsidiary Wadhawan Global Capital (UK) Ltd.
While the Trump and his administration has been anti-immigrants, falsely accusing them of taking away the jobs in the United States, in yet another example of how immaigrants build and create jobs here in the US, the India-based Infosys, a consulting, technology and next-generation services firm, has announced the launching of a technology and innovation hub in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 26, declaring that it plans to establish a U.S. education center in the city as well as expand its hiring by 1,000 more jobs.
According to reports, Infosys has reached a deal to build a technology hub at the former Indianapolis International Airport terminal site, according to sources familiar with the plan. The development will include more than 120 acres and is expected to result in 3,000 new jobs — 1,000 more than previously announced. The Indianapolis Airport Authority, the city and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. reached terms on an agreement with the India-based technology company last week.
The center intends to train American workers and arm them with skills for the digital future. Additionally, the firm said in a news release it has expanded its hiring plans for the state from 2,000 to 3,000 new jobs by the end of 2023.
Infosys will provide an initial investment of $35 million to create the first 125,000 sq. ft. of development to transform the 70.5-acre site at the old Indianapolis airport terminal into its U.S. Education Center. Infosys will break ground on this initial phase before the end of 2018 and anticipates its completion by the end of 2020, it said.
The initial phase will comprise of a training center and will accommodate a 250-person residential facility. The center will also serve as a hub for development of next-generation digital technologies, according to the news release.
“We are excited to partner with Indiana to grow our U.S. presence by building our U.S. Education Center here, which is dedicated to continuous learning and incubating the skills of the future,” said Infosys president Ravi Kumar in a statement.
“At Infosys, we have always invested in advanced technology and skills and bring deep experience from running the largest corporate training facility in the world. Our new Indianapolis facility will prepare our American employees-and those of our clients-to master the kinds of advanced skills that are now required to succeed in our digital future,” Kumar said.
The state and Indianapolis are offering up to $101.8 million in incentives for the project, according to an IndyStar report. Infosys ultimately plans to build the $245 million, 141-acre campus in phases over several years, the report said.
Specifically, the state will offer Infosys up to $56.5 million in conditional tax credits and up to $1.5 million in training grants based on the company’s job-creation plans. The state also will offer up to $6 million in conditional tax credits for the company’s capital investment plans, the report noted.
Indianapolis is contributing $17.8 million in infrastructure improvements and real estate. The state is contributing an additional $20 million for infrastructure improvements, the publication said. The project far exceeds Infosys’ previous plans, both in real estate ambition and hiring, IndyStar added.
The company’s grander plan attracted the attention of Vice President Mike Pence, who changed his schedule to appear at the whirlwind announcement that came together so quickly it caught some state and city officials off guard. Mayor Joe Hogsett also attended the announcement, which culminates a year of negotiations with Infosys, the report said.
Infosys’ initial plan already stood as the second-largest jobs announcement in Indiana, after Honda’s decision more than a decade ago to build a $578 million plant in Greensburg and hire 2,064 workers, it added.
Infosys’ vision for the finished site includes regeneration of the area to feature walkways, green spaces and recreational facilities, the news release added.
Using best practices from Infosys’ Global Education Center in Mysore, India, and partnerships with academia and education providers, the initial training programs at the U.S. Education Center will combine classroom-based and immersive, real-world learning focused on key competencies such as user experience, cloud, big data and core technology and computer science skills, it said.
“Today’s announcement with Infosys is a big win-not just for Indiana but for the nation as a whole, which is why I’m glad Vice President Pence was able to join us,” Indiana Gov. Eric J. Holcomb said in a statement.
“Infosys’ state-of-the-art training facility will teach thousands of folks across America right here on Indiana soil. And, it will help prepare more current and future Hoosiers for success in our rapidly evolving, global economy,” he added.
This announcement is part of Infosys’ commitment to hire 10,000 American workers over the next two years and invest in training to ensure that the U.S. workforce has the essential skills required for the digital economy, the company said.
A community activist & leader, a successful businessman, an industrialist, a scientist, a renowned musician, two young prodigies, an organ donor, and a journalist were honored at a colorful bi-annual NAMAM Excellence Award 2018 ceremony held at the Royal Albert Palace, Edison, New Jersey on April 28th, 2018.
What stood out at the long-awaited historic event was that among the 7 honorees, two are leaders of the Indo-American Press Club (IAPC). Dr. Babu Stephan, current Chairman, and Ajay Ghosh, founding President of IAPC, were the recipients of the NAMAM awards for their contributions and successes in the business and media world, respectively. IAPC, founded 6 years ao, has been serving as a platform to raise the voice of Indian Americans journalists in North America.
Dr. Stephen is the CEO of DC Healthcare Inc, and the president of SM Reality LLC in Washington, and has been politically well-connected in both Washington DC and Kerala. He has dabbled in media and having arrived in America almost 4 decades ago, and has been among the first generation of Indian community builders here. In his acceptance speech for the award for excellence in business, he recounted the Indian American community’s landmark achievements in all walks of life here – and we have only started!
Ajay Ghosh was chosen for his contributions in media. He has founded the Universal News Network (UNN), a news portal as chief editor, and has been associated with news publications including India Tribute, Indian Express (North American edition), NRI Today and Asian Era magazines. And since 2010, he has been the media consultant of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI). In addition, he has taught Social Work Seminar and guided students at the Graduate School of Social Work at Fordham University in New York City since 2006 and works as a Primary Clinician at Yale New Haven Hospital, serving patients with behavioral health issues. Mr. Ghosh dedicated his award to the journalists of Indian origin, who work tirelessly to inform, educate and create awareness on issues that affect the peoples of the world.
Other awardees included, a world renowned community leader and activist, Dr. Thomas Abraham; T. S. Nandakumar, a renowned and versatile Carnatic music percussionist; Ramadas Pillai, President/CTO of Nuphoton Technologies, Inc; Rekha Nair, who has been an advocate for organ donation; Tiara Thankam Abraham, a 12-year-old soprano prodigy and a child genius; and, Child Genius Tanishq Mathew Abraham, a 14-year-old senior completing his biomedical engineering degree at Univ. Of California, Davis. He will be the youngest engineer to graduate in June 2018.
Dr. Thomas Abraham highlighted the need for bringing together the Indian Diaspora under the banner of GOPIO and how it has become a powerful force in raising our voices against discrimination and injustice. In her acceptance speech, Rekha Nair, who stunned the world by donating one of her kidneys at a young age to save the life of a woman she barely knew at the time last year, made an impassioned appeal for organ donation and blood donation.
Of the two siblings, Tanishq, 14-year-old senior (4th year) completing his biomedical engineering degree, could not come down from California, so his younger sister Tiara, 12, accepted the award on his behalf too. She also gave a performance and showed why she is considered a prodigy soprano.
NAMAM, or the North American Malayalees and Associated Members, founded by Madhavan B. Nair, has been honoring its best and brightest at biennial events. Madhavan Nair, in his welcome address, described it as, “an unforgettable evening as we honor extraordinarily accomplished individuals, who have made valuable contributions to the Indian-American community with the NAMAM Excellence Awards.”
The evening program was studded with dance and live music performances, both Indian classical and contemporary/Bollywood. Among the 350 attendees at the event were many prominent members of the community and guests from India.
Founded in 2010, NAMAM has been reaching out to the community with cultural programs, social gatherings and humanitarian aid efforts. Madhavan Nair summed up the essence of the awards nite and the goals of NAMAM: “It is our priority to pass a deep awareness about our rich heritage, unique customs and eclectic culture of Kerala to the younger generation in the USA, so that they can appreciate and take pride in their genealogy.”
“In the Western imagination, India conjures up everything from saris and spices to turbans and, temples—and the pulsating energy of Bollywood movies,” the prestigious Smithsonian Institute stated recently. “But in America, India’s contributions stretch far beyond these stereotypes. From the builders of some of America’s earliest railroads and farms to Civil Rights pioneers to digital technology entrepreneurs, Indian Americans have long been an inextricable part of American life. Today, one out of every 100 Americans, from Silicon Valley to Small town, USA, traces his or her roots to India. Breakthroughs in business, the arts, medicine, science, and technology, and the flavorful food, flamboyant fashion and yoga of India have become a central part of our national culture.”
In 1997, when I had landed in Milwaukee, WI to pursue my journalism degree, it was rare to find Indian Americans in the city. Today, everywhere I go, at work, shopping malls, sports arena, theaters, churches, schools where my 3 daughters attend, and in my neighborhood where I live, there is a growing number of Indian Americans. There has been an influx of Indian Americans across the nation, especially in the past couple of decades.
According to The Economist, “Three-quarters of the Indian-born population in America today arrived in the last 25 years.” The present Indian population can be explained from the nearly 147,000 immigrants that India provides to the country on a yearly basis, reported Huffington Post.
In the early 20th century just a few hundred people emigrated from India to America each year and there were only about 5,000 people of Indian heritage living in the United States. Today Indian-born Americans number over 3.8 million and they are probably the most successful minority group in the country. Compared with all other big foreign-born groups, they are younger, richer and more likely to be married and supremely well educated.
The modern immigration wave from Asia is nearly a half century old and has pushed the total population of Asian Americans—foreign born and U.S born, adults and children—to a record 18.2 million in 2011, or 5.8% of the total U.S. population, up from less than 1% in 1965.
Pew Research study has found, “Asian Americans are the highest-income, best-educated and fastest-growing racial group in the United States. They are more satisfied than the general public with their lives, finances and the direction of the country, and they place more value than other Americans do on marriage, parenthood, hard work and career success.”
Indians have always been rising in America. As James Crabtree of Financial Times suggests, “More than any other group of outsiders, it was the Indians who figured out that, to make it in startup land, it helps to have a social network of your own.”
The less than four million Indian Americans appear to be gaining prominence and have come to be recognized as a force to reckon with in this land of opportunities that they have come to call as their adopted homeland. They are the most educated population in the United States, with more than 80 percent holding college or advanced degrees, as per a report by Pew Research Center. They have the highest income levels, earning $65,000 per year with a median household income of $88,000, far higher than the U.S. household average of 49,000, according to the survey.
Although disparities persist with nearly nine percent of Indian Americans live in poverty, they have made a mark in almost every field in the United States through their hard work, dedication and brilliance. Notching successes in fields as diverse as poetry and politics, the fast growing strong Indian American community packed more power and influence far beyond their numbers in the year gone by.
“While the Indian-American community has been the wealthiest, most-educated minority in the U.S. for some time now, they’re only more recently experiencing wide-scale recognition in public life,” Forbes magazine stated.
Indian Americans are just one percent of the American population, but 3 percent of its engineers, 7 percent of its IT force, and 8 percent of its physicians and surgeons. Some 10-20 percent of all tech start-ups have Indian founders. Indeed, a joint Duke University-UC Berkeley study revealed that between 1995-2005, Indian immigrants founded more engineering and technology companies than immigrants from countries like UK, China, Taiwan and Japan combined. They have risen to the top ranks in major companies like Satya Nadella in Microsoft, Sundar Pichai in Google and Indra Nooyi in Pepsico.
Indians for decades have been playing an important role in global technology landscape. Indians, especially in Silicon Valley, are growing in prominence, influence, and sheer population. The fact that Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai, and Nikesh Arora lead some of the most prominent tech world giants is an example of their importance to the larger world and the significant contributions they continue to make.
Rajeev Suri is leading Nokia. Hyderabad-born Shantanu Narayen is the leader of Adobe, while Sanjay Jha ids the CEO of Global Foundries. George Kurian became the CEO and president of storage and data management company NetApp in June 2015. Francisco D’Souza is the CEO, Cognizant, and Dinesh Paliwal is the president and CEO of Harman International, and Ashok Vemuri is the CEO, Conduent Inc, the Xerox’s sibling business services. These are only a few of the success stories of Indians in the US, leading the tech industry in the US.
The surge in Indians moving to America was intimately linked to the rise of the technology industry. In the 1980s India loosened its rules on private colleges, leading to a large expansion in the pool of engineering and science graduates. Fear of the “Y2K” bug in the late 1990s served as a catalyst for them to engage with the global economy, with armies of Indian engineers working remotely from the subcontinent, or travelling to America on workers’ visas.
Today a quarter or more of the Indian-born workforce is employed in the tech industry. In the Silicon Valley neighborhoods such as Fremont and Cupertino, people of Indian origin make up a fifth of the population. Some 10-20% of all tech start-ups have Indian founders; Indians have ascended to the heights of the biggest firms, too.
If Indians are a powerful force in the tech sector, they have also begun to show their power in the political arena. There have been several Indian Americans who have been elected and appointed to important positions at national, state and local level offices.
A record five Indian-Americans serve in the US Congress, scripting history for the minority ethnic community that comprises just one per cent of America’s population. Congressmen Ami Bera, Raja
Photo by: Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx 4/14/16 Dr. Vivek Murthy (U.S. Surgeon General) at The National Action Network Conference. (NYC)
Krishnamoorthy, Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal have been elected to the US Congress while Kamla Harris represents California in the US Senate.
Kamala Harris, a rising star, the first Indian American and first black senator from California, the Huffington Post has suggested Harris could be “the next best hope for shattering that glass ceiling=,” by becoming the first female President of the greatest democracy in the world. Pundits have compared her rise to that of former President Obama.
Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, a fast-rising Democratic star, has featured in the Politico magazine’s “Power List for the year 2018” for having assumed the mantle of a House “leader of the resistance.”
Over the past several months, there have been a number of articles in the national press, speculating whether former South Carolina Governor and the current US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley might consider a presidential run in 2020. Some say her efforts and clear leadership as governor and ambassador to the United Nations have put her in a strong position to possibly become this nation’s first female president.
In the most recent elections, Indian Americans made huge victories across the nation. Last November, Indian American politician Ravinder Bhalla made news by being the first Sikh mayor of the New Jersey city of Hoboken, as well as one of the first public officials in the US to wear a turban. The occupational profile presented by the Asian Indian community today is one of increasing diversity. Although a large number of Asian Indians are professionals, others own small businesses or are employed as semi- or nonskilled workers.
Forbes wrote recently about the new additions to the Trump administration: “two Indian Americans, Raj Shah and Manisha Singh, the latest instance of a relatively new, larger trend: the growing participation — and success — of Indian Americans in public service.”
Trump appointed Raj Shah principal deputy press secretary — who also continues to hold his post as deputy assistant to the president. US assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, Manisha Singh, 45, is a noted lawyer from Florida.
As the chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission, accomplished attorney Ajit Pai works on a wide variety of regulatory and transactional matters involving the cable, internet, TV, radio and satellite industries.
A respected legal scholar, Neomi Rao is the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the White House. Seema Verma is the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Vishal Amin is Trump’s intellectual property enforcement coordinator. Neil Chatterjee is chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
While several Indian Americans are now key players in pushing the Trump White House’s conservative agenda, the Indian-American community in general has long leaned left. Politically, they are more Democratic leaning than any other group as a whole in the nation. A whopping 84 per cent Indian-Americans voted for President Barack Obama in the general election in 2012. Compared with other US Asian groups, Indian Americans are the most likely to identify with the Democratic Party; 65 percent are Democrats or lean to the Democrats, 18 percent are Republicans.
In the Obama era, they were recognized by the Democratic Party with important jobs in Washington, DC as never been before. “It is very exciting to serve in an Administration that has so many great Indian-Americans serving,” said Raj Shah, former Administrator of USIAD, the highest ranking Indian-American in the Obama Administration.
In 2012, a record 30 Indian Americans fought to win electoral battle with Republican Nikki Haley and Democrat Kamala Harris handily winning back their jobs as South Carolina governor and California’s attorney general respectively. Amiresh ‘Ami’ Bera, the lone Indian American in the US House of Representatives, repeated history by winning a tight California House race.
Dr. Vivek Verma won an uphill battle against the powerful Gun Lobby and won the majority support at the US Senate. President Barack Obama appointed Richard Rahul Verma as the first envoy from the NRI community to India. Nisha Desai Biswal was heading the State Department’s South Asia bureau. Puneet Talwar took over as assistant secretary for political-military affairs to serve as a bridge between the State and Defense departments, while Arun Madhavan Kumar became assistant secretary of commerce and director general of the US and Foreign Commercial Service.
Subra Suresh was inducted into the Institute of Medicine (IOM), making him the only university president to be elected to all three national academies, while Sujit Choudhry, a noted expert in comparative constitutional law, became the first Indian American dean of the University of California-Berkeley, School of Law, a top US law school. Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe won the Scripps National Spelling Bee contest after 52 years and for just the fourth time in the contest’s history. Indira Nooyi, another person of Indian origin has been leading as the CEO of Pepsi, one of the largest corporations.
Former US attorney Preet Bharara made history by going after small and big law breakers in the nation. Among many judges of Indian origin, Sri Srinivasan stole the headlines with his unanimous support from the US Senate to the US Federal Court in DC.
In the glamor world of the nation, Indian Americans are not far behind. Aziz Ansari, the Master of None star won the Golden Globe this year for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Several others have found leading roles in the highly competitive Hollywood movies and on TV.
Priyanka Chopra has been voted the “Sexiest Asian Woman” in the world in an annual UK poll released in London last week. From splashes of red and black to purple velvet, with models that defied tradition both in size and age, Indian-American fashion designers showed their metal at the New York Fashion Week that was held in New York City in February this year. They included Bibhu Mohapatra, Prabal Gurung, Misha Kaura, Naeem Khan, Sachin & Babi, and the MacDuggal brand.
Like all immigrant groups, Indians have found niches in America’s vast economy. Half of all motels are owned by Indians, mainly Gujaratis. Punjabis dominate the franchises for 7-Eleven stores and Subway sandwiches.
Ten richest of all Indian Americans have made it to the Forbes List 2018, The World’s Billionaires on March 6th. The richest Indian American on the list is Rakesh Gangwal, the co-founder of the airline Indigo and is worth $3.3 billion, after he made an extra $1.2 billion in the past year. Romesh T. Wadhwani, an IT entrepreneur and philanthropist, closely follows him, with a net worth of $3.1 billion, who ended up topping the list last year. Forbes list this year has a record of 2,208 members including two new Indian Americans, Niraj Shah who is worth $1.6 billion and Jayshree Ullal who is worth $1.3 billion. Shah is the CEO and co-founder of Wayfair while Ullal is the CEO of Arista Networks.
Again, quoting Pew Research, Indian Americans are the highest-income and best-educated people in the United States and the third largest among Asian Americans who have surpassed Latinos as the fastest-growing racial group, according to a new survey. Seven-in-ten (70 percent) Indian Americans ages 25 and older, have obtained at least a bachelor’s degree; this is higher than the Asian-American share (49 percent) and much higher than the national share (28 percent), the survey found.
Indian Americans generally are well-off. Median annual household income for Indian Americans in 2010 was $88,000, much higher than for all Asian Americans ($66,000) and all U.S. households ($49,800). In 2010, 28% of Indian American worked in science and engineering fields; according to the 2013 American Community Survey, more than two-thirds (69.3%) of Indian Americans 16 and older were in management, business, science and arts occupations.
They are the largest segment of any group that entered the country under the H1-B visa program, which allow highly skilled foreign workers in designated “specialty occupations” to work in the U.S. In 2011, for example, 72,438 Indians received H1-B visas, 56% of all such visas granted that year.
Indian Americans have quietly permeated many segments of the American economy and society while still retaining their Indian culture. Most Asian Indian families strive to preserve traditional Indian values and transmit these to their children. Offsprings are encouraged to marry within the community and maintain their Indian heritage.
Indian Americans stand out from most other US Asian groups in the personal importance they place on parenting; 78 percent of Indian Americans say being a good parent is one of the most important things to them personally. Indian Americans are among the most likely to say that the strength of family ties is better in their country of origin (69 percent) than in the US (8 percent).
Nearly nine-in-ten (87 percent) adult Indian Americans in the United States are foreign born, compared with about 74 percent of adult Asian Americans and 16 percent of the adult US population overall. More than half of Indian-American adults are US citizens (56 percent), lower than the share among overall adult Asian population (70 percent) as well as the national share (91 percent).
More than three-quarters of Indian Americans (76 percent) speak English proficiently, compared with 63 percent of all Asian Americans and 90 percent of the US population overall. The median age of adult Indian Americans is 37, lower than for adult Asian Americans (41) and the national median (45).
Although over four fifths of Indians belong to Hindu religion in India, only about half (51%) of Indian Americans are Hindu, while nearly all Asian-American Hindus (93%) trace their heritage to India. 18% of Indian Americans identified themselves as Christians; 10% said they were Muslim.
More than seven-in-ten (71 percent) adult Indian Americans are married, a share significantly higher than for all Asian Americans (59 percent) and for the nation (51 percent). The share of unmarried mothers was much lower among Indian Americans (2.3 percent) than among all Asian Americans (15 percent) and the population overall (37 percent).
The first Asian Indians or Indian Americans, as they are also known, arrived in America as early as the middle of the nineteenth century. By the end of the nineteenth century, about 2,000 Indians, most of them Sikhs (a religious minority from India’s Punjab region), settled on the west coast of the United States, having come in search of economic opportunity. Other Asian Indians came as merchants and traders; many worked in lumber mills and logging camps in the western states of Oregon, Washington, and California, where they rented bunkhouses, acquired knowledge of English, and assumed Western dress.
Between 1910 and 1920, as agricultural work in California began to become more abundant and better paying, many Indian immigrants turned to the fields and orchards for employment. For many of the immigrants who had come from villages in rural India, farming was both familiar and preferable. Some Indians eventually settled permanently in the California valleys where they worked. Because there was virtually no immigration by Indian women during this time, it was not unheard of for Indian males to marry Mexican women and raise families.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, about 100 Indian students also studied in universities across America. A small group of Indian immigrants also came to America as political refugees from British rule. The immigration of Indians to America was tightly controlled by the American government during this time, and Indians applying for visas to travel to the United States were often rejected by U.S. diplomats in major Indian cities like Bombay and Calcutta. The Asiatic Exclusion League (AEL) was organized in 1907 to encourage the expulsion of Asian workers, including Indians.
In July 1946, Congress passed a bill allowing naturalization for Indians and, in 1957, the first Asian Indian Congressman, Dalip Saund, was elected to Congress. Like many early Indian immigrants, Saund came to the United States from Punjab and had worked in the fields and farms of California. He had also earned a doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley. While more educated and professional Indians began to enter America, immigration restrictions and tight quotas ensured that only small numbers of Indians entered the country prior to 1965. Overall, approximately 6,000 Asian Indians immigrated to the United States between 1947 and 1965.
From 1965 onward, a wave of Indian immigration began, spurred by a change in U.S. immigration law that lifted prior quotas and restrictions and allowed significant numbers of Asians to immigrate. Between 1965 and 1974, Indian immigration to the United States increased at a rate greater than that from almost any other country.
This wave of immigrants was very different from the earliest Indian immigrants—Indians that emigrated after 1965 were overwhelmingly urban, professional, and highly educated and quickly engaged in gainful employment in many U.S. cities. Many had prior exposure to Western society and education and their transition to the United States was therefore relatively smooth. More than 100,000 such professionals and their families entered the U.S. in the decade after 1965.
Almost 40 percent of all Indian immigrants who entered the United States in the decades after 1965 arrived on student or exchange visitor visas, in some cases with their spouses and dependents. Most of the students pursued graduate degrees in a variety of disciplines. They were often able to find promising jobs and prosper economically, and many became permanent residents and then citizens.
The 1990 U.S. census reported 570,000 Asian Indians in America. In general, the Asian Indian community has preferred to settle in the larger American cities rather than smaller towns, especially in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. This appears to be a reflection of both the availability of jobs in larger cities, and the personal preference of being a part of an urban, ethnically diverse environment, one which is evocative of the Indian cities that many of the post-1965 immigrants came from.
Indian Americans are more evenly spread out than other Asian Americans. About 24 percent of adult Indian Americans live in the West, compared with 47 percent of Asian Americans and 23 percent of the US population overall. More than three-in-ten (31 percent) Indian Americans live in the Northeast, 29 percent live in the South, and the rest (17 percent) live in the Midwest.
Despite their successes, they have been also subjected to discrimination and racist attacks. According to a recent report called “Communities on Fire” by the Washington, DC-based group South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), hate crimes against Indian Americans and other South Asian Americans surged 45% from November 8, 2016, to November 7, 2017. The group recorded 302 incidents during that period, 213 of them being direct physical or verbal assaults
The Indian American community continues to play an important role in shaping the relationship between India, the largest democracy and the US, the greatest democracy in the world. “The model minority stereotype stems from the “non-threatening nature” of the Indian immigrant — a label bestowed by the white counterpart. The Indian American community is seen as “successful” – a prototype to be followed by fellow minorities,” Huffington Post wrote.
“Indian-Americans are tremendously important and we hope they would be increasingly visible not only in the government, but also in all parts of American life,” said Maya Kassandra Soetoro-Ng, maternal half-sister of Obama, adding that the President was very proud of the community. “It is certainly a reflection of how important India is and how important Indian-Americans are to the fabric of the nation. I would just like to celebrate all of the contribution artistic, political and so much more of the community. It is time we come to recognize fully the contribution of the Indian-American community here,” said Maya.
Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Architect Balkrishna Doshi, and human rights lawyer Indira Jaising have been featured in Fortune magazine’s 50 Greatest Leaders of 2018.
Fortune’s list “of the thinkers, speakers, and doers who are stepping up to meet today’s challenges” also includes Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Ranking Ambani at 24th place, Fortune said that he had “in less than two years, brought mobile data to the masses and completely upended the country’s telecom market”. “Since Ambani, chief of the $47 billion conglomerate Reliance Industries, launched Jio — the first mobile network in the world to be entirely IP-based — in September 2016, the company has signed up a staggering 168 million subscribers.
“The secret? Offering dirt-cheap data and free calls (and plowing billions of dollars into the infrastructure that transmits them). The effect, dubbed ‘Jio-fication’, has driven India’s higher-price carriers to drop costs (if not run them out of business), and it fueled a 1,100 per cent rise in India’s monthly data consumption,” it said.
Lawyers Collective Founder Indira Jaising has been ranked 20. “When the poorest in India need a voice, they find one in Jaising, a lawyer who has dedicated her life to battling injustice,” Fortune said. “She has fought on behalf of victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster, helped Syrian Christian women in India win property rights equal to their male counterparts’, and helped draft India’s first domestic violence law. “Her work has recently led her to Myanmar, where she was appointed by the UN to lead an investigation into the persecution of Rohingya Muslims,” it added.
Ranking Doshi at 43, Fortune said he is the winner of architecture’s highest honour this year – the Pritzker Prize – and has spent the bulk of his 70-year career championing accessible housing, earning the nickname of “the architect for the poor”.
“His designs include the Aranya low-cost housing project in Indore, a labyrinth of homes and courtyards that provide around 80,000 residents with a balance of open spaces and communal living, and the mixed-income Life Insurance Corporation Housing in Ahmedabad, where several generations of a family can occupy levels of the same building.
“Underlying all his work is the ideal that all economic classes deserve good housing,” it said. The first rank in this year’s list goes to “The Students” of Marjory Stoneman Douglas and other schools in the US that suffered from gun violence.
This year’s list includes Bill and Melinda Gates, tennis star Serena Williams, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Tencent CEO Huateng ‘Pony’ Ma, Chinese environmentalist Ma Jun, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian and Hollywood actor-producer Reese Witherspoon.
India’s financial inclusion efforts have won recognition from the World Bank, as their data indicates 55% of new bank accounts opened globally are from India, financial services secretary Rajiv Kumar said on Saturday.
“World Bank Global Findex Report recognises India’s Financial Inclusion efforts. Of the 51.4 crore bank accounts opened from 2014-17 globally, a whopping 55% from India” he said in a tweet.
The World Bank report released on Friday cited the success of the Jan Dhan Yojana — the government’s initiative aimed at bringing masses within the formal banking system.
The total number of Jan Dhan account holders has risen to 31.44 crore in March, 2018, from 28.17 crore a year earlier, according to the government data.
As per the World Bank Global Findex Report, the percentage of adult bank account holders in India increased to 80% in 2017 as compared to 53% in 2014 and 35% in 2011, he said.
Women at the forefront, he said, highlights a sharp fall in gender gap from 20% in 2014 to 6% in 2017 in bank accounts due to Government efforts.
The report acknowledges impact of government policy in reducing gaps in bank account ownership between rich and poor to 5% in 2017, down from 15% in 2014, he added. The Global Findex Report, 2017 released by the World Bank noted the rapid increase in financial inclusion that has taken place in India and how the number of account holders in the country has risen from 35% of the adults in 2011 and 53% in 2014 to 80 % in 2017.
This, it states, is comparable to 80% of adults in China who have an account. The Report also attributes this progress as being driven by the Jan Dhan Yojana policy which has used biometric ID to expand access to financial services.
It may be pertinent to note that the Report sources its data largely from surveys that were conducted in the summer of 2017.
Hundreds of business enthusiasts, including several Indian titans and entrepreneurs attended the 14th annual India Business Conference on Saturday, April 7th, at Columbia University, a day-long conference presented by the South Asian Business Association (SABA), discussing, ‘India: Unlocking the Growth Engine.’ Prominent among those attended the event at the heart of the world were, the Consul General of India in New York, Sandeep Chakravorty, Hikmet Ersek, the President, CEO and Director of Western Union; Salman Khurshid, the former Minister of External Affairs and Subramanian Swamy, the former Minister of Law, Justice and Commerce.
The India Business Conference is the premier India-focused forum that inspires thought-leadership and generates discussions around the business, social, political, and creative undercurrents that permeate Indian life. The conference brought together the nation’s most influential and insightful voices in analyzing India’s growth trajectory, discuss its economic and socio-political components and debate strategies for businesses to grow over the next decade.
Both Khurshid and Swamy spoke about the economic growth rate of India since the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014. “India is a remarkable destination for investment; India is on the move; India is an emerging economy and India has a bright future lying ahead,” Khurshid said in his opening remarks, talking about how the economy of India has grown in the areas of food, health, housing and education after the election of Modi as prime minister.
“The critical problem in our country was how we can integrate the rural economy with the urban economy. How do we change the terms of trade, how do we shift the industry to agriculture,” Khurshid asked the roomful of business enthusiasts, adding “we must not forget that India still has a huge number of people who live below the poverty line, who live without hope and aspiration to become a part of this ‘New India,’ the India of Narendra Modi.”
He also touched upon the fact that people in India have a mobile phone but don’t have the capacity to pay a doctor, send their children to school or even travel five to 10 kilometers. Khurshid concluded his remarks by stating that India is in a crisis due to the many social norms that the population of the country disagrees on and so now “we have to have faith in democracy. In democracy, you have to understand that the dialogue and conversations in a democracy are very critical. You cannot have a democracy based only on numbers; a democracy has to be based on communication. The trouble in India today is that we have forgotten that communication is an integral part of democracy and we have restricted ourselves to numbers only.”
Swamy focused his remarks on the development of India’s economy since May 26, 2014, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office, but touched upon issues like demonetization and GST. “First of all I would like to say that the BJP came to power after 33 years in full majority and it is not based only on the economic performance that we promised but we also made an appeal for the unity of nationalistic forces, which our critics define as ‘Hindutva,’ so that we can fight corruption,” Swamy said.
“It is our view, mine in particular, that past history shows that pure economic performance does not guarantee the ladder to success. In a brief period of two-and-a-half years, Morarji Desai produced one of the best economic situations particularly for the people because it controlled prices to such an extent that human ration cards became unfashionable. But he lost the election. Narsimha Rao produced a miracle of sorts; he abolished the soviet economic system and brought in a market economy. But he too lost,” Swamy added.
Swamy informed all the attendees that “during the last four-and-a-half years there has been an acceleration of growth of GDP” in India and that prior to 2014, those growth rates were decelerating.
It was within the first two years after the 2014 election that the growth rates started to increase again. However, they have been decreasing since the 2016-2017 financial year and have come down to six percent a year which is not enough because India needs to have at least a 10 percent growth rate each year for the next 10 years in order to solve the problems of unemployment and inequality, he said.
Along with mentioning the fact that the rate of domestic sales has declined in the past four years because of high interest rates and the labor laws need to be changed, Swamy announced that the idea of demonetization was his when he was the chairman of strategic action under Prime Minister Modi. Swamy concluded his remarks on a hopeful note about how the youngsters of India are the future of the country and will take India to a higher level.
In a fireside chat with Ersek and Columbia University professor Stephen P. Zeldes, Ersek said that Western Union has licenses to operate in over 200 countries and with 50 million customers, they are able to transfer a total of $150 billion worldwide each year with 31 transactions taking place every second. Ersek also talked about trust and how that has been the company’s strength for all these years when transferring money to India and other countries.
“More than 50 percent of the people who receive money through Western Union are female, mainly mothers who are worried about their children’s future and thus tend to spend their money more wisely than males,” Ersek said.
Now in the growing age of digitization, many are relying on sending and receiving money on their mobile devices through the Western Union app and Ersek reassured an audience member that there is no need to worry about crypto currencies because for Western Union it depends on the environment as “it occurs in closed environments” and Western Union customers are in a more open one, especially in India.
Others who spoke at the conference included: Francisco D’Souza, the CEO of Cognizant; Anjali Bansal, the former MD of TPG Private Equity; Gaurav Dalmia, the Chairman of Dalmia Group Holdings; Sheena Iyengar, a S.T. Lee Professor of Business; Ananth Narayanan, the CEO Myntra & Jabong; Shankar Narayanan, the former MD of Carlyle Group; Ashwini Tewari, the Country Head of the U.S. Operations at State Bank of India; Meera Vasudevan, Co-founder of Tasty Bite Eatables; Arvind Panagariya, the Ex Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog; Sanjay Nath, the Co-founder & Managing Partner of Blume Ventures; Deepak Ohri, the CEO of Lebua Hotels and Resorts; Kshitij Bhati, the former Warburg Pincus; and, Musthafa PC, the CEO & Co-founder of iD Fresh Food (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott met with the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, in New Delhi, March 28. During the meeting, Governor Abbott thanked the Prime Minister for his hospitality and spoke on the importance of continuing to grow Texas-India relations both economically and culturally. This marks the first time the Prime Minister has met with a United States Governor, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
“Texas is continuing to grow relations with India both economically & culturally. A productive meeting today in New Delhi with Prime Minister @narendramodi,” Gov. Abbott tweeted a few hours after the meeting. According to the Governor’s office, Texas is 2nd among all U.S. states for exports to India with exports valued at nearly $3.4 billion in 2017.
“I am extremely grateful to Prime Minister Modi for welcoming me to his country and for the opportunity to discuss the meaningful relationship between Texas and India,” Abbott is quoted saying in the release. “While Texas and India have long maintained an important economic relationship, this trip has also highlighted our commonly shared values of family, faith, community and hard work. These are the bonds that we will continue to build on, and I look forward to growing this partnership even more after this successful trip,” the Governor added.
The meeting which took place at the Prime Minister’s residence, lasted more than an hour. Among the topics the two leaders discussed were Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, the Indian-American community in Texas, healthcare, defense, their respective economies, and energy. The The Governor talked about how productive his trip has been and the potential it will have in creating more jobs and investment for the people of Texas.
The Governor and Prime Minister spoke on how they can continue to strengthen the strong bond between Texas and India and reaffirmed their commitment to continuing the successful partnership, the press release said.
The Governor also met with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu the same day. “Texas is working to establish a direct flight from Texas to India,” and the meeting was held to further that goal, the Governor’s Facebook page said. The two also discussed mutually beneficial trade.
On March 26, while in Mumbai, Gov. Abbott closed a deal with JSW Steel to expand its operations in Baytown, Texas, that the governor’s office said, will create 500 new jobs and expand economic growth in Texas.
“The Memorandum signed by Greg Abbott and JSW USA is part of our long term strategy to enhance our U.S. footprint,” Parth Jindal of JSW Group is quoted saying in a press release. “It reiterates our commitment to stay invested and grow in the U.S. market. It also provides JSW USA an opportunity to participate in USA’s infrastructure development and job creation priorities,” Jindal added. “Access to natural gas at extremely economical prices and the abundant availability of scrap steel in Texas make conditions very conducive for manufacturing through the Electric Arc Furnace route,” Jindal said.
Earlier, on March 25, Gov. Abbott addressed the Rotary Club of Bombay, touting the Texas economy and the importance of strengthening the bond between India and Texas.
Governor Abbott also emphasized the importance of trade with India, noting that Texas is the 2nd largest exporter to India in the U.S., and the 4th largest importer of Indian goods in the U.S., a press release from his office said.
“It’s not just the exchange of goods that connects the people of India and Texas,” Abbott is quoted saying at the Rotary meeting. “The values that we share are founded on family, faith, commitment to our communities, and hard work.”
Following his address, the Governor participated in a question and answer session with members of the Rotary Club of Bombay which is one of the oldest rotaries in India founded in 1929.
Dallas News, which accompanied the Governor and his delegation to India, reported Abbott has 15 Texans in his delegation, including “some Indian American businessmen who have flown to India at their own expense to accompany him for part of his nine-day jaunt.”
The governor also visited the headquarters of the multinational Mahindra & Mahindra in south Mumbai, where he praised the company and its operations in Texas. Mahindra North America. donated $1.5 million in cash and kind after the disastrous Hurricane Harvey last September, according to Dallas News. “That shows us that you’re more than just a business operating in Texas. You are a genuine part of our community,” the Governor is quoted saying in the Dallas News report. He also praised Indian immigrants in Texas, describing them as “very productive, very hard-working, very committed to the ideals that … underlie both America and the American dream,” the news report stated.
The 910-carat Lesotho Legend was sold for $40 million in a tender in Antwerp, Gem Diamonds Ltd. said Tuesday. The company found the stone, which is about the size of two golf balls, at its Letseng mine in the African country this year.
While it’s the most Gem has yet received for a diamond, other companies have sold for more. Lucara Diamond Corp. got a record $63 million for an 813-carat stone last year and $53 million for the 1,109-carat diamond it found at the same time, which was the second-biggest in history.
And another 2 precious world biggest diamonds Niravmodi and Mehul choksi escaped out of India. The Letseng mine is famous for the size and quality of the diamonds it produces and has the highest average selling price in the world. Gem sold a 357-carat stone for $19.3 million in 2015 and in 2006 found the 603-carat Lesotho Promise.
So far this year, the company has found six diamonds bigger than 100 carats, putting it on track for its best year yet. Twitter Appoints ‘Distinguished Software Engineer’ Parag Agrawal as New Chief Technology Officer
Parag Agrawal appointed COO of Twitter
Twitter has appointed distinguished software engineer Parag Agrawal, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology at Mumbai, as its chief technology officer, according to an update at the micro-blogging site. The Indian American computer scientist takes the position most recently held by Adam Messinger, who left in late 2016, CNBC reported March 8.
The appointment of Agrawal, who completed his doctorate in computer science from Stanford University in 2011, was announced internally in October 2017. Agrawal joined Twitter in October 2011 as an ads engineer, and he most recently held the title of distinguished software engineer.
Before joining Twitter, he did research internships at AT&T, Microsoft and Yahoo. His contributions at Twitter include leading efforts to increase the relevance of tweets in Twitter users’ timelines using artificial intelligence. AI also helps Twitter in preventing abuse on the social network.
“In his capacity as CTO, he’s focused on scaling a cohesive machine learning and AI approach across our consumer and revenue product and infrastructure teams,” a Twitter spokesman told CNBC.
Twitter also announced this week that it intends to hire a director of social science in an attempt to “increase the collective health, openness and civility of public conversation” on its platform.
HAB BANK, nation’s oldest and largest South Asian American bank, hosted a dinner on Friday, February 16, for its Iselin Branch valued customers at The Marigold, Somerset, New Jersey. The event was organized by the Bank’s Iselin Branch to thank and pay tribute to the community that the Bank serve. Over 300 guests included successful entrepreneurs and professionals who attended the gala dinner. Mr. Girish Vazirani, Vice President & Branch Manager, Iselin Branch welcomed the guests and expressed HAB’s gratitude for their presence at the dinner.
In his welcome speech, HAB’s President & CEO Saleem Iqbal thanked the invited guests for taking time out from their busy schedule to be at the HAB’s Customer Appreciation Gala Dinner. The dinner coincided with HAB’s yearlong celebration of its 35 Years of service to the community. Mr. Iqbal devoted much of his speech highlighting the history of South Asian Community and presence in the United States, which dates back to 1820.
The origin was not without struggles and challenges. He pointed out that early migrants from South Asia paved the way to whole new generation of successful South Asians playing pivotal roles in a number of disciplines and industries. From software pioneers in Silicone Valley, mainstream politics, academia and to successful artists in TV and Films, South Asian community has made its mark. Mr. Iqbal highlighted some of the business leaders of South Asian origin that have become an integral part of American landscape and are contributing to our adopted home USA.
Since its charter in 1983, HAB has made great strides and is now the largest South Asian American bank in the United States. Mr. Iqbal highlighted that HAB’s success and progress is primarily because of its dedicated employees and customers at each and every branch.
Besides a large number of clients, HAB’s Imran Habib, Rizwan Qureshi, Zilay Wahidy, Girish Vazirani and several staff members and senior executives attended the event. Multiple media outlets such as ARY Digital, TV Asia, TV 9 and India Life & Times, and Desi Talk extensively covered HAB’s Gala Dinner.
HAB BANK was founded in 1983 and since its inception, it has played a key role in nurturing and strengthening the South Asian community with branch network located in New York, New Jersey and California. Through the years, the Bank has evolved in response to needs of its customers and maintains a close relationship with the community it serves.
The Bank’s core products are Commercial Real Estate Mortgages, International Trade Services, US Small Business Loans and a well-designed commercial banking products and services for small to medium sized businesses. The Bank also has a wide range of consumer products and services including personal checking, savings, CDs, and full-service online banking. The Bank is fully committed to remain engaged and pro-active in meeting the banking requirements of its customer and, above all, continues to work towards “Building Relationships”.
US President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “fantastic” and “beautiful” man but ratcheted up the rhetoric on bilateral trade, saying he wasn’t impressed by the recent cuts in tariff on Harley-Davidson motorbikes sold in India.
“Now, the prime minister, who I think is a fantastic man, called me the other day. He said, ‘We are lowering it (the tariff on Harley-Davidson) to 50%.’ I said, ‘Okay, but so far we’re getting nothing.’ So we get nothing, he gets 50 (percent), and they think we’re doing — like they’re doing us a favour,” Trump said at a meeting with state governors at the White House.“
“He (Modi) said it so beautifully. He’s a beautiful man. And he said, ‘I just want to inform you that we have reduced it to 75, but we have further reduced it to 50.’ And I said, ‘Huh.’ What do I say? Am I supposed to be thrilled?”
Trump was referring to a phone conversation he had had with Modi on February 8, in which they had discussed Maldives, Afghanistan and a whole range of bilateral issues, including trade. India earlier used to levy a 100% tariff on motorcycles larger than 800cc, but as of this month, the rates have dropped down to a flat 50%. But the duty on Indian motorbikes sold in the US is 0%.
According to reports, Harley-Davidson India has an annual sale of 3,700, but Trump’s claims that Indian motorcycles sell by the “thousands and thousands” in the United States has been called an exaggeration — the US is not among major importers of Indian bikes.
Trump has publicly litigated his case against tariff rates on Harley-Davidsons and his despite his glowing references to Modi, his tone has grown sharper, even as his administration presses India to lower tariff on other goods and remove non-tariff trade barriers.
“So they have a motorcycle or a motorbike that comes into our country — the number is zero. We get zero. They get 100%, brought down to 75; brought down, now, to 50. Okay,” Trump told his governors.
Trump and Modi share a good working relationship, according to officials on both sides, but the US leader is not known to pass up an opportunity to speak his mind. He also likes to quote Modi’s remarks about Afghanistan — the Indian leader, visiting the White House last June, told him that “never has a country given so much away for so little in return” as the United States had in Afghanistan.
Apple has landed a series package from M. Night Shyamalan and British TV writer Tony Basgallop, which recently hit the premium/digital marketplace. The untitled half-hour psychological thriller has received a 10-episode straight-to-series order from the tech giant.
The streaming service has given a straight-to-series order to a psychological thriller series from writer Tony Basgallop (“24: Legacy”) that Shyamalan will executive produce, reports Variety. Plot details for the series are being kept under wraps. The half-hour series has received a 10-episode order, with Shyamalan also set to direct the first episode, adds the report.
Shyamalan’s Blinding Edge Pictures will help produce the untitled Apple thriller series, with Indian American Ashwin Rajan (“Split,” “Wayward Pines”) serving as executive producer. Jason Blumenthal, Todd Black and Steve Tisch of Escape Artists will also executive produce, with Taylor Latham co-executive producing.
Shyamalan, known for blockbusters like “The Sixth Sense,” and the more recent “Split,” is currently working on the post-production of “Glass,” a sequel which brings together the narratives of the 2000 film, “Unbreakable,” and the 2016 thriller, “Split.”
Actors Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, who played the characters of David Dunn and Elijah Price, respectively, in “Unbreakable,” will reprise their parts in “Glass,” which is expected to release in 2019.
This is the latest straight-to-series order for Apple which has been quickly building up its slate of originals. Over the last couple of months, Apple has ordered a Damien Chazelle drama series, Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories reboot, a morning show drama starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, a comedy series toplined by Kristin Wiig, a space drama from Ron Moore, and world-building drama series See from Steven Knight and Francis Lawrence. On the unscripted side, Apple has greenlighted docuseries Home from Matt Tyrnauer and Matthew Weaver.
Nirav Modi’s name is a stamp of corporate India’s growing global prestige. On Hollywood red carpets, his diamonds have sparkled on the necklines and dangled from the earlobes of actors and models like Kate Winslet, Dakota Johnson and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
Back in India, billboards above the traffic jams of New Delhi bear the image of Priyanka Chopra, a Bollywood star and former Miss World who is fast becoming a household name in the United States, also draped in Modi’s jewels.
Actress Priyanka Chopra, the global brand ambassador for Nirav Modi, is seeking legal opinion to terminate her contract now that the jeweler has been accused of committing a major banking fraud, her spokesperson said on Feb. 15.
Officials at the nation’s federal investigative agency announced it was looking for Modi as law enforcement officials fanned out to raid his jewelry stores and other businesses in Mumbai and New Delhi.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials told reporters the agency had on Feb. 4 issued a lookout circular in the country for Modi, who they say had left four weeks earlier.
Modi has not yet responded to the allegations and could not be reached for comment. His flagship company, Firestar Diamond, has said it had no involvement in the case. The setback in Modi’s climb to fame and fortune was abrupt, even by the rough-and-tumble standards of one of the world’s fastest growing major economies.
Amid revelations that Nirav Modi was the prime accused in a Rs 11,515 crore fraud involving the Punjab National Bank, there was speculation that Chopra would sue the brand for non-payment of dues.
“There are speculative reports that Priyanka Chopra has sued Nirav Modi. This is not true. However, she is currently seeking legal opinion with respect to terminating her contract with the brand in light of allegations of financial fraud against Nirav Modi,” the spokesperson said in a statement. Nirav Modi’s name is a stamp of corporate India’s growing global prestige. On Hollywood red carpets, his diamonds have sparkled on the necklines and dangled from the earlobes of actors and models like Kate Winslet, Dakota Johnson and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
The news was a shock for the circles in which Modi moved. As recently as last month, he was at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Indian media carried a group photograph with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the foreground and Nirav Modi, who is no relation, grinning between rows of Indian business leaders behind him.
“Top industrialists invited him home to display his collections,” said a Mumbai investment banker at a U.S.-based firm who has worked directly with Modi’s company. “There was a personal touch in everything he sold. Nirav Modi is a brand.”
Firestar Group, the parent company Modi controls as a majority shareholder, saw its revenue grow over three years from 103 billion rupees (about $1.6 billion at current rates) to some 147 billion rupees ($2.3 billion) by the 2016-17 fiscal year, according to figures previously provided by the company.
In 2010, Modi launched an eponymous jewellery business branded NIRAV MODI, in capitals, with the tagline “Haut Diamantaire”. New boutiques in Las Vegas and Hawaii have since been added to a stable that stretches from New York to London to Beijing.
He became a man whose diamond necklaces were sold, with his name attached, by Sotheby’s: “pure feminine elegance,” says a Hong Kong auction catalogue note of one 85.33 carat diamond necklace.
The auction house posted an online slideshow of jewellery-on-stars at the 2017 Oscars and highlighted supermodel Karlie Kloss having “a major Nirav Modi moment with her diamond ‘Mughal’ choker.”
It takes a lot of hard work to get into places like Yale and Stanford. But once students make it to the Ivy League, many find that while they’re ready to tackle Shakespeare and comparative political systems, they’re lost when it comes to building emotionally rich, and balanced lives.
To that end, a growing number of top universities are offering courses that aim to put students on the happiness track. A week after Yale opened registration for its debut course “Psychology and the Good Life” this January, a quarter of the undergraduate population—more than 1,180 students—had signed up, making it the most popular course ever at the university. Meanwhile, one in six undergraduates at Stanford take a course that teaches students to apply design thinking to the “wicked problem” of creating fulfilling lives and careers. And at McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec, students have flocked to “Lessons of Community and Compassion,” a course on social connectedness and belonging—precisely the things they may have sacrificed to get into one of Canada’s top institutions.
“I think students are looking for meaning,” Peter Salovey, president of Yale, told Quartz at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Salovey, an early pioneer in research on emotional intelligence, says that while students today are more sophisticated and worldly than previous generations, they seem to be much less resilient. Their sense of vulnerability is driving them to search for purpose, in academic courses and beyond.
Laurie Santos, the psychology professor teaching the Yale class, says the message behind her course—helping students figure out what it means to live happier, more satisfying lives, and teaching them scientifically-tested strategies to achieve that goal—resonates with kids who are only now realizing the toll that academic rigor has taken on their sleep, mental health, and sense of social connectedness.
“Our intuitions about what to do to be happy are wrong.” “Our intuitions about what to do to be happy are wrong,” she says. We think we want to achieve high-powered positions or make a lot of money, even if that means sacrificing the things that make us balanced and sane—human connection, exercise, rest, and activities that allow us to recharge. “This is a great moment when we have rigorous research on positive psychology—what makes us happy, but also on behavioral change,” says Santos. Her course covers practical topicsranging from the psychological benefits of charitable giving to how to pick a meaningful career. And because science shows that grade-seeking can undermine happiness, she encourages the students to take the course pass-fail.
Mental health issues among young adults are on the rise at universities around the world. “I was really surprised at the levels of anxiety and depression students face,” Santos says. A 2013 report by the Yale College Council found that more than half of undergraduates sought mental health services during their time on campus. A 2009 survey of 80,121 students, conducted by the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment, showed that 39% of college students felt hopeless during the school year, and 25% felt so depressed they found it hard to function. Nearly half (47%) reported feeling overwhelming anxiety, and 84% said they felt generally overwhelmed by all they have to do.
Teaching students how to be happier isn’t just about helping them as individuals—it can also be about helping them be better citizens. In the course “Lessons of Community and Compassion: Overcoming Social Isolation and Building Social Connectedness through Policy and Program Development,” McGill University professor of practice Kim Samuel introduces students to some of the most socially isolated people on the planet—refugees and migrants, indigenous communities, families struggling with food insecurity; the displaced, disabled, and disconnected. One of the goals of her course, she says, is to teach students what it feels like to have a sense of safety and community in their own lives, so that they can help build connectedness in more disadvantaged populations. “All students have experienced some degree of social isolation in their lives,” she says, “and that recognition is the royal road to reciprocity.”
“We’re adding the ‘life’ component explicitly back to the college experience.” Many of her students say it’s a life-altering experience. Jeremy Monk, who took Samuel’s course and is now a graduate student at Columbia University, says, “I think a lot of us down the road, when we look back on where we started … this is going to be the place that we started, and where our ideas started to blossom, and where we really were given the chance to feel like we can make a difference and we are the leaders of change.”
Stanford’s “Designing Your Life” course, meanwhile, is taught by Bill Burnett, head of Stanford’s design program, and Dave Evans, who led the design of Apple’s first mouse and co-founded the gaming company Electronic Arts before becoming a lecturer in the design program.
Evans says everyone is trying to answer the question posed by poet Mary Oliver: “What is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?” “None of us got the manual explaining how to figure out the answer,” he adds. Soon-to-be graduates are facing that question with immediacy, and under pressure. “They’ve been wonderfully trained to get into and attend schools for 22 years—but not how to live in the world and to determine what “a life” means to them,” Evans says. He notes that being good at school is not the same thing as being good at life.
The Stanford courses have been such a success that the university’s Life Design Lab, co-founded by Evans and Burnett, now helps other colleges and universities to develop their own versions of the program. Evans says similar courses are now being taught at Northwestern, University of Vermont, Dartmouth, University of Michigan and MIT. “We’re adding the ‘life’ component explicitly back to the college experience,” Evans says. “It’s attractive because the need is great, the priority is high, and there’s little offered to help.”
The pursuit of happiness is, of course, hardly a new development. “Plato was talking about this,” Santo says. Scores of people have bought best-selling books on achieving happiness, from Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project to Dan Gilbert’s Stumbling on Happiness. And as the New York Times notes, courses on positive psychology are a popular draw for college students; 900 students enrolled in a Harvard lecture titled Positive Psychology in 2006.
What’s new is the growing body of scientific research on what actually makes people happy—and a sense from universities that today’s undergraduates are particularly in need of guidance.
Parents hold some responsibility for students’ lack of resilience, says Salovey. Parents’ laser-sharp, lifelong focus on getting their kids into top universities means that students are terrified of messing up. “It’s a kind of parenting that’s focused on college admissions and mitigating risks. We have to help students develop their own voice, to pick themselves up after failure.”
“We have to help students develop their own voice, to pick themselves up after failure.” There’s another advantage to offering classes on happiness: They underscore that mental health and emotional balance aren’t things that young people can afford to keep putting off. According to Sonja Lyuboirsky, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside and author of the The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want, 40% of our happiness is conscious, intentional, and under our control. “It takes the work you have to put in to be a great violinist, it takes work every day,” Santos says. Happiness is never a lost cause, but the science does suggests that becoming a happy person is not a quick fix. Taking a college course on the subject may be the best short cut there is.
Santos will only teach one semester of the Yale course. But a five-part seminar-style series, “The Science of Well-Being,” will be available in March, for free, on the online education site Coursera.
So far, Santos has taught five sessions of “Psychology and the Good Life.” She says the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “They are taking these ideas to heart in a way I did not expect,” she says. Alumni are already writing her to request a copy of the syllabus, as are kindergarten teachers and PTA heads. It’s not just young people who need help with happiness, she notes: “This is a human problem.”
Three men in India were arrested Monday night after police uncovered a huge scheme that targeted more than 11,000 people in the United States. Con men posing as officials from the Internal Revenue Service left thousands of voice messages claiming to have found irregularities in tax records of the targets. The messages instructed them to call back or face legal action. But the phone number they gave connected unsuspecting people in the United States to Indian con men sitting in a second-floor office in an upscale locality called Koregaon Park in the western Indian city of Pune.
India’s in-demand call center industry has contributed to the rapid development of sleepy cities such as Pune in the past three decades, drawing hundreds of thousands of ambitious job seekers to call centers for multinational firms. But in recent years, Indian con artists are using English accents and Americanized names, often utilized in call centers, for a different reason: to cheat unsuspecting foreigners.
Indian police officers have sent thousands of emails to victims in the United States asking for details about how they were cheated. Only three people have replied, said Assistant Police Inspector Sagar Panmand from Pune’s cybercrime branch, who raided the trio’s call center.
Indian investigators said they still don’t know how many people in the United States were affected by the scheme or how much money the scammers took. They also said it is unclear how the computer-savvy con men got the victims to transfer money to India but said it probably involved the use of gift cards from Target, iTunes and Walmart.
Panmand said early investigations suggest there are at least two similar call centers in Delhi and the state of Rajasthan that police are trying to trace.
Authorities learned about the Koregaon Park call center after they discovered another ring of scammers in January, who had targeted users of Apple products in the United States. At least 1,500 people in the United States received pop-up notifications on their iPhones, iPads or Macs saying their systems had crashed. The pop-up message also gave a phone number of an Apple service center – which was the phone number for a fake call center in India. The scammers then asked their targets to pay for the service of “fixing” their systems by buying iTunes credit that could be transferred to the con men and cashed in.
During the raid Monday night, police seized hard drives and laptops with the personal details of 11,000 people in the United States. “They had bank details, bank account numbers, phone numbers, addresses, everything,” Panmand said. “American authorities will need to do their own investigations to find out how all this data got out.”
He said Pune police are in contact with the Federal Trade Commission and will support U.S. authorities in their investigations. The FTC did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment.
Richmond Hill, New York. On Wednesday, July 7th, Chhaya CDC launched the expansion of its Free Tax Prep Services in the historically underserved area of Richmond Hill, Queens. Chhaya began to offer these services last year with the support of NYC’s Department of Consumer Affairs and helped nearly 100 families claim the powerful asset building tool of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). This year Chhaya continues to offer the tax preparation services in almost seven additional languages. By working with Queens Public Library at the Lefferts Branch, Chhaya’s program will be one of two NYC Free Tax Prep tax sites serving the communities of Richmond Hill, South Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, and South Ozone Park. One out of every five households in these neighborhoods live in poverty and could benefit from access to free, professional-quality tax preparation services.
Chhaya CDC is the only South Asian and Indo-Caribbean community development organization, whose mission is advocate for and build economically stable, sustainable and thriving communities. Tax preparation is often a daunting and expensive endeavor for low to moderate income individuals, and often not seen as an opportunity. NYC Free Tax Prep increases awareness about tax credits that put money back in the pockets of working New Yorkers. Far too many qualified individuals do not take advantage of the EITC, leaving thousands of dollars on the table that can be put to good use – whether it’s education, paying off a loan, upgrading a household appliance, moving, etc.
“Chhaya’s Free Tax Prep program will be the first of its kind in this community, “said Chhaya CDC’s Executive Director Annetta Seecharran, “Building on our other immigration and housing counseling services in this neighborhood, this is an important next step in expanding Chhaya’s programs to the Richmond Hill community, which is a desert when it comes to social services. Each tax prep client will be provided a list of wrap around services connected to Chhaya’s work in housing, financial capability, and immigration.”
“The reason why Queens Library is able to provide free, high-quality services such as free tax preparation is because of our partnerships with outstanding organizations such as Chhaya CDC and government agencies such as the Department of Consumer Affairs,” said Queens Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott. “They make it possible for us to meet our mission to build strong communities and give our customers the information and resources to help them grow personally and intellectually.”
“Since 2015 we have helped New Yorkers file more than 425,000 returns for free and claim refund-boosting tax credits that can be pivotal in helping them pay bills, get out of debt and save for their future,” said DCA Commissioner Lorelei Salas. “We are proud to be working with Chhaya CDC again this year to expand our trusted and professional free tax prep services to previously underserved communities. I encourage all New Yorkers to take advantage of this free program to ensure that their returns are completed accurately and that they are receiving every credit and deduction available to them, including the EITC.”
NYC Free Tax Prep is offered at Lefferts Library on Wednesdays: February 7, 21; March 7, 21; and April 4 at 11 AM. This free service is available for families or individuals who earned below $66,000 in 2017.
In the early 20th century just a few hundred people emigrated from India to America each year and there were only about 5,000 folk of Indian heritage living in the United States. Today Indian-born Americans number 2m and they are probably the most successful minority group in the country. Compared with all other big foreign-born groups, they are younger, richer and more likely to be married and supremely well educated. On the west coast they are a mighty force in Silicon Valley; well-off Indians cluster around New York, too.
Like all immigrant groups, Indians have found niches in America’s vast economy. Half of all motels are owned by Indians, mainly Gujaratis. Punjabis dominate the franchises for 7-Eleven stores and Subway sandwiches in Los Angeles. The surge in Indians moving to America is also intimately linked to the rise of the technology industry. In the 1980s India loosened its rules on private colleges, leading to a large expansion in the pool of engineering and science graduates. Fear of the “Y2K” bug in the late 1990s served as a catalyst for them to engage with the global economy, with armies of Indian engineers working remotely from the subcontinent, or travelling to America on workers’ visas, to make sure computers did not fail at the stroke of midnight on December 31st 1999.
Today a quarter or more of the Indian-born workforce is employed in the tech industry. In Silicon Valley neighbourhoods such as Fremont and Cupertino, people of Indian origin make up a fifth of the population. Some 10-20% of all tech start-ups have Indian founders; Indians have ascended to the heights of the biggest firms, too.
Indians for decades have been playing an important role in global technology landscape. Indian IT pros have been an important cog in the machinery running technologly behemoths across the world. In fact, two of the world’s biggest technology companies — Google and Microsoft — are led by Indian-origin CEOs. Other than these two, there are many others who have made an indelible mark on the world of technology.
Satya Nadella. After a 22-year stint with Microsoft, Nadella was appointed as the chief executive officer of the company in February 2014. He previously held the position of executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group.
India-born Sundar Pichai was named as Google CEO on August 10, 2015. The 44-year-old head of Google was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and pursued education at IIT Kharagpur (B Tech), Stanford (MS) and Wharton (MBA); at Wharton, he was named a Siebel Scholar and Palmer Scholar.
Rajeev Suri joined Nokia in 1995 and held various positions before being appointed as president and CEO in April 2014. Suri’s ascedancy to Nokia CEO’s position came after Microsoft acquired Nokia’s mobile phone business. Previously, he was the head of the services, Nokia Siemens Networks 2007-2009.
Born in Hyderabad, Shantanu Narayen joined Adobe in 1998 as the senior vice president of worldwide product research and became the COO in 2005 and CEO in 2007. He holds a Bachelor in Science from Osmania University, an MBA from University of California, Berkley, and an MS from Bowling Green State University.
Sanjay Jha, CEO, Global Foundries, took over as CEO of Global Foundries, a semiconductor foundry that produces chips for giants like AMD, Broadcom, Qualcomm, and STMicroelectronics, in January 2014; before that he has served as the CEO of Motorola Mobility and COO of Qualcomm. He joined Motorola as co-CEO in 2008, while serving simultaneously as CEO of Motorola’s Mobile Devices Business.
George Kurian became the CEO and president of storage and data management company NetApp in June 2015, after serving as its executive vice president of product operations for nearly two years. Prior to joining NetApp, George was vice president and general manager of the Application Networking and Switching Technology Group at Cisco Systems. His diverse background also includes the role of vice president at Akamai Technologies,
Among the youngest CEOs in the software services sector, Francisco D’Souza, CEO, Cognizant, is a member of the company’s board of directors. D’Souza joined Cognizant as a co-founder in 1994 and went on to become its CEO in the year 2007. During his tenure as CEO, Cognizant’s employee base has grown from 55,000 to over 230,000.
Dinesh Paliwal is the president and CEO of Harman International, a premium audio gear brand that owns the likes of JBL, Becker, dbx, among others. Born in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, Paliwal holds a BE from IIT Roorkee, and MS and MBA from Miami University.
Ashok Vemuri is the CEO, Conduent Inc, the Xerox’s sibling business services unit that spun off into a separate company recently. In June 2016, the 110-year-old document technology company Xerox named former iGate CEO Ashok Vemuri as the new CEO of its back-office outsourcing company. A former Infosys veteran, Vemuri became CEO of Xerox’s business process outsourcing.
Indians, especially in Silicon Valley, are growing in prominence, influence, and sheer population. The promotion of Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai, and Nikesh Arora are just a few more recent examples. The fact is that Silicon Valley is the epicenter of the technology companies and people that run the world, and it just so happens that Indians have flocked to it with great success. And they’ve done this with much smaller numbers than most other ethnic groups in the United States have.
Indians have always been rising in America. As James Crabtree of Financial Times suggests, “More than any other group of outsiders, it was the Indians who figured out that, to make it in startup land, it helps to have a social network of your own.”
In spite of exceptions like Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Asians and Asian Americans are underrepresented in executive suites at Silicon Valley companies. In recent years, the American tech industry has struggled to overcome a perception that, for all its talk of diversity, it remains inhospitable to women and minorities. Asians and Asian Americans, well-represented in junior levels throughout Silicon Valley, have mostly been missing from this conversation. But new research shows that Asians and Asian Americans remain conspicuously absent in the executive suite: Equal Employment Opportunity data taken from 2007 to 2015 found that white men and women were two times as likely as Asians to become executives and held three times the number of executive jobs.
The record for the industry’s marquee companies was even more dismal. The same data reveal that inn 2013, Asians and Asian Americans were found to comprise 27 percent of the workforce at Google, Intel, Yahoo, Hewlett Packard, and LinkedIn but hold just 13 percent of executive jobs.
This discrepancy is not limited to Silicon Valley: An Asia Society corporate survey conducted earlier this year found that more than one in four U.S. corporations had no Asian or Asian American representation at all. But in Silicon Valley, an industry that prides itself on its progressive nature, the struggle of Asians and Asian Americans to ascend the corporate ladder is one that receives comparatively little attention.
MSNBC anchor Richard Lui delivers the keynote address at the 2017 West Coast Diversity Leadership Forum (23 min., 50 sec.)
These workers are getting their foot in the door. So why aren’t they moving up the ranks? The answer appears to be a combination of two factors. Asians and Asian Americans, like other minority groups, are subject to racial discrimination in an industry where white Americans — particularly white men — retain an entrenched advantage. But Asians are also victimized by their perceived success, a factor that has made their pursuit of equality and justice appear less urgent than that of other groups.
Conversations with Asians and Asian Americans who work in Silicon Valley, all of whom spoke with Asia Blogunder an alias, reveal a frustration with this paradox. “Asians tend to be left out of diversity conversations,” Jennifer, a Taiwanese-American veteran of several startups, said. “Companies will ask themselves if they have enough women, black, or Latino workers and they forget that Asians should be represented.”
“We’re in this weird position of being privileged,” Neil, a Chinese-American engineer, added. “So, obviously, we should be allies and supportive of other groups. But often I find that we’re stuck in between.”
In 1966, the sociologist William Petersen first coined the term “model minority” to describe Asian Americans, a group whose population was rapidly growing following immigration reforms enacted the previous year. The theory was tantalizingly simple: Because of characteristics like diligence, obedience, and deference to authority, Asians and their children in the United States were able to earn more money and obtain college degrees at rates higher even than that of whites. Soon, the term “model minority” became a tool for criticizing African American and Latino groups whose relative poverty and lack of success could be blamed on an absence of stereotypically “Asian” values.
More than 50 years after its origin, the concept of the model minority is still being used as a wedge in discussions of race. In a widely-discussed piece published this April in New York, Andrew Sullivan wrote thatAsian Americans are among the “most prosperous, well-educated, and successful ethnic groups” in the United States because they maintained “solid two-parent family structures, had social networks that looked after each other, and placed enormous emphasis on education and hard work.” Their success, he said, posed a problem for the “social justice brigade” who could not explain why Asian Americans were seemingly undiminished by racism.
But the “model minority” theory does not account for the enormous differences among the nations, ethnicities, and religious groups classified as “Asian,” a description so broad that it is virtually meaningless. A disaggregation of education data among Asians in the United States found a huge discrepancy between Taiwanese-Americans, of whom 75 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher, and Laotians, for whom the figure is merely 11 percent. And that Asians have acquired a reputation for skill in math and science derives less from innate characteristics than from the fact that the first group of Asians to move to the United States after immigration reform in 1965 were overwhelmingly scientists, engineers, and doctors.
Even still, the perception of the “model minority” has had a pernicious effect on Asians working in Silicon Valley by inculcating a belief that they lack leadership qualities. Denise Peck, a co-author of a new report on diversity from Ascend, a research organization that has published reports about racial discrimination in Silicon Valley, argues that the stereotypical qualities behind Asian success have hindered Asian Americans in seeking leadership roles. Diligence and deference to authority are useful skills for getting hired. But “as you move up the ladder,” she said, “soft skills like communication, networking, and influencing become more important.”
Cultivating these soft skills is an important aspect of any job, but Asian Americans remain burdened by a widespread perception that they’re unfit for executive positions. “If you mention, say, ‘Asian male’ as one sort of group, there are immediate assumptions of the personality and characteristics of that person before you’ve really gotten to know them,” said John, a Chinese-American engineer. “You always feel like you’re working from that stereotype.”
Jennifer added that “there are a lot of leadership positions, whether for executives, management, or lead technical roles, that are based on someone within the organization thinking, ‘Oh, we need someone to run this team, who do I think would be a good candidate?'” she said. “And then they mentally conjure up an image of someone who tends to be white, male, and confident.”
In an age in which Americans have reckoned with racial and gender equality to a degree unseen in decades, Silicon Valley has positioned itself as a meritocratic oasis, a place where the world’s most talented coders and designers and engineers propel the American technology industry forward. Many of these men and women are Asians and Asian American who, in spite of exceptions like Google’s Sundar Pichai, have found their upward trajectory dimmed by stereotypes so insidious that they occasionally fail to register in conversations about diversity and equality.
“There’s a sort of ‘oppression Olympics’ going on,” said Jennifer. “Black and Latino populations are much worse off than Asians, so there’s a desire to focus on them. It’s harder for people to be sympathetic to Asians.”
The world is rapidly “running out of computing capacity”, the head of tech giant Microsoft has warned. Satya Nadella said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that superfast quantum computers were needed to solve some of the most difficult problems.
Nadella cited the quest to create a catalyst that can absorb carbon, in order to help tackle climate change. This, he cautioned, would likely not be achieved without an increase in computer processing power.
“Moore’s Law is kinda running out of steam,” Mr Nadella told assembled delegates, referring to the maxim that the power of computer chips doubles every two years. The Microsoft chief executive also took aim at so-called “re-skilling programs”, calling them “one of the greatest wastes of money”.
Such schemes, which are designed to retrain those whose professions have been lost to globalisation or automation, are often “done without a true understanding of where the labour market is going,” Nadella argued.
Instead, the India-born chief executive, who took over at the helm of Microsoft in 2014, said that reforming school curriculums was of paramount importance. “We can with some certainty say that we will need more people graduating from our schools who will need to be comfortable with these augmented realities,” he predicted.
“The fact that most curricula in schools still don’t recognise computer science like they do maths or physics is just crazy.” Nadella added: “We need middle school teachers of computer science of the highest quality.”
He also emphasized that artificial intelligence, on which Microsoft is increasingly focused, could be a part of the solution to joblessness, rather than merely its cause. Earlier, Klaus Schwab, the man behind the World Economic Forum, called for leading tech executives to consider the disruption that their products may cause to economic, political and social life.
“If we act now,” Schwab said, “we have the opportunity to ensure that technologies – such as artificial intelligence – sustainably and meaningfully improve the lives and prospects of as many people as possible.”
While the Trump administration and the right wing Republicans continue to mount their attack against foreign workers in this country, a new report has found that Silicon Valley would be lost without foreign-born technology workers.
About 71 percent of tech employees in the Valley are foreign born, compared to around 50 percent in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward region, according to a new report based on 2016 census data.
Many foreign tech workers are employed under the controversial H-1B visa — intended for specialty occupations — which has become a flashpoint in the U.S. cage fight over immigration, with opponents claiming it lets foreigners steal American jobs. Several companies and UC San Francisco have been accused of abusing the visa program by using it as a tool to outsource Americans’ jobs to workers from far-away lands.
Although 2016 data released by the federal government last year showed that outsourcing companies — mostly from India — raked in the bulk of H-1B visas, Google took more than 2,500 and Apple took nearly 2,000 to hire foreign workers, about 60 percent of them holding master’s degrees.
“The H1-B process is not just complicated — it’s also quite expensive to sponsor an H1-B visa worker, a cost larger companies may be more willing to absorb,” the report pointed out. Legal blog UpCounsel puts the cost of the H-1B process at $10,000 to $11,000 per employee.
The report did not include a breakdown for Silicon Valley of how many foreign-born tech workers are U.S. citizens, versus visa holders. But the paper’s research indicated that 63 percent of Seattle’s foreign-born tech workers were not American citizens. Applications for foreign visas for work at other large American technology companies, according to a recent analysis of Department of Labor records covering eight major tech businesses between October 2015 and October 2016.
Applications submitted by contractors accounted for half of the H-1B visa applications for jobs at PayPal Holdings Inc.’s headquarters, 43 percent of those on Microsoft Corp.’s campus, 29 percent at EBay Inc.’s headquarters, and about a quarter of those at the Googleplex. At Facebook Inc., contracting companies submitted 12 percent of the applications for jobs at its headquarters. According to the analysis, Apple Inc. barely relies on contractors who employ workers through H-1B program to staff its headquarters, and Amazon.com Inc. doesn’t appear to use them at all. The contractors included Infosys and Wipro.
The H-1B visas are not only used in Silicon Valley. They are used across the nation. Several other large and small companies continue to use this program that allows 65,000 highly-skilled workers to be hired each year to fill the position that are not normally able to be filled by American workers.
The civil aviation ministry of the Indian Government has said it would invite expressions of interest in buying Air India Ltd after the budget. The government has relaxed FDI norms in various sectors such as single brand retail and allowed foreign airlines to invest up to 49% in Air India through approval route ahead of its proposed privatization.
In a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government, however, clarified that substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian nationals. “Foreign investments in Air India including that of foreign airlines shall not exceed 49% either directly or indirectly,” the government said in a statement. Existing rules allow foreign airlines to own as much as 49% in an Indian airline, with the exception of Air India.
According to media reports, the Cabinet also approved 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail through automatic route. It also tweaked the local sourcing norm by allowing such entities to meet the mandatory 30% local sourcing norm incrementally within a period of five years of opening their first store in India.
The civil aviation ministry reported last wek that it would invite expressions of interest in buying Air India Ltd after the budget — indicating the government’s resolve to push the process even as a large section of the political class and stakeholders are opposed to it.
A parliamentary panel has asked the government not sell to Air India and recommended that the airline’s accumulated debt be written off and that it “function like a public sector undertaking with less government control.”
The transport panel of Parliament cited a report by the government auditor, the comptroller and auditor general (C&AG) that noted that Air India has been able to cut 10% of its variable cost between 2012 and 2016. It also argued that the airline pays Rs 4,000 crore as interest on an accumulated loss of Rs 40,000 crore.
The House panel, which asked the government to give five more years to the ailing airline for a turnaround, argued that it earns 60% of its revenue in foreign currency and that this money could end up going to foreign airlines of Air India is privatised. It also expressed concern about the possible job loss for 3.34 lakh people including 50,000 directly.
The panel also pointed out that three of the airline’s five subsidiaries (AI Express, the ground handling wing and the engineering branch) are making profits, and questioned the rationale for their divestment.
U.S. immigration agents, known as ICE agents went at 6 a.m. to 98 franchises of 7-Eleven around the country and arrested 21 people who were allegedly without immigration authorization. A significant proportion of franchises of this and other well known brands are owned by people of Indian origin. Several of those detained were of Indian descent, according to Srujal Parikh, president of the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) for the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents served notices of inspection, also known as I-9 audit notices, to 7-Eleven stores in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Washington, DC. Indian Americans own many of the franchises across the country. Approximately two-thirds of America’s convenience stores are owned by Indian Americans and other South Asians, according to data from the American Petroleum and Convenient Store Association. APCA declined to comment on the Jan. 10 raids.
“Today’s actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce,” ICE’s Acting Director Thomas D. Homan said in a statement. “ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable.”
Homan did not say why ICE went after the Irving, Texas-based convenience store chain, which has 60,000 franchises worldwide and is famous for its Slurpee drinks. ICE hit stores in 17 states and Washington, D.C., and gave managers and franchise owners three days to provide the agency with the immigration status of their workers.
“Businesses that hire illegal workers are a pull factor for illegal immigration, and we are working hard to remove this magnet,” Homan said. “ICE will continue its efforts to protect jobs for American workers by eliminating unfair competitive advantages for companies that exploit illegal immigration.”
The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum and South Asian Americans Leading Together, released a joint statement condemning the ICE raids, adding, “It’s clear from the numbers that any large scale immigration raids, detentions and deportations deeply impact the South Asian community in the U.S. With 450,000 undocumented Indians …”
The 17 states where the 7-Elevens that were raided, are located included California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. According to ICE this was the largest such operation targeting a specific employer since President Trump took office, The Washington Post reported, adding that ICE agents went into the stores “to deliver audit notifications and conduct interviews.”
In its own statement, 7-Eleven said it was aware of the ICE raids and stressed that each franchise is run by “independent business owners” who are “solely responsible for their employees, including deciding who to hire and verifying their eligibility to work in the United States.”
“7-Eleven takes compliance with immigration laws seriously and has terminated the franchise agreements of franchisees convicted of violating these laws,” the statement read.
The New Jersey-based auditing giant, Price Waterhouse, which was auditor for Satyam computers, has been banned from serving Indian clients. The ban by Indian market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board (Sebi) will come into effect on March 31st. Price Waterhouse has said that it will appeal the decision in court.
Satyam was being audited by the US- company for several years, when company owner Ramalinga Raju admitted to inflating earnings.
Price Waterhouse’s Indian arm, PW Bangalore, was Satyam’s auditor during this period. The collapse of Satyam Computers in 2009 cost shareholders more than $2bn and rocked India’s IT industry. Analysts said it was the biggest fraud at a listed company in India.
The group’s audit functions are under the brand Price Waterhouse in India. The broader PwC entity handles consulting, tax advisory and other businesses. Auditing services constitute around 40% of its overall business in India.
It added that “there has been no intentional wrongdoing by [PwC] firms in the unprecedented management perpetrated fraud at Satyam”. In January 2009, Raju stunned the corporate world by admitting to accounting malpractices to inflate earnings and assets for years.
Analysts say the Sebi order is a big setback for the firm which never quite recovered from the fallout of the case. It could very well lead some of the firm’s 70-plus listed clients, which include corporate giants like Tata Steel, to shift their business.
That would mean not only a loss of revenues but it would also impact the jobs of some 2,500 workers. Price Waterhouse lost its leadership position in the Indian market soon after Raju’s confession and it has struggled to compete with other global companies like Deloitte.
Emerald Media, the Pan-Asia company backed by leading global investment firm KKR, today announced that it has acquired a controlling stake in Cosmos-Maya through a combination of primary and secondary stake acquisition. Based in India, Cosmos-Maya is the market leader in IP-led Indian kid’s animation content. The capital from this investment will help the company with strategic growth initiatives and creating global IPs to further increase its footprint across the world.
Promoted by internationally acclaimed Indian filmmakers Ketan Mehta & Deepa Sahi, Cosmos-Maya pioneered the art and technology of animation and visual effects in India. Over the last 5 years, the company has produced a record 1000+ half-hour segments of animated content. Today, it has multiple ongoing productions with major television and digital platforms, including Viacom18, Disney Networks, Turner International, Sony Pictures Network, Discovery Networks, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and ALT Balaji.
The creators of the Motu Patlu animation series, a popular Indian kids’ show, Cosmos-Maya has an impressive lineup of 9 TV shows on air including Shiva, Eena Meena Deeka, Kisna, ViR – The Robot Boy, Guru Aur Bhole, Chacha Bhatija, Tik Tak Tail and Selfie with Bajrangi. The company is also working on 3 international co-productions — Captain Cactus, Atchoo! and Help me Ganesha — in different stages of production and development. Cosmos-Maya targets audiences globally through its own YouTube channel, WowKidz, which has already become one of the fastest-growing channels for kids’ content with over 2 million active subscribers and over 2 billion cumulative views since its launch in 2016.
Ketan Mehta, Founder and Managing Director, Cosmos-Maya said, “The vision for Cosmos-Maya has always been to become a cutting-edge media technology company creating quality Indian content for the global market. The company will benefit greatly with a partner like Emerald Media which has a strong understanding of the entertainment, broadcast and OTT space. Through the capital infused, the company intends to develop international projects while leveraging the media relationships of Emerald to expand its global footprint.”
Rajesh Kamat, Managing Director of Emerald Media, said, “Cosmos-Maya has created and owns the content for some of the most popular kids’ shows and hence has its finger on the pulse of a very captive and influential audience. With the company now focused on the development of content, that crosses geographies, it is poised for growth on a global stage — not to mention the added opportunity of brand expansion and merchandising for its properties. This investment is a great addition to Emerald Media’s growing portfolio as it aligns with our vision of creating an ecosystem that caters to audiences of all age groups.”
Paul Aiello, Managing Director of Emerald Media, added, “Cosmos-Maya has made great strides in the animation space in the past few years. Their original shows have been huge successes and have paved the way for original Indian content to compete on a global platform. This investment will help Cosmos-Maya achieve its exciting growth potential.”
Anish Mehta, the CEO of Cosmos-Maya said, “With its successful and sizeable IP bank, strong business associations, a passionate team and the constant quest for quality — combined with the capital, domain knowledge and management bandwidth that Emerald Media brings on board — Cosmos-Maya is now poised for a global 360-degree approach to grow and monetize its brands through content, media, marketing, distribution, licensing and retail to markets, for kids across the world.”
Emerald Media is a Pan-Asian company backed by KKR to invest in the fast-growing media, entertainment, consumer tech and B2B industries across Asia for which KKR has committed up to $300mm from its KKR Asian Fund II. Emerald Media is led by industry veterans Rajesh Kamat and Paul Aiello, supported by an experienced team of investment and operating executives. Paul and Rajesh together have a combined experience of more than 40 years in the industry and bring a unique blend of operational and investment acumen to their business approach. Since inception, Emerald Media has made key investments in YuppTV, one of the world’s leading OTT video platforms for South Asian content, Amagi Media Labs, India’s leading targeted-TV advertisement solutions firm, aCommerce, Southeast Asia’s leading ecommerce enabler and e-distributor and Cosmos-Maya, one of the most successful animation content producers in Asia.
Emerald Media primarily focuses on providing growth capital to media, entertainment, consumer tech and B2B companies. The company looks to support growing public and private companies, by providing growth capital and strategic value add. For more information, please visit www.emeraldmedia.asia
Cosmos-Maya is Asia’s leading animation production studio that produces high-quality 3D as well as 2D animation content. Headquartered in Singapore, the company’s studio facility in Mumbai has 750 artists. The market leader in original Indian animation content production the company has worked on several IPR and commissioned projects for Television and Digital platforms including Viacom18, Disney Networks, Turner International, Sony Pictures Network, Discovery Networks, YouTube, Netflix, ALT Balaji & Amazon Prime Video.
The studio produces around 600 minutes (30 half hours) of animation on a monthly basis. Cosmos-Maya has produced over 20000 minutes of original animated content created in the last 5 years, (comprising of over 1000 half hour episodes) ready/currently on air. Launched in 2016, Cosmos-Maya’s YouTube channel WowKidz is one of the fastest growing kids’ platforms with an active subscriber base of over 2 Million and total view count of more than 2 Billion.
India’s Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. will have to defend itself at a U.S. trial over claims that it’s biased against American workers. A federal judge in Oakland, California, has rejected a request from the information technology outsourcing giant to dismiss a 2015 lawsuit accusing it of violating anti-discrimination laws by favoring South Asians.
In a further setback for the company, the judge also expanded the case into a class action on behalf of American workers who lost their jobs at TCS offices in the U.S. because they hadn’t been assigned to any of its clients.
“TCS will vigorously defend its position and expects positive outcome. There are no discriminatory practices in any part of the company and TCSBSE 0.30 % is confident that it will be able to defend its position at the Trial,” TCS said in a statement.
TCS was sued back in 2015 by a white, American IT worker named Brian Buchanan, who accused them of overwhelming favoritism toward Indian American workers, adding that he experienced “substantial anti-American sentiment” in his 20 months at TCS, and was ultimately terminated.
TCS has argued that Buchanan’s experience does not prove he was a victim of bias as “he has ‘no idea’ whether the application process was discriminatory because he did not attend any of the town hall meetings he was invited to during the Edison transition to learn about open positions with TCS and how to apply for them—and he did not apply for a specific job, the company said in a court filing.”
Another IT firm, Infosys also faced a similar lawsuit in Milwaukee four years ago and both the IT firms have come under pressure from President Donald Trump’s desire to hire more American locals and he is also wanting to decrease the amount of H-1B visa applications in a year.
New York, NY: Sandeep Chakravorty, Consul General of India in New York, will host a reception at the Consulate on Sunday, January 7th 2018, providing an elegant send-off for Battery Dance on the day before the lower Manhattan-based company begins a national tour of India, with performances and workshops in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata and New Delhi. The event will be an opportunity to obtain a sneak preview of the India tour.
Battery Dance, founded and directed by Jonathan Hollander in 1976, has been a cultural bridge-builder between the U.S. and India for the past quarter-century. Cross-cultural collaborations have included SONGS OF TAGORE that traversed 17 cities in the Indian subcontinent in 1997 during the 50th Anniversary of Indian Independence; and LAYAPRIYA, which toured six major metro cities in 2001. Hollander and Battery Dance have presented many of the foremost dancers and musicians of India in New York and on national US tours and annually at its Battery Dance Festival in conjunction with the Indo-American Arts Council, an institution that Hollander co-founded and on whose Board he serves.
The current India tour features SHAKTI: A Return to the Source, previously named The Durga Project, which was premiered as the centerpiece of the Company’s 40thAnniversary Season in New York in 2016 and which subsequently toured the U.S. and Sri Lanka. SHAKTI is a collaboration between Indian classical dancer Unnath Hassan Rathnaraju and the 5 principal dancers of Battery Dance – Robin Cantrell, Mira Cook, Bethany Mitchell, Sean Scantlebury and Clement Mensah. The work was inspired by the rendition of Raag Durga as recorded by the Hindustani master vocalists Rajan & Sajan Mishra who have given special permission to use their recording and who will attend the final performance of the tour in New Delhi.
The Consulate General of India, New York will be a co-sponsor in the company’s 37th Annual Dance Festival which is scheduled for August 2018 to be held in New York City where they will continue their tradition of presenting Indian dance with a special performance on India’s Independence Day, August 15th, 2018.
TiE-Boston, which celebrated its 20th anniversary at a black-tie gala attended by its founding charter members, past presidents and over 300 guests, bestowed its highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award, to entrepreneur and philanthropist Venkat Srinivasan, who has founded eight companies and is credited with creating 1,800 jobs and over $2 billion in value for shareholders.
TiE-Boston, which was founded in 1997 as TiE-Atlantic and is TiE Global’s second oldest and second largest chapter, also honored 13 other entrepreneurs in various categories. Eight entrepreneurs were awarded with the Entrepreneurial Achievement Award: Anil Agarwal, Veera Anantha, Nilanjana Bhowmik, Neil Chedda, Bhaskar Panigrahi, Ramji Raghavan, Jagat Sisodia and Satish Tadikonda.
The other awards were bestowed in the following categories: Distinguished Service to Philanthropy: Sekhar Naik; Health Innovator of the Year: Derek Haas; Rising Entrepreneur of the Year: Allis Tweed-Kent; Charter Member of the Year: Rishi Bhalerao; and Volunteer of the Year: Arjun Venkatachalam.
The gala also held a “Fireside Chat” between Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Venkat Srinivasan. The TiE-Boston Board awards the Lifetime Achievement Award when an individual has made a lasting impact in the business community, and a significant contribution to the success of TiE-Boston.
“Venkat embodies the true spirit of TiE by building good companies, empowering employees and entrepreneurs, and giving back to solve big problems and help society at large,” said TiE-Boston President Praveen Tailam. “He has been associated with TiE for a long time and has always inspired budding entrepreneurs by investing his time and capital, and is well-respected by fellow charter members for his philanthropic work.”
Santhana Krishnan, a fellow TiE-Boston Charter Member and Managing Partner of Om Ventures, introduced Dr. Srinivasan at the gala, saying that he admired him greatly for many things, including his passion to build companies with big disruptive ideas, commitment to giving back through mentoring entrepreneurs and philanthropy.
“Venkat has charted his own unique course all his life. He broke from traditional entrepreneurial paths and has had a very interesting and remarkable professional journey,” said Mr. Krishnan. “He came to the United States from India 35 years ago, to pursue his American dream.”
Mark Nunnelly, former Managing Director of Bain Capital and a close friend paid rich tribute to Srinivasan highlighting his many qualities as a remarkable entrepreneur who at the end has a deep desire to leave the world a better place than he found it. Ravi Ramamurti, a Northeastern University Professor and former colleague, observed how Venkat’s ability to work without functional boundaries was a key factor in his success.
Mr. Krishnan noted that Dr. Srinivasan received 3 professional degrees, spent 7 years in academics, becoming a tenured professor before he left Northeastern University. He wrote over 35 research papers, published three books, received seven patents, founded and sold four companies, and currently serves on the boards of six companies and three non-profit organizations. In addition, Venkat’s ventures have employed over 1800 people, and in the process, he has created a total value of over $2 billion for shareholders. Dr. Srinivasan has also recently founded EnglishHelper, KnowYourMeds and AIinGov, all of which are double bottom-line enterprises focused on education, health and the public sector respectively. He is a uniquely experienced individual with expertise in multiple functional areas. He is an expert in knowledge-based systems architectures, artificial intelligence, computational linguistics, natural language processing, corporate finance and accounting.
Venkat and his wife, Pratima, are active in the community. He is a Vice-Chair of the American India Foundation (AIF), which is dedicated to catalyzing social and economic change in India. Srinivasan is also a Trustee of BUILD, a non-profit organization focusing on entrepreneurship to excite and propel disengaged, low-income students through high school to college success in the U.S. He is a member of the Boston Harbor Now’s Advisory Board.
“I am honored and humbled that TiE-Boston selected me for this award,” said Dr. Srinivasan. “I salute TiE and the many Charter members for fostering entrepreneurship so passionately. Entrepreneurship is a key solution to society’s many challenges.”
Since 1997, TiE-Boston has been supporting entrepreneurs by offering education, mentorship, networking, and funding opportunities. What makes TiE unique is that the organization connects entrepreneurs with each other and other stakeholders in the ecosystem, including seasoned serial entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capitalists, service providers, and early customers. TiE-Boston is a chapter of TiE-Global, the largest global not-for-profit organization fostering entrepreneurship. TiE-Boston members leverage the global network of members from 61 chapters in 18 countries. TiE has 12,000 members throughout the world, and has contributed over $250B in wealth creation. For more information, and to become a member of TiE-Boston, visit boston.tie.org.
Chicago IL: Association of South Asian Real Estate Professionals (ASARP) held its second annual gathering at this festive time of the year, on December 15th at The Meadows Club, 2950 Golf Rd, Rolling Meadows, IL from 5.30 to 9.30 p.m.
ASARP is a registered non-for profit reputable association to provide the leadership to South Asian community required in order to achieve the cherished objectives of property ownership in United States and India. Main purpose of the program was to provide a forum for interaction among South Asian Real Estate Professionals and the communities that they represent, with some degree of entertainment and education.
The event was attended by capacity crowd consisting of active members, MS. Neeta Bhushan (Consul General of India in Chicago), Erica Harold (running for State Attorney General in Illinois), Tim Schneider (Chairman of State’s Republican Party). Dr Sapan Shah (Nominated on republican ticker for US Congress for 10th District),
Mr. Nimesh Jani-Nimesh Jani (member of Schaumburg Township Board), Pam Krieter (Pam Krieter CEOs of the Real Estate profession), Nancy Suvarnamani (Past President of Chicago Association of Realtors and FIABCI International, founder member of AREAA), Thomas Krettler (Director of National Association), Donna Wilson (Director of Global and Commercial Business) and Brian Bernardino (Political coordinator for Chicago Association of Realtors and member of Federal Taxation Committee of NAR).
The principal purpose of gathering was to discuss new proposed tax reforms and its ramifications by reputed Legal and industrial professionals for their guideline, input, panel discussion, QA sessions and provide networking.
After lamp lighting ceremony, Mr. Pradeep B. Shukla gave starting speech “As we all acknowledge the US tax systems were revised in 1986. After sporadic modifying legislations and lapsed time, it needed massive overhaul and re-organization. Some of these regulations are regressive US corporate taxes which are one of the highest in the world, tempting US corporate giants to park the funds outside the country amounting to be in trillions of dollars along with revision of high Death tax of 45% at federal level with additional incidence of about 15 to 18% at the state level”.
“With this revision in mind, Trump administration introduced “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017”. Principal goals are simplicity and tax reduction while keeping mind the principle of neutrality. The bill passed in both houses with minor variations. Now in a proposed reconciled bill, there are some significant provisions that will affect real estate industry like capping property tax deduction to $10,000, restricting mortgage interest deduction to new loans of $500,000 as against current limit of $1 million, reducing marginal tax rates at all the levels of income, 100% write off of some business assets and significant reduction of corporate tax, etc. While there is overall tax deduction, what concerns our community as realtors, is dilution of Home Ownership Deductions. The stand taken by the National Association of Realtors is that homeowners must be treated fairly, must reverse decline in first-time home buyers as the home ownership level is 50 years low in 2016”.
Thereafter, Mr Shukla invited expert Panelists on stage to discuss their views in all these matter. The Panel Moderator was Al Haroon Hussain, Attorney. The other distinguished Panelists included Paul Chawala, Attorney, Director Brian Bernandoni, Realtor and member of Federal Taxation Committee at NAR and Tom Krettler- Realtor and also Director at NAR.
These panelists addressed the tax reforms congenial to the interest of the real estate community and how would these reforms affect the growth of GDP in USA in coming years.
QA session followed. Subsequently in his concluding remark Mr. Pradeep B. Shukla advised that Taxpayers should consider paying their 2017 state and local income taxes in 2017. This will allow the deductions to be preserved and applied against 2017 income. Since the application of the Alternative Minimum Tax might mitigate these benefits, please discuss your specific situation and any other questions you might have with your accountant.
President of ASARP Mr. Pradeep B. Shukla, in highlight of his remarks, pointed out that some of the important tasks undertaken at ASARP are educating our South Asian local real estate professionals on how to serve best interests in our community, all while keeping in mind the highest degree of professional standards. He also requested members providing effective outreach to these communities including guidance on EB 5 and other programs available to foreign investors. In addition he also requested to provide effective liaison to our communities and professionals He urged educating American real estate professionals dealing with specific needs of our community, and finally acting as an effective political arm for ASARP members.
By Ian Hathaway, Nonresident Senior Fellow – Metropolitan Policy Program
As two critical immigration policy issues face Congress—the fate of 800,000 immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children (“DREAMers”), and the re-introduction of the bipartisan Startup Act, which among other things, provides 75,000 visas to entrepreneurs that come to this country to start high-potential companies—new evidence demonstrates yet again just how critical foreign-born entrepreneurs are to lasting economic prosperity in the United States.
The Center for American Entrepreneurship, a non-partisan policy and advocacy organization, published a study today on the founders of America’s most valuable companies—those in the Fortune 500. The results are striking—43 percent of companies in the 2017 Fortune 500 were founded or co-founded by an immigrant or the child of an immigrant, and among the Top 35, that share is 57 percent.
These 216 companies produced $5.3 trillion in global revenue and employed 12.1 million workers worldwide last year, spanning a wide range of industrial activities—though half are in the high-technology, wholesale and retail trade, and financial and insurance sectors.
These iconic immigrant-founded American companies come from a broad range of geographies, too. Sixty-eight metropolitan areas and five non-metropolitan areas spread across 33 states are headquarters to Fortune 500 firms founded by an immigrant or the child of an immigrant.
The New York, Chicago, San Jose, Houston, and Dallas metropolitan areas are headquarters to the most, with at least eight such companies in each. On a population adjusted-basis, metro areas with the highest density include the Northern Chicago suburbs (Lake County-Kenosha County), San Jose, Cambridge, Bridgeport-Stamford, and Richmond.
Among states, New York, California, Illinois, Texas, and Virginia have the most, as each are home to at least 13 immigrant or child-of-immigrant founded Fortune 500 firms. Delaware, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, and Illinois have the most on a population-adjusted basis.
Digging deeper into the numbers, 18.4 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants, and another 24.8 percent were founded by the children of immigrants—figures that are consistent with broader research literature. Though accounting for less than 14 percent of the population, immigrants found almost a quarter of all new businesses, nearly one-third of venture-backed companies, and half of Silicon Valley high-tech startups.
“America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts.” –James Madison, Constitutional Convention (1787)
And, research has shown that the economic benefits of immigrants are lasting. U.S. cities and regions that welcomed more immigrants in the past have been linked with higher incomes, less poverty and unemployment, and greater educational attainment today. Immigrants also make outsized contributions to science and technology, whether measured as patent productivity or breakthrough discoveries—in recent years, U.S.-based researchers have been awarded with 65 percent of Nobel Prizes, though more than half of this group was born abroad.
43 percent of companies in the 2017 Fortune 500 were founded or co-founded by an immigrant or the child of an immigrant, and among the Top 35, that share is 57 percent.
But, the issue is much bigger than targeting only well-educated immigrants or those backed by venture capitalists. Many foreign-born founders of iconic American companies—those in the Fortune 500—wouldn’t have met such thresholds. They were poor, young, and fleeing harsh economic and political conditions. A recent Harvard Business School study found that among foreign-born entrepreneurs, those who come here as children have among the best business outcomes (growth and survival rates).
The evidence on immigrants, entrepreneurship, and economic growth is clear. Now it is up to Congress to take action—first by joining the rest of the advanced economies in creating a visa for high-potential entrepreneurs, and second by ensuring the safety and legality of DREAMers to stay and thrive in the only country they call home. During a period of slow growth, declining startup rates, and anemic productivity gains, the United States cannot afford not to.
Bangalore based startup first in the world to finish all 20 Facebook QA bAbi tasks with 100% accuracy DataVal Analytics Inc, a Bangalore and Chicago-based Artificial Intelligence – (AI) startup is the first in the world to successfully complete a difficult 20-part challenge in AI created by Facebook in 2015. The test, known as the (20) QA bAbi Tasks hosted by Facebook AI Research (FAIR), assesses the ability of AI based programs to perform text understanding and reasoning. To date, NO organization has been able to solve all the 20 tasks with 100% accuracy. However, using a unique approach, DataVal has successfully completed all 20 tasks with 100% accuracy. The DataVal approach focuses on the human way of understanding Language. It also has integrated multiple processes related to language pre-processing, word sense disambiguation, conjunction processing, preposition association, co-reference resolution and time and space analysis. DataVal focuses on a holistic view of the environment and the ecosystem to reason and understand the situation, an approach similar to the human approach to problem solving.
AI is the new frontier technology of the future with far reaching implications on social, economic and political activities across the world. It will have a significant impact at home, business, factories, banking, government, education, health and lot more. All major global companies and universities have been working on AI for decades. With advances in high speed computing, low cost storage, open source software, cloud computing and smart phones, AI is now in prominence. All leading companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, IBM and a handful of startups have substantial research and development underway on AI.
The success of DataVal in solving QA bAbI tasks offers hope to address a variety of AI applications related to intelligent personal assistance, search engine, voice command & control applications, social media content analysis, and expert systems in fields such as Education, Health, Energy, Environment, Transport, Finance, Manufacturing, Services and Government. DataVal Analytics Inc has offices in Bangalore, India and Chicago, USA with a small team of highly experienced data scientists and programmers focused on Natural Language Understanding technology & Big Data Analytics. The company has been founded by veterans from the Indian Army – Lt Col Shashi Kiran (Veteran) and Lt Col Naveen Xavier (Veteran). The team is mentored by the leading entrepreneur, innovator, policy maker and development thinker, Dr. Sam Pitroda as Chairman.
Indian international air traffic is booming, but much of the growth has been captured by the three big Gulf carriers including Etihad, which owns 24 percent of Jet. India’s Jet Airways and Air France-KLM announced a partnership to route more traffic through Europe and on to North America, in a potential challenge to Gulf carrier Etihad Airways that is a shareholder in Jet.
Indian international air traffic is booming, but much of the growth has been captured by the three big Gulf carriers including Etihad, which owns 24 percent of Jet. The “enhanced cooperation agreement” with Air France-KLM, signed on Wednesday in India’s financial capital Mumbai, is designed to route more traffic and expand the number of flights to Europe and then onwards to the United States.
The agreement also includes Delta Air Lines, with which Air France KLM has an existing partnership. International carriers are increasingly tying up on routes in the face of rising competition.
The Gulf will continue to be an important market and Jet will not reduce its operations there, Naresh Goyal, chairman of Jet, told reporters. He added that Jet had a “great relationship with Etihad” and that would continue.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the University of Pittsburgh for the establishment of a Chair of Indian Studies at University of Pittsburgh. ICCR’s Director General, Riva Ganguly Das, and University of Pittsburgh’s Chancellor Emeritus, Mark Nordenberg and Vice Provost for Global Affairs, Ariel C. Armony, signed the MoU at New Delhi on 13 November 2017.
The ICCR Chair at the University of Pittsburgh is the second such Chair of Indian Studies in the USA, the first being the current Chair at Rutgers University. The academic partnership with the University of Pittsburgh has been signed for a period of five years.
Under the MoU, a distinguished visiting professor from India is to be hosted by the University of Pittsburgh for one semester each year to teach courses, conduct lectures, seminars and workshops on various subjects related to different aspects of India like sociology, economy, polity, art and culture. The MoU is another firm step towards deepening cooperation and further strengthening of relations between India and the United States.
Nishant Pandey, who has been the India Country Director for three years, has become the American Indian Foundation’s (AIF) CEO in New York, the high profile non-profit organization announced Nov. 1. He is expected to build on the important programmatic, institutional development and fund raising successes that he has achieved in India, a press release from AIF said, thus providing strategic leadership to AIF’s operations spanning the U.S. and India.
Pandey began his career as a banker but soon realized that the development sector was his calling. He joined the global charity, Oxfam, as the program officer for South India where he designed and developed value-chain programs on the theme of ‘power in markets’.
Subsequently, he moved to Oxfam’s global headquarters in Oxford to lead on program development and management in 12 countries including Russia, Tajikistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Albania, Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Jordon, according to the AIF website. His ability to link high-level policy with projects on the ground during his work on the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area and its impact on small farmers in the European neighborhood, earned him the opportunity to lead the entire policy and campaigns portfolio for Oxfam in the region.
Before moving back to India with AIF, Pandey was based in Jerusalem where he led one of Oxfam’s most complex and challenging country programs in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel as the Country Director.
“I am thrilled about the prospect and promise of taking AIF to greater heights and the opportunity for me to contribute to this journey. I am confident that working together, we will achieve our ambition of touching the lives of 5 million women, men and children over the next 5 years,” Pandey said in the press release.
“Nishant firmly believes in the power of win-win partnerships. In his career spanning 20 years, he has forged several multi-stakeholder initiatives involving civil society, governments and corporate partners, big and small, global and local,” AIF said. “He believes that in the history of humanity, we have never had so much resources, connectivity and promise to make a positive difference to the underprivileged and marginalized women, men and children,” it added.
Pandey has a Master’s degree in International Development & Finance from the University of Leicester in the U.K. after he won the British Chevening Scholarship. He also has a Master’s degree in Economics as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Economics.
With a net worth of $38 billion, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped Forbes’ annual list of India’s 100 richest tycoons of 2017, a statement said here on Thursday.
“Reliance Industries Ltd. chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped Forbes’s annual list of India’s 100 richest tycoons, with a net worth of $38 billion. To put it in context, this is equal to the entire GDP of the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, as per World Bank Data 2016 estimates,” the statement said.
Forbes India will release the 2017 India Rich List by way of a special issue that hits the stands on November 6, 2017. The richest newcomer in the list is Wadia Group of companies Chairman Nusli Wadia (No. 25, $5.6 billion).
At $19 billion, the net worth of Wipro’s Azim Premji — who jumped two places up over last year to become the second richest Indian on the list — is almost equal to Afghanistan’s GDP of $19.4 billion, the statement said.
The Hinduja family maintained the third position ($18.4 billion) in the list. Last year’s second richest Indian, Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharmaceuticals (No. 9, $12.1 billion) is the biggest dollar loser on the list as his net worth fell by $4.8 billion.
“The Indian economy is still grappling with the impact of demonetization and GST. This makes The Forbes India Rich List 2017 edition special since it features those who have faced the challenges head on and continued to deliver phenomenal results. The list has come to stand as a testament to brand India and also puts many emerging successful entrepreneurs on the global map,” said Forbes India CEO Joy Chakraborthy.
According to the list, the total wealth of India’s top 100 billionaires, which stands at a whopping $479 billion, is more than the country’s foreign exchange reserves estimated at $402.5 billion in September 2017. The entry point to the list is at its highest ever, at $1.46 billion. Last year, the minimum amount required to make the list was $1.25 billion, 17 percent lower than this year. The aggregate wealth of the top 100 has risen 26 percent over last year.
Dr. Kiran Patel, an Indian American cardiologist, entrepreneur and philanthropist, has announced the sale of his Tampa, Fla.-based healthcare services company Freedom Health Inc. to Anthem Inc., the second largest health insurer in the United States.
Anthem did not disclose financial terms for the purchase of the company, which had combined revenues of $1.4 billion and net income of $10.1 million in 2016. The deal will close in the first quarter of 2018. This is Anthem’s second acquisition of a Medical Advantage company in Florida. Last month Anthem, which has a market cap of $54 billion, acquired HealthSun, which has 40,000 Medicare Advantage members in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. In acquiring America’s 1st Choice, Anthem said it had also scooped up the company’s Florida Medicare Advantage brands which include Patel’s Freedom Health as well as Optimum.
Patel told the Tampa Bay Business Journal: “In life, there comes a time where one has to decide personal capacity and capabilities. I’m an entrepreneurial type and the company has grown to a level where now, to grow to next level, you need a disciplined approach, a corporate type-approach and I don’t survive in that type of environment…. I like to grow things and then it’s time to pass it on to someone who has a more corporate structure.”
Patel, who said the sale process started about four months ago with several suitors, ended with Anthem winning out because it aligns properly with how he foresees his company heading. In a letter he wrote to more than 1,000 employees, Patel said, “Many corporations can provide the governance and capital but I wanted a partner that was philosophically aligned with my thoughts. After discussion with multiple players, I found Anthem to be uniquely aligned with my thoughts and visions.”
The Indian American entrepreneur said he is confident Anthem will take care of every employee who works hard and can adapt to Anthem’s culture. With this company sold, Patel told the Tampa Bay Times he hopes to shift his focus to philanthropic efforts.
In a company press release, Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish said: “The acquisition of America’s 1st Choice, which has strong technology tools and expertise designing and implementing engagement programs, fits well with our growth objective and will also enhance our ability to deliver a broad variety of cost-effective, high quality plans to meet the diverse needs of the Medicare population.”.
“I want to focus on the other things that I have started, from hospitality to different funds and technology companies,” Patel told the publication. “But more of my time will go to the philanthropic side.”
Patel and his wife Dr. Pallavi Patel have donated millions to philanthropic efforts across the Tampa Bay area and built hospitals in India and Zambia, according to a Tampa Bay Times report. Among their donations include $26 million to the University of South Florida, $5 million for a conservatory at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, and $3 million for a research institute at Florida Hospital Tampa, the report said. The couple recently announced they had made a $200 million commitment to Nova Southeastern University for a regional campus in Clearwater that would focus on medical education, the report added.
He is also starting a university in India, which is called the Drs. Kiran and Pallavi Patel University, with a medical school, and he hopes to exchange students between India and the U.S. He’s working on health care initiatives in Zambia and Jamaica, while “passing the torch” on other business involvement to his children.
World’s oldest scheduled airline, KLM Dutch Royal Airlines has reconnected with Mumbai with Mumbai –Amsterdam service from October 30, 2017. This move will further enhance the seamless air connectivity offered to flyers. GVK’s Mumbai International Airport Private Limited (MIAL), the company that operates Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), welcomed the Dutch Carrier – KLM which touched down in Mumbai on Monday.
The airline will operate thrice weekly service with a 294-seater Boeing 787-9 aircraft with 30 World Business class, 45 Economy Comfort Class and 219 Economy Class. Earlier, Mumbai and Amsterdam route was served with daily services offered by Jet Airways. Now along with KLM, Mumbai-Amsterdam route will be served with a total of 10 services per week.
The start of operations by KLM is a manifestation of CSIA’s commitment to continuously strengthen the connectivity enhancing Mumbai’s rapidly developing trade and commerce relationship with Netherland and rest of the globe.
Last week, CSIA welcomed Thai Smile’s maiden flight on the Mumbai-Bangkok route, the second airline after Thai Lion to start services in the sector within a month. Mumbai International Airport serves as a key gateway to India and has 52 airlines operating to 100 destinations from the city to various parts of India and the World. In FY 2017, CSIA, Mumbai welcomed 45.2 million air travellers (12.4 million international passengers) registering an annual growth of 8 percent.
India jumped into 100th place on the World Bank’s ranking of countries by Ease of Doing Business for the first time in its report for 2018, up about 30 places, driven by reforms in access to credit, power supplies and protection of minority investors.
The report, based on data from the capital New Delhi and the financial hub of Mumbai, ranked India among the top 10 “improvers” globally, having done better in eight out of 10 business indicators.
“Today’s result is a very clear signal from India to the rest of the world that not only has the country been ready and open for business, as it has been for many decades, it is now competing as the preferred place to do business globally,” Annette Dixon, World Bank’s vice president for South Asia, told reporters in New Delhi.
“Starting a business is now faster,” Dixon said, adding that India had strengthened access to credit system and made it easier to secure to procure construction permits.
However, the agency noted that India lags in areas such as “starting a business”, “enforcing contracts” and “dealing with construction permits.”
The report excluded the impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s shock withdrawal of high-value banknotes last year and the implementation of a nationwide multi-rate goods and services tax (GST), steps that affected businesses and dragged the economy to a three-year-low in the April-June quarter.
“In the case of GST, we know that this is a very complicated reform,” Dixon said, adding that the agency would observe the GST for the next two or three years to see its full implementation.
This month Modi eased tax rules for small and medium-sized companies in a bid to address growing criticism of his stewardship of Asia’s third-largest economy.
The World Bank report, covering the period from June 2 last year to June 1 this year, ranked India top among the South Asian nations.
“This year’s remarkable results are the culmination of efforts that have taken place over the past three years, so you can extrapolate forward and see that steps that are taken this year may take 2-3 years to show up in the results,” Dixon said.
Rohit Chopra, a senior fellow at the Consumer Federation of America, is expected to be nominated by President Trump as the commissioner of the US Federal Trade Commission, according to an announcement by the White House on October 19th.
Interestingly, the Indian American resident of Brooklyn, N.Y., was part of Hillary Clinton’s transition team. A financial services expert, currently, Chopra is currently a Senior Fellow at the Consumer Federation of America, where he focuses on consumer protection issues facing young people and military families, the White House said in a press release. If confirmed, he would serve the remainder of a seven-year term that expires Sept. 25, 2019, according to the White House.
According to a report in Politico, Chopra was hired at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau early in Elizabeth Warren’s tenure when she headed that agency during the Obama administration. In an Aug. 30, 2016 report, the news outlet said, “Politico has learned that Hillary Clinton has named a progressive with close ties to Elizabeth Warren to her transition team in a move that seems aimed at mollifying liberals unhappy with earlier choices.”
The Secretary of the Treasury also appointed him as the agency’s student loan ombudsman. In 2016, Chopra served as special adviser to the Secretary of Education. Chopra it said, “battled for-profit colleges and loan servicers as the student loan ombudsman at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau…”
The FTC works with the Justice Department to enforce antitrust law and pursues companies accused of deceptive advertising. It is an independent agency that is headed by a chairman and four commissioners. No more than three commissioners can come from any one party.
The agency is currently headed by Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen, a Republican, with Democrat Terrell McSweeny the only other commissioner. The president has long been expected to name a permanent chair and fill the three empty commission seats, two Republican and one Democrat or independent, according to a zeebiz.com report.
Before he joined government service, Chopra was an associate at McKinsey & Company, where he served clients in the financial services and consumer technology sectors. Chopra holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s in business administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He was also the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship.
India is “one of the most significant and fastest growing markets” says the newly appointed head of the U.S. – India Business Council Nisha Desai Biswal, who took over as President of the organization on October 23rd. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce had appointed Nisha Desai Biswal as the President of the U.S.-India Business Council.
“We are thrilled to welcome Nisha Biswal to the U.S.-India Business Council and to the U.S. Chamber team,” said Myron Brilliant, U.S. Chamber executive vice president and head of International Affairs. “She is a driven, visionary leader who has a strong record of advancing United States business across the growth markets of Asia and throughout India. Under her strong leadership, we’re confident the U.S.-India Business Council will play a critical role growing commercial partnership, investment, and innovation across the world’s oldest and largest democracies.”
Biswal served as Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs in the U.S. Department of State from 2013 to 2017, where she oversaw the U.S.-India strategic partnership during a period of unprecedented cooperation, including launching the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue. In recognition of her efforts, Biswal was awarded the prestigious Bharatiya Samman Award by the President of India in January 2017. She previously served as Assistant Administrator for Asia at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Biswal also spent over ten years on Capitol Hill, serving as staff director on the State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee and the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives. Most recently, she was a senior advisor with the Albright Stonebridge Group, where she helped expand the firm’s India and South Asia practice.
“I am honored and excited by the opportunity to lead the U.S.-India Business Council and to join the leadership of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during a period of historic opportunity for both countries,” said Biswal. “As one of the most significant and fastest growing markets, India is an important economic partner for the United States. Likewise, Indian companies are investing in ever greater numbers here in the United States. I am proud to be part of an organization which will play such a critical role shaping U.S.-India relations, and I am thrilled at the chance to help our companies deliver a brighter, more prosperous future for the citizens of the United States and India.” Biswal has served on the board of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, and is a current member of the U.S. Institute of Peace International Advisory Council and the Institute for Sustainable Communities Board of Directors.
“UPS applauds Nisha being named as the new president of the U.S.-India Business Council,” said Jim Barber, president of UPS International. “At this critical time, she will bring dynamic leadership and well-established economic expertise to the mission of improving the U.S.-India relationship.” Biswal will join the U.S. Chamber beginning October 23, 2017.
Formed in 1975 at the request of the U.S. and Indian governments, the U.S.-India Business Council is the premier business advocacy organization, comprised of 350 top-tier U.S. and Indian companies advancing U.S.-India commercial ties. USIBC is the largest bilateral trade association in the United States, with liaison presence in New York, Silicon Valley, and New Delhi. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations. Its International Affairs division includes more than 70 regional and policy experts and 25 country- and region-specific business councils and initiatives. The U.S. Chamber also works closely with 117 American Chambers of Commerce abroad.
The USIBC went through an internal spat that culminated in June-July with a virtual walkout by top Indian-American and other CEOs from the organization, including former head of USIBC Mukesh Aghi, PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi, Mastercard Worldwide chief Ajay Banga, and Cisco’s John Chambers, in a bid to form a separate organization. According to news reports those who quit the Council had differences with the US Chambers of Commerce and other members of USIBC who pushed for a stronger stance against India on trade and other matters. How Biswal tackles these differences will be a test for the new leader. Biswal has served on the board of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, and is a current member of the U.S. Institute of Peace International Advisory Council and the Institute for Sustainable Communities Board of Directors.
India’s Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal has donated $25 million to the prestigious Harvard University with an aim to increase engagement with South Asian countries, including India.
The donation will establish an endowed fund for the South Asia Institute at the university.
The institute spearheads Harvard’s engagement with South Asian countries, including India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as well as diaspora populations from these countries, the university said in a statement.
As a result of the endowment from the Mittal Foundation, Harvard’s South Asia Institute would be called as Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute at Harvard University, it said. Founded in 2003, the South Asia Initiative became a University-wide interdisciplinary institute in 2010 under the leadership of its current faculty director, Indian-American Tarun Khanna, the Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at Harvard Business School.
“We are so grateful for the Mittal family’s support and what it will enable us to learn and share — across the sciences, social sciences, and the humanities — and the many people and institutions it will allow us to engage,” said Khanna.
“International centers like the South Asia Institute at Harvard University serve as a vital conduit between the University and the world we study,” said Harvard President Drew Faust.
“The generous support from the Mittal family is a testament to both the important work being done by this community of scholars and students and the continuing impact it will have in the region,” Faust added.
South Asia has played a dynamic and influential role in the development of our world since the very first civilisations, said 67-year-old Mittal, chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company.
“Ensuring that we fully understand its history and unique dynamics is a critical enabler in helping to shape a successful future,” he added. As someone who was born in India, the long-term prosperity of India and its neighbouring countries “matters a great deal to me and my family,” Mittal told Harvard Gazette in an interview.
“Harvard is one of the world’s greatest learning institutions, with a unique ability to facilitate dialogue and drive thinking and progress,” he said. The Mittal family has long supported educational endeavours and public policy development in India as a means of positioning the country — and the region — for future success, the university said.
India is on course to achieving universal access to electricity and clean cooking facilities by the early 2020s, a decade ahead of other developing countries, the International Energy Agency has said, indicating global recognition for the Narendra Modi government’s energy programme.
“Developing countries in Asia are making significant progress. Many countries in the region are well on track to reach universal energy access by 2030, while India is on course to reach that goal by the early 2020s,” the International Energy Agency has said in its latest report, ‘Energy Access Outlook: from Poverty to Prosperity’.
“Just look at India, which has provided electricity access to half a billion people since 2000. The government’s tremendous efforts over the last several years have put it on track to achieving one of the biggest success stories ever in electrification,” an IEA statement on Wednesday quoted its executive director Fatih Birol as saying.
According to Birol, the process of providing access to clean and affordable energy is being accelerated by the “convergence of political will and cost reductions”. Globally, this has brought universal energy access by 2030 within reach.
“The cost-effective strategy for providing universal access to electricity and clean-cooking facilities in developing countries is compatible with meeting global climate goals and prevents millions of premature deaths each year. It would also benefit women the most, as it would free up billions of hours currently lost to gathering fuelwood,” says the report.
In the Indian context, the report’s positive results towards universal energy access are a reflection of the bristling pace set by the Modi government to electrify all villages and rural households through the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and providing free connections to poor households through the Subhagya scheme announced recently, besides bringing clean cooking fuel to poor homes through the Ujjwala scheme.
These schemes, clearly targeted at improving the lives of India’s poor, are at the core of the Modi government’s development plank. Together, they also form a key element of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s political outreach plan by lighting up homes and rid poor women from the scourge of smoky ‘chulhas’
So far 14,670 villages, or 80% of the unelectrified villages, have been electrified in the two years since the electrification drive was launched. Only 2,791 inhabited villages, marking 15% of the target, remain to be electrified. With the rapid progress in village electrification, the government earlier this month announced the Saubhagya scheme envisaging free connections to poor households. The Ujjwala scheme too has reached over 3 crore poor homes since it was launched in May 2016 against a target of 5 crore homes set for 2019.
Rutgers Business School students won the $1 million Hult Prize for social entrepreneurship last month, capping off 11 months of entrepreneurial effort with a polished, convincing pitch about the ability of its rickshaw transportation business to improve the lives of refugees overseas. The team made history with its win at the Hult regionals, becoming the first team from Rutgers to become a finalist in the competition – widely regarded as the Nobel Prize for student. The five finalists beat out 50,000 participants from more than 100 countries.
Senior Gia Farooqi, new graduates Hasan Usmani and Moneeb Mian, and alumna Hanaa Lakhani created the Roshni Rides startup as a way of answering the 2017 Hult Prize Challenge of developing a business capable of restoring the dignity of one million refugees by 2022. The company uses a pre-loaded transaction card, encourages ride-sharing and existing rickshaw drivers.
On a stage at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, the young executives of six start-up companies made their final, feverish bids to win the coveted Hult Prize. Each had formed and launched business ideas over the last year that would try to solve this year’s Hult Prize challenge – improving the well-being of at least one million refugees over the next five years.
The six finalists rose to the stage from a pool of 50,000 applicants. The judges are an illustrious bunch, including Mercy Corps CEO Neal Keny-Guyer, Earth Day Network president Kathleen Rogers and KIVA president Premal Shah. They decided who wins a big blue megaphone-shaped trophy — and a million dollars in startup capital. The money comes from the Hult family, whose patriarch, Bertil Hult, founded EF Education First. The Hult Prize was formerly associated with the Clinton Global Initiative. The Initiative has ended its annual conference, so the U.N. hosted the Hult Prize for the first time this year and plans to host again next year.
Their ability to persuasively pitch the idea to the Hult judges enabled them to beat out finalist teams from five other schools: Harvard University’s Kennedy School, the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, the University of Waterloo, the University of Calgary and York University.
Former President Bill Clinton, who announced the winning team, said that along with optimizing rickshaws to provide reliable transportation for refugees, Roshni Rides modeled their card transaction system after the New York City subway’s MetroCard. The team’s business idea, he said, advocates ride-sharing, keeping prices down – and fixed. “It will have a big impact,” he said.
The Rutgers team will use the prize money to continue to build Roshni Rides and explore the possibility of using rickshaws powered by electricity rather than natural gas. Listen to the team’s winning pitch at the Hult Prize Final.
Alok Baveja, a supply chain professor who advised the team, said “the Hult Prize honor is an unequivocal recognition of this team’s undying conviction that great ideas have an elegance in their simplicity, achieve scalable societal good and make good business sense, all at once.”
“True to their name, these young Rutgers entrepreneurs are bringing the light (Roshni) of new hope and optimism to millions of displaced refugees globally through an accessible, affordable and reliable rickshaw transportation system,” Baveja said.
From the start, the theme of the Hult Prize Challenge inspired and motivated the team, all of whom are Americans of Pakistani ancestry. “We are the sons and daughters of immigrants and refugees,” Farooqi said after the team won the regional competition in March. “This is very personal for us.”
Chicago IL: Chicago Chapter of Global Organization for People of India Origin (GOPIO) hosted 3rd Annual Business Convention & Gala on September 17th 2017 at Rosemont Hyatt Hotel. The event was attended by many corporate executives, State and local Government officials, Asian-American and small & minority business leaders and non-profit organization leaders. The objective of the event was to promote common cultural heritage and create binding relationship among business community.
Chairman and Founder of GOPIO Chicago Gladson Varghese welcomed all the Business Leaders, Political leaders and other esteemed guests. He also stated GOPIO is one of the largest Indian organizations outside India with Chapters in over 20 countries.
President and Founder Hina Trivedi in her Presidential address stated GOPIO Chicago is in the path of rapid Growth and invited all the business leaders to be part of the organization. Hon. D.B. Bhati, Consul of India, Chicago, in his inaugural address said Business Conference like this is a first step to bring Indian Business owners under one umbrella, Indian Americans should expand their businesses to India as well, since India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world’,
Raja Krishnamoorthi, US Congressman, who was the of the keynote speakers, congratulated GOPIO Chicago Leadership for hosting a Business Conference like this and he will support the Indian Community and GOPIO Chicago to create a business environment that will help to grow Indian businesses especially the startup companies.
State Representative Hon. Linda Chapa LaVia, said that businesses are failing mainly on account of lack of proper direction to grow and paucity of required funding to launch new technology products. She also Presented the Award to Lovely Varughese.
Mayor Mickey Straub said GOPIO Chicago created a platform for all the small and large Indian business owners to do business networking and grow their businesses. There are several awards were presented during the event, Business man of the year given to H.R Pundit Corporation CEO K.K. Reddy, Community leader of the year award was given to Dr. Bharat Barai, Student of the year award was given to Payal Patel.
U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi Presented the Leadership award to Gladson Varghese, State Representative Hon. Linda Chapa Lavia presented Mother’s Rights Award to Lovely Varughese, Community service Awards were given for the Excellent community service to Consul of India D.B. Bhati, Mayor Mickey Straub, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Consul of India O.P. Meena, Humanitarian Award is given to Zahid Hameed, Sponsorship recognition is given to Lisa Victoria Waller, Syed Hussaini, Avani Trivedi, Abdul Gafoor, Manoj Kumar Singamsetti, Nick Gakhal and Nambirajan Vaithilingam.
The event was attended by the following Board members: SaviSingh, Vikrant Singh, Syed Hussaini, Hement Trivedi, Sharan Walia, Nambi Vaithilingam, Vinoz Chanamolu, Chandrasekar Reddy, Manoj Kumar Singamsetti, Hitesh Gandhi and Laddi Singh. The MC for the evening was Dr. Ajit Pant, President Hina Trivedi thanked all the dignitaries, GOPIO Board members, CEOs of various companies, Media, Sponsors and all the audience for their support for GOPIO Chicago.
The Business Conference ended with Bollywood style entertainment programs including Dances, Music and DJ. At the end of the program, Indian style Dinner and cocktails served to the guest.
Amazon has announced the expansion of its infrastructure footprint opening its largest fulfillment center in India. The 400,000 square feett center, located in Shamshabad, has roughly 2.1 million cubic feet of storage space. It is the fifth fulfillment center in Telangana and the largest in the country, Amazon said in a news release. In total, Amazon has upped its storage capacity to 3.2 million cubic feet in Telangana to enable faster deliveries to customers in the region, the company said.
“Amazon India’s latest investment … evidently signifies the growing interest of large global enterprises in the state,” K.T. Rama Rao of the government of Telangana said in a statement. “The (center) will enable thousands of small and medium businesses selling locally created products such as apparels, handlooms and handicraft to service customers seamlessly across the country and the globe,” he said.
“It will also fuel the growth of ancillary businesses such as packaging, transportation, logistics and hospitality across the state,” Rao added. “We are committed to enabling the ease of doing business and enabling companies like Amazon.in to expand their presence in Telangana.”
Added Amazon India vice president of India customer fulfillment Akhil Saxena, “Our vision is to transform the way India buys and sells. At Amazon, we have been consistently investing in our infrastructure and delivery network, so we can increase our speed of delivery and provide a superior experience to both – customers and sellers.
“With the launch of our largest fulfillment center here in Telangana, we strongly believe that we will be able to better serve our customers with one-day and two-day delivery,” Saxena added. “The (fulfillment center) will enable sellers to use local infrastructure, save capital and help them grow their businesses.”
Saxena noted that the center will work with the local communities to create many employment opportunities for the youth. Amazon continues to work with sellers in Telangana providing them with a marketplace to sell their products to millions of customers and scale their business to greater heights, he said. There are more than 10,000 sellers in Telangana, according to Saxena.
Leveraging its fulfillment centers with state-of-the-art infrastructure, Amazon provides a positive customer experience through its Fulfilment By Amazon program, the company said.
When using FBA, sellers across India send their products to Amazon’s fulfillment centers and once an order is placed, Amazon picks, packs and ships the order to the customer, provides customer service and manages returns on behalf of the sellers, it said. Orders fulfilled by Amazon are eligible for cash on delivery, guaranteed next-day, same day, release day, morning delivery and Sunday delivery, the company noted.
Sellers always have the flexibility to choose the number of products they want to have fulfilled by Amazon and scale according to their business requirements, it added.
HAB BANK IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH HABIB BANK LIMITED (HBL)
“In light of recent news regarding HBL, HAB Bank, strongly affirms it has no direct, indirect or any affiliation whatsoever or shared ownership with Habib Bank Limited, a Pakistan-based financial institution with an office in Manhattan”, as stated in a press release issued by HAB Bank, New York.
The release further stated that HAB Bank is a U.S.-based community bank headquartered in Manhattan with FDIC membership. HAB Bank has no operations outside the US. The institution has operated continuously and successfully since its original incorporation in 1983 and has branches in NY, NJ and CA.
“HAB Bank proudly serves our consumer and commercial banking customers in the New York Tri-state area and California for over three decades,” said Saleem Iqbal, President and CEO of HAB Bank.
We reached out to HAB Bank’s President & CEO Mr. Saleem Iqbal to seek clarification on the penalties assessed by the New York State against Habib Bank Limited. In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Mr. Iqbal answered a series of questions clarifying HAB Bank’s position. on the whole matter and reiterated the fact that HAB Bank has no affiliation, direct or indirect, with Habib Bank Limited or HBL.
Reporter: What is the difference between HAB Bank and Habib Bank Limited or HBL?
Saleem Iqbal: HAB Bank is a US chartered, FDIC Insured bank with branches in three states. Our charter dates back to 1983. Habib Bank Limited on the other hand is Pakistan based foreign bank with a branch in New York City. As we have categorically stated over the last so many years, HAB Bank is not affiliated in any manner whatsoever with Pakistan based Habib Bank Limited or HBL.
Reporter: How does this action by the NY regulator impact you?
Saleem Iqbal: This has no impact on HAB Bank, we are two different banks.
Reporter: How do you safeguard and protect your bank from such matters?
Saleem Iqbal: HAB Bank, from day one of its inception, has built a strong culture of compliance. We recognize that banking industry in our country is highly regulated and there are number of federal as well as state laws that applies to us as a community bank. We have a top-down approach in complying with various regulations including Anti Money Laundering laws currently in place. Our frontline personnel are fully aware of such laws and trained by the Bank on an ongoing basis. Then there is active oversight by the senior management and the board of directors in addition to an extensive risk management framework.
Reporter: What does future hold for HAB Bank?
Saleem Iqbal:
The Bank has shown steady and consistent growth; we are one of the largest South Asian-American banks in the US with assets over $1.3 billion with branches in three states. We were one of the few community banks in the US which remained unscathed and actually grew during the Great Recession, which started in 2007. We will continue to grow and to serve the banking needs of the South Asian community in the US.
HAB BANK was incorporated in 1983 as a New York State Chartered Bank. HAB is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and holds $1.3 billion in assets as of June 30, 2017. Headquartered in New York, the Bank and besides Manhattan maintains branches in, Jackson Heights, Richmond Hill, Hicksville in NY, Iselin in NJ, Artesia and Downtown Los Angeles in CA.
For further information, please visit HAB Bank’s website at www.habbank.com and Click on “Important Announcement”.
Olga Noskova, Russian Pastry Chef extraordinaire broke Instagram on May 2016 by gaining 300k followers overnight, a jump from her previous 34,000 followers, after sharing a few pictures of her eclectic cake which would go on to become her trademark “mirror glaze” technique. The internet drooled over every glamorous and blindingly shining masterpiece that she shared. Even as thousands of cake enthusiasts shared her cake designs praising it with words like “flawless”,”trippy and groovy”, “mesmerizing” and it was Britney Spears tweet: “This cake is too perfect to eat” that made the Russian Pastry Chef realize her own multimedia celebrity status.
A year into her phenomenal rise as the most sought after Cake designer and being in the spotlight has in no way dampened her ongoing passion to deliver the most perfect, glamorous and awe inspiring confection and her thriving Instagram account is proof of that
Currently she is gearing up for a Mega event where she will get to rub shoulders with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Samuel L Jackson, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and many others at “The 9th Shorty Awards” to be held in October this year in New York City. She has bagged a prestigious nomination as a finalist in the “Food” category. The Shorty Awards annually honor the best of social media by recognizing the influencer, brand and organization on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, snapchat and others.
Ancy James got in touch with her to share with our viewers her inspirations and share some light on the creative process of making her gorgeous cakes. We asked her about her journey to the top and how much life has changed since 2016, between then and now and her plans for the coming years.
Ancy James:
You have to give yourself credit for making history in instagram by adding 300k followers in less than 24 hrs last year with your glamorous mirror cakes and being the inspiration for cake afficianados around the world. Even the DIY(Do it yourself) kitchen table entrepreneurs are trying their hand at replicating your mirror glaze technique. In less than a year you have been recognized as a social media influencer with your prestigious nomination in the food category this year at ‘the shorty awards thanks to your every increasing followers. How do you feel about your phenomenal path to the top?
Olga Noskova:
In cooking, as in the fashion industry has its own legislature, trendsetters. Most often, they are world-famous masters of their craft, working with well-known restaurants or influential persons. Perhaps ordinary people have never heard of them, but they are well known in their circles. However, sometimes previously unknown confectioner can surprise the world with any of his incredible technique and conquer it, becoming the progenitor of a new trend. This is what happened to me. Many manufactures made mousse cakes, but my style of mirror glaze helped me stand apart from the general mass, and now, many associate mousse cake with my name. It’s a big responsibility because, now the world, professionals and amateurs alike are watching me and my work, and I always must be at a decent level in representing this trend in the confectionery art.
Ancy James
Pl share a little bit of the journey to becoming a multimedia celebrity. How has life changed after becoming the most popular and followed cake artist on the net?
Olga Noskova:
All started with a dream. I was an economist but I wanted to find something that would bring me pleasure daily. Do you know the English say: “Water dripping day by day wears the hardest rock away”? So, every day I tried to create something so beautiful and lovely. And thanks to my unbelievable mirror and delicious cakes my popularity started to grow. The stars smiled at me. In my case, the first star who rated my talent is Britney Spears 🙂
The British “Independent” wrote my cake is “absolutely impeccably”. The BuzzFeed called my work is “absolutely flawless” and wrote that they are “too good to be eaten”.
One day I woke up famous in the world. My Instagram increased to 613K followers. I could not believe what had happened to me! Their comments, admiration, love – that’s what makes me understand that this is not a hobby and not a job. This is my life!
Ancy James
You have seen phenomenal success in an industry where it is very important to offer something unique and different. How have you kept yourself grounded and what is your strategy to keep the internet drooling over you flawless and incredible creations in the coming years?
Olga Noskova:
I do not follow trends; I try to develop myself in the direction I have chosen. I love to experiment and explore new design options, combinations of textures, fillings and colors. Minimalism in details, incredible play of colors and combinations, memorable taste – all part of my style. Therefore, throughout 2017. I plan to continue to develop in this direction. But that’s not all) To remain trendsetter, it is needed to look ahead of the curve. Therefore, I now firmly engaged in studying extremely difficult, but at the same time, incredibly beautiful and unique technology that will not leave anyone indifferent.
Ancy James:
What inspires you to work so hard to create new designs. How do you draw inspiration from your life?
Olga Noskova:
My cake for me is pure “art”. I’m a pastry chef and an artist. I’m inspired by paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Gauguin, Korovin. Their style and the transmission, infinite movement, fluidity of moment, a riot of colors – everything is so dynamic and passes you up a glimpse of the artist. The cake is my canvas. I paint my works in the soul and reproduce it. I strive to make every of my cake better than the previous. I guess what my followers want; I feel them and create for them. I draw inspiration from everywhere: from nature and its constant mutability, from the universe and its forces, from the world’s largest events. For example, when I think of infinity and majesty of the universe, I feel her strength and energy. I know that the universe helps, if you really want, and so always speak to her. I have a whole lot of cakes, dedicated to space, each of which is unique, as the universe itself. Every time it’s a new cosmic history, combining the incredible aureole, shine, color versatility, depth and power of outer space. As they say it is better to see once, so check my Instagram @olganoskovaa.
Ancy James:
Every month we see new and innovative tools and technology being introduced to the Cake decorating and Pastry world on some social platform or another. Which ones are your favorite?
Olga Noskova
To be honest, I like to do everything myself, using my hands. I do not have a large, mass production, which requires special equipment to accelerate the process.
I can afford to create. Sometimes ideas for cake decoration come during the actual creation process, and sometimes I ponder them in advance each detail, color. In each cake I put my love, happiness, and a piece of my soul. I think this is one of the secrets of the popularity of my cakes.
Ancy James:
How do you de-stress/let-off steam after a hard day at work?
Olga Noskova:
Orders are enough. Even if I’m not making cakes, I’m always looking for ideas. Now a lot of problems for the development of the brand, especially abroad. The Arab countries are showing great interest in my cakes and spent a lot of time to negotiate and discuss details.
But I always find time for family! It is very important for me to be there, do not miss any important moment. We like to spend weekends out of town, a break from the city bustle, enjoying nature and family gatherings.
And I love hockey! I try not to miss the games of Salavat Yulaev and root for them with all my heart. Now, I began to actively participate in the life of the club, most recently, my cake was put up for charity auction as a lot, and we helped to make this world a better place for special children.
Ancy James:
What advice would you give cake decorators who are flooded with new ideas but haven’t yet managed to develop their own style?
Olga Noskova:
Of course, in the beginning it is important to get the basic knowledge of the confectionery business in any kind of courses or workshops. This will be your foundation. I got my first experience from well-known foreign and Russian chiefs, absorbing like a sponge, their knowledge and advice. But if you want to become a true professional, stand out from the masses, you should not be afraid to take a chance. Begin to experiment, to try, to mix and find your perfect recipe. The true recipe can only be achieved by trial and error. Do not look at others, choose what you like, what you do best and take that route, developing and improving. Always keep learning, do not stop there.
Ancy James, after pursuing a career (16 years) as a television producer, at age 37, changed her life course by getting a Culinary and cake diploma and a few international cakes decorating certifications from international cake artists. Her stint of two years (2014-2016) running a small business in New Delhi, boosted her network with top notch cake aficionados and it got her thinking of writing a column with their views on global cake decorating trends. In 2016, she wrote columns for Indian top two bakery industry magazines, bakery biz and bakery review.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as the leading destination for Indians migrating to the Gulf in search of work, as per emigration clearance data for the first six months of 2017. The UAE has toppled, by a wide margin, Saudi Arabia which used to traditionally lead the pack.
Of the total emigration clearance of nearly 1.84 lakh, as many as 74,778 Indians (or 40.6%) obtained emigration clearances for the UAE during January-June this calendar year, while only 32,995 (or 18% ) migrated to Saudi Arabia.
Oman came a close third with 30,413 migrants, which is 16.5% of the total Gulf migration. In 2016, Kuwait was the third most popular destination. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is an alliance of six countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
The other surprise in store is that Bihar edged Uttar Pradesh to occupy the top slot as the leading source state during the first half of 2017. Bihar contributed 35,807 (or 19.5%) of the total migrants to the Gulf. UP sent 33,043 migrants (or 18%).
Contrast this with 2015, when of the total 7.58 lakh Indian migrants to the Gulf, 31% hailed from UP and only 14% from Bihar. The main reason for this shift in ranking is a drastic fall in migration from UP to Saudi Arabia during the first half of 2017. Of the total migrant figure of 3.06 lakh to Saudi Arabia in 2015, 1.28 lakh migrants (or 42%) hailed from UP. The pan-India figure of migrants to Saudi Arabia dipped to 1.65 lakh in 2016 of which 36% were from UP.
Between January to June, only 1,179 workers from UP obtained emigration clearance for Saudi Arabia. This works out to a mere 3.57% of the total migration to this country. On the whole, emigration clearance statistics reflect a steady decline in migration to the Gulf, as per the statistics of the ministry of external affairs (MoEA). The pan-India emigration clearance during 2016, of 5.07 lakh, was a decline of 33% as compared to the previous calendar year.
While comparative six monthly figures of 2016 are not available, with only 1.84 emigration clearances during the first half of 2017, it shows that the falling trend will continue. Contrary to popular notions, Kerala doesn’t occupy the top slot of source states for Gulf bound migration. S Irudaya Rajan, professor at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), who spearheads the annual Kerala Migration Survey, says: “Historically, Kerala was the leading source state for migrants going to the Gulf countries. One out of every five migrants who left India in 2008 was a Keralite. After the global crisis that followed, this is down to one out of twenty in 2016.”
Kerala occupied eight slot in 2015, with 42,731 migrants (or 5.6%) of the pan- India total. Its eighth position continued in 2016 with 24,962 Keralities migrating to Gulf and its ratio to all-India migration was 4.9%. Kerala’s ranking was up to seventh in the first half of 2017, with 8,995 emigration clearances or nearly 5% of the pan-India emigration clearances (See graphic). Rajan explains: “The wage differential for unskilled labourers between Kerala and Gulf has narrowed, plus savings for Gulf workers are hit by the high cost of living.
Keralites are slowly vacating from Gulf and are replaced by people from UP, Bihar, and neighbouring countries such as Nepal and Sri Lanka. Unlike the rest of India, Kerala is experiencing an ageing population-—this too impacts migration.”
A study done by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2016 illustrates that India has fixed the referral wage for carpenters and masons at Saudi Riyal 1,700 per month, which is 40% and 10% higher than that set by Nepal and Philippines “The higher referral wages may periodically reduce employers’ preference for Indian workers. But if this tendency continues for long, it may adversely impact migration outflows from India, which in turn will restrict livelihood options and dampen remittance inflows,” the report said.
Swati Dandekar – who served in the Iowa state legislature for nine years and then served as the U.S. ambassador to the Asian Development Bank in Manila – has formed a new consulting group, Thirty-Ninth Street Strategies.
Dandekar is one of the first Indian American women to be elected to a statewide office. She was an Obama appointee to the Asian Development Bank and served in that role for 10 months until President Donald Trump took office and recalled all ambassadors appointed by the previous administration.
Swati Dandekar of Marion, Iowa, as United States Executive Director, Asian Development Bank, with the Rank of Ambassador. President Obama nominated Dandekar for the position. Sen. Chuck Grassley made the following comment on the confirmation. “Swati Dandekar has served Iowa in many ways over a long period of time. She’s shown her talent for building relationships that lead to productive dialogue and initiatives. Her enthusiasm for public service and willingness to take on new challenges and responsibilities are what the public deserves. The President and the Senate made a good decision in choosing Swati Dandekar to represent the United States in this capacity.”
At the ADB, Dandekar worked with 60 countries in Asia and the Pacific Rim on energy, telecom, water and transportation issues, as well as developing infrastructure projects.
Swati A. Dandekar is a former Iowa state legislator and member of the Iowa Utilities Board. Ms. Dandekar served on the Iowa Utilities Board from 2011 to 2013. Prior to joining the Utilities Board, Ms. Dandekar served in the Iowa State Senate from 2009 to 2011 and in the Iowa State House of Representatives from 2002 to 2008. From 2000 to 2003, she was a member of the Vision Iowa Board of Directors. Ms. Dandekar also served on the Linn-Mar Community School District Board of Education from 1996 to 2002 and was a member of the Iowa Association of School Boards from 2000 to 2002. Ms. Dandekar received a B.S. from Nagpur University and a Post-Graduate Diploma from Bombay University.
Dandekar formed Thirty-Ninth Street Strategies in July with veteran pollster Marc Silverman, who formerly served on the White House National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration. Silverman played a key role in helping to shape the administration’s policy process for energy, telecommunications, and environmental issues. Mark Pritchard, a member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, will serve as the group’s international advisor. Thirty-Ninth Street Strategies is working with U.S. companies aiming to do business in Asia.
“We’re hoping to get people focused on the Democratic message,” she said. The consultancy is already working with several Democratic congressional candidates, including Reps. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania and John Conyers of Michigan; and Danner Kline, who is running for a House seat in Alabama’s sixth congressional district.
Indian American Nikesh Arora, the former chief operating officer of SoftBank Group Corp., is in race among the individuals in the running to take over as Uber chief executive officer. The top job at the company was vacated by Travis Kalanick. Arora has been quietly advancing himself for the position, said a New York Times report.
Uber is making a pitch to potential CEO candidates after Kalanick, the firm’s co-founder was ousted last month. The company has received a flood of interest and Uber’s board has interviewed multiple candidates, says the newspaper, citing an anonymous source.
The company is pitching top bosses such as Susan Wojcicki of YouTube, Adam Bain, Twitter’s former CEO, David Cush, ex-CEO, Virgin America, and Marissa Mayer, ex-CEO Yahoo. The race also includes Disney’s ex-COO Thomas Staggs, added the report.
Kalanick’s resignation came after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder conducted an investigation into the company’s culture and practices, after a former female employee publicly accused it of promoting sexual harassment by often looking the other way.
Uber has also been in a legal tangle with Waymo, Google’s self-driving car unit, over intellectual property theft, according to reports. Waymo has accused Uber of stealing trade secrets and infringing on patents of its self-driving program, it said. Since February, Uber has lost or removed numerous senior executives including Indian American president of engineering Amit Singhal and finance chief Gautam Gupta.
Arora was on course to become the next CEO of Japan’s SoftBank, before stepping down in June 2016. The Times, citing unnamed sources, said that Kalanick, who remains on the company’s board, is actively involved in the search for his replacement. Arora was believed to be set to take over as SoftBank chair and CEO when Masayoshi Son retired, but eventually resigned amid allegations of his business acumen. During Arora’s SoftBank tenure, the company invested in a set of ground-breaking growth-stage companies in India like Snapdeal, Ola, Oyo, Grofers, Housing and extended its footprint in Asia successfully with the mobile e-commerce company Coupang in Korea and the ride-share player Grab in Southeast Asia.
Prior to joining SoftBank, Arora was a longtime executive at Google Inc., serving as the chief business officer. In addition to his role in revenue and customer operations, and marketing and partnerships, he served in several other positions, including development and management of Google’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Before that, he was chief marketing officer at T-Mobile Europe. Arora earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering at IIT Varanasi, a master’s from Boston College, and an M.B.A. and doctorate from Northeastern University.
India’s top IT services company Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) is moving to capitalize on growth opportunities in areas such as life sciences and manufacturing, Chief Executive Rajesh Gopinathan said last week.
According to a report by Reuters, with IT spending in the core banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) segment subdued in the United States – the largest market for India’s more than $150 billion software services sector – companies are looking at different sectors and a wider range of service offerings to drive revenue growth.
Gopinathan said in an interview with Reuters that technology was playing a growing role in not just the manufacturing process, but also in products, allowing companies such as TCS to target non-traditional sectors more than they did in the past.
“When we look at manufacturing, the extent of smart features that go into not just the manufacturing process, but the product itself are steadily increasing,” he said.
From smart refrigerators to connected cars, technology now plays a far bigger role in products, with the proliferation of the Internet of Things and embedded tracking devices helping companies manage logistics and inventory.
TCS posted slightly weaker-than-expected quarterly results late on Thursday, but it reported over 10 percent year-over-year revenue growth from clients in the manufacturing, life sciences and energy sectors.
The three combined currently account for less than 20 percent of TCS’s revenue and the BFSI segment accounts for a third.
Gopinathan also said that while TCS would have traditionally focused on servicing the sales and administration functions of such clients, it was now working with those companies even on the final products they market.
“We have a situation where we are under-penetrated in such sectors. On top of that the addressable space in these sectors is rapidly expanding,” said Gopinathan. “That’s a growth driver and an unfolding opportunity.”
Gopinathan said the mood among BFSI clients had turned optimistic with the prospect of a further interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the potential easing of regulatory requirements. “Sentiment is definitely positive,” he said, adding that movement on interest rates and regulations could help trigger increased IT spending by BFSI clients.
Interest rate hikes can improve banks’ margins, while U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is looking to ease regulations that were imposed on banks after the global financial crises.
The Mumbai-based company sees scope to expand in the BFSI market by adding smaller clients, such as regional banks. The Indian market also offers a big opportunity for TCS as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Digital India initiative could boost tech spending in Asia’s third-largest economy, Gopinathan said.
Sales in India, which accounts for 7 percent of TCS revenues, rose by around 13 percent year-on year in the quarter to June, coming in a close second to mainland Europe. “I think as growth rates pick up back in India, we should see a pickup (in spending).”
Ria Money Transfer (“Ria”) the third largest money transfer company in the world and subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT) has signed direct partnership agreements with three of India’s leading cash remittance payout agents, Paul Merchants Limited, Weizmann Forex Limited and Transcorp International Limited.
Ria’s new principal agents are well-recognized in India and each have more than 15 years’ experience in the money transfer sector. With the addition of these agents, Ria will upgrade its cash payout network during the next 12 months by adding tens of thousands of high-quality retail and non-banking financial company (NBFC) locations across India. The robust and ubiquitous payout network will provide Ria with increased brand recognition, while providing tremendous convenience and accessibility for beneficiaries to easily receive cash remittances.
Speaking at a press event in New York, Juan Bianchi, CEO & President of Ria Money Transfer, said: “Indians make up the largest diaspora group globally and India is still the top receiving market for family remittances, receiving $62.7 billion(1) in 2016.
“Today, Ria has one of the best services in the United States to send money to India. Millions of households are largely dependent on these transfers for family maintenance, savings and investment. We are proud to be the link that connects our customers in the US to their loved ones in rural and urban centers across India. We welcome our new partners to the Ria family.”
Ria already has a strong network worldwide, including in top remittance sending countries such as the United States, where many Indians reside. In 2015, the United States was named the second top remittance sending country to India, responsible for facilitating $11.7 billion in transfers(2).
In addition to cash pick-up, Ria also offers bank deposit services which offers customers the option to transfer money to any bank account in India online at www.riamoneytransfer.com or via an agent location. In a recent report from the World Bank’s Remittance Prices Worldwide(3), Ria ranked first for sending $200 and $500 to India using the online service and in the top 10 for cash to account transfers through an agent location. These results reflect the company’s commitment to offering the most competitive rates and best service possible to the customers its serves.
Ria, a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), is a global leader in money remittances. Ria offers fast, secure, affordable money transfers through a network of approximately 321,000 global agents spanning 146 countries and online at www.riamoneytransfer.com. Weizmann Forex Limited – part of the INR 45 billion Weizmann Group, is a public limited company listed with Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange since 2011. Paul Merchants Limited (PML), an ISO 9001:2008 certified Company for its quality procedures & processes, is the flagship company of the “PAUL GROUP OF COMPANIES.” Transcorp International Limited is a public limited company listed with the Bombay Stock Exchange; paying yearly dividends to its shareholders for the last 17 years.
FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum was held on July 14th, 2017 at the Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue as part of the IIFA Weekend and Awards in New York. Supported by Consulate General of India- New York, Asia Society and US-India Business Council (USIBC), the Business Forum was an initiative which began in 2005 and has grown into a global platform which has in threw past hosted international leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Prince Charles, Prime Minister Tony Blair of UK, President Mahindra Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka and a number of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
A stronger partnership in dealing with counter-terrorism will give an impetus to India-US relations, US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has said. “The number of military-to-military engagement and exercises between US and India exceeds any other partner in the region and it is only continuing to grow,” the Hawaiian Democrat said at a Ficci-IIFA Global Business Forum here on Friday.
Gabbard, the first Hindu elected to the Congress, was in conversation with the Indian envoy to the US, Navtej Sarna, at the event.
They discussed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US last month to meet President Donald Trump and how opportunities must be explored to further strengthen ties between the two countries. Stressing the need to boost counter-terrorism, Gabbard said: “There is a recognition of the benefit to continuing to strengthen the partnership and engagement, to ensure the countries are stable and that we deal with unconventional counter-terror threats together… Because then we will be stronger.”
Sarna pointed out at the ongoing Malabar joint naval exercise, which is aimed at enhancing interoperability between the navies of India, US and Japan. “Aircraft carriers from India and US are exercising together with submarines. This year, India has been designated as a major defence partner by the US… We need to fight this together, and we appreciate the personal reactions we got on the recent attack on pilgrims in India,” he added.
Gabbard also said there’s still a lot of excitement in Washington around Modi’s visit. “For those of us on the India-US Caucus and those who have been working on India-US partnership for years, everyone is saying it that these are the most exciting times for friendship between both the countries.
She mentioned that economic partnerships were flourishing and so too were relationships in technology, education, culture and the Arts. “Having the IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) celebrations here is appropriate given how much interest not just the Indian-American audience has, but the Americans as a whole have in films coming from India. This is increasing the understanding and affinity between the people of the two countries,” she said.
Sarna appreciated how the support for India-US engagement is “bipartisan and across the political spectrum”. He even said that during Modi’s visit to meet Trump, they “hit it off in terms of understanding, engaging each other and listening to each other’s concerns”.
Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor talked about the Globalization of Indian Cinema and Media, as part of the FICCI-IIFA Business Forum, at the Asia Society. After praising the diversity of New York, Kapoor said that with digitization, the world is becoming a smaller place. “Just sitting at home, in Mumbai, you can reach out to the world,” he said, also emphasizing how important digitization has become for Indian cinema and its media as everything can be uploaded and sent immediately.
In a fireside chat with Viacom 18 CEO Sudhanshu Vats, Kapoor explained his journey of working on the sets of the show 24 when he was here. “I was here for six months and I shot for 24 over here so I had a very day-to-day experience over here where I met from the writers, to the directors, to the actors, to the prop managers; from the top to the bottom, how they worked,” he said.
FICCI- IIFA Global Business Forum, the annual one-day event has been a major highlight of the IIFA Weekend And Awards, solidifying the business ties between India and its significant trade and investment partners. This year, the Global Business Forum 2017 will focus on the theme “India and United States: Partners in Progress”, with discussions on India- US commercial relations, with panel sessions focusing on key aspects of the relationship: The future of India-US Economic Partnership, Defense and Security, Manufacturing, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Media & Entertainment.
A top American business advocacy group representing US companies having footprint in India has decided to part ways with the all-powerful US Chambers of Commerce, accusing it of undue interference in its work, a media report has said.
In an unprecedented move, the high-profile Board of the US India Business Council(USIBC) unanimously voted 29-0 to separate from the US Chambers of Commerce, which is the world’s largest chambers of commerce, The Washington Post reported.
The board of the U.S. India Business Council- whose membership includes the chief executives of Pepsi and MasterCard – has voted unanimously to break off from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, saying that “recent actions taken by the Chamber have left us with no alternative but to take this vote to formally separate.”
The vote by 29 USIBC board members was the culmination of a running battle with U.S. Chamber of Commerce president Thomas J. Donohue that dates back to 2010 and which came to a boil during the recent visit to Washington by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The dispute provides a rare look at tensions among business leaders at high levels.
The board members who voted to split off from the Chamber include heavyweights such as Pepsi chief executive Indra Nooyi, Cisco executive chairman and former CEO John Chambers, former defense secretary William Cohen, MasterCard chief executive Ajay Banga and Warburg Pincus co-chief executive Charles “Chip” Kaye.
Donohue wrote a letter to USIBC board members on July 1 before the vote saying that the U.S.-India group “cannot ‘separate’ from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce without our concurrence.” The Chamber founded the group, and in his letter Donohue described the USIBC as a “program” with “no autonomous existence outside of the U.S. Chamber.”
Donohue said the same in a public letter to USIBC members July 11, saying that “the USIBC has no separate existence and its board has no legal authority.” He said the Chamber would continue to operate the program and “will not consent to the demands of a group of disaffected individuals.”
The fight between the USIBC, which has about 350 members, and the Chamber was largely about turf and independence. A member of the USIBC board said that Donohue was unhappy that the USIBC invited Vice President Pence to a meeting because Donohue wanted to invite Pence to a different event.
A person close to the USIBC board said that Donohue also wanted to oust certain members of the U.S.-India Business Council board and install others, moves that would be unprecedented in the history of the council.
In the run-up to Modi’s June trip to Washington, the Chamber also pressured top USIBC officials, including USIBC president Mukesh Aghi, according to a July 3 email to board members from the group’s executive committee. Since the Modi visit and board vote, the Chamber has dismissed Aghi and another USIBC senior official, USIBC officials said. Aghi said in a letter that the Chamber dismissed him because he would not agree to report to the Chamber instead of to the U.S.-India group.
Chamber spokesman Blair Holmes said that “our view is he walked away from the Chamber, and therefore he resigned.” The Chamber also abruptly fired another veteran senior official at the USIBC after he declined to report directly to the Chamber, a USIBC board member said.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce established the USIBC in 1976, at the request of then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who wanted to promote better business ties between India and the United States. Today it is one of the biggest of 15 bilateral business groups under the Chamber umbrella whose staff members work out of the Chamber’s office. Each of the groups has its own board.
Tensions first surfaced when Terry McGraw of the McGraw-Hill Companies was chairman of the USIBC. “Donohue chafed at the council’s independence. McGraw chafed at being told what to do on policy,” said a member of the board who asked for anonymity to protect his business relationships.
In February 2011, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding that gave the USIBC autonomy on policy matters and strategic planning, with a governing committee that included three members of the USIBC’s executive committee and the chief operating officer of the Chamber. The two sides pledged to avoid conflicts.
The memorandum also spelled out financial details, saying that the Chamber would open an account in its name but for the benefit of the USIBC with restricted funds. The USIBC was to receive all the funds except those given to the Chamber to cover administrative costs. The account currently has millions of dollars that each side claims as its own, the board member said.
Donohue said in his July 1 letter said “all of the assets of the USIBC program are in fact the legal assets of the U.S. Chamber.” He called a meeting of the USIBC board for July 14. It is not clear who, if anyone, would attend. Instead, the USIBC executive committee wrote to Donohue on July 7 after its vote, urging him to pick a date during the week of July 17 “so that we can work out an amicable way to resolve this.”
Dream Hotel Group, founded by Indian American entrepreneur Sant Singh Chatwal, has signed a hotel management agreement with chairman of Viiking Ventures, Sachiin J. Joshi, to open Dream New Delhi, in 2019.
Renowned hotel brand and management company Dream Hotel Group today signed a hotel management agreement with chairman of Viiking Ventures, Sachiin J. Joshi to open Dream New Delhi in 2019.
Set to open in the Central Business District of West Delhi, Dream New Delhi features 187 guest rooms and suites and five highly activated dining and nightlife venues, including a Food Hall concept by renowned chef Todd English.
Joining to celebrate the signing today were Dream Hotel Group chairman Sant Singh Chatwal, Dream Hotel Group CEO Jay Stein, Sachiin J. Joshi, Chairman of Viiking Ventures; Rabinder Pal Singh, CFO of Dream Hotel Group; and Todd English, celebrity chef and restaurateur. The event also featured actress Rashmi Nigam as master of ceremonies.
?I am thrilled to expand our global footprint to India and bring the Dream Hotel brand back to my home country,? remarked Dream Hotel Group chairman Sant Singh Chatwal. ?With Dream Hotel Group?s unprecedented growth and high-velocity expansion, we are well positioned to triple our existing portfolio in less than five-years.?
The signings come on the heels of the company?s largest international expansion news to date with nine new hotel signings across all four brands ? Dream Hotels, Time Hotels, The Chatwal and Unscripted Hotels. Dream Hotel Group now boasts its strongest portfolio and its largest/most active pipeline ever. With 16 hotels open today and an additional 26 properties in the pipeline, Dream Hotel Group is on track to increase its global footprint by 230 percent over the next four years; tripling its existing portfolio by 2022.
?We are delighted to be partnering with Dream Hotel Group and its dynamic team,? said Sachiin J. Joshi, Chairman of Viiking Ventures. ?India is among the fastest growing economies and we are excited to take the hospitality industry in this country to new heights with Mr. Chatwal himself, who is an inspiration to us all in India.?
?We recently reached an exciting milestone by signing most new hotel deals in the company?s history,? said Dream Hotel Group CEO Jay Stein. ?I?m incredibly proud to continue our unprecedented growth momentum with the signing of Dream New Delhi.?
Todd English, celebrity chef and restaurateur, joined in the festivities to celebrate the signing of Dream New Delhi and the extension of his food and beverage partnership with Dream Hotel Group.
“I couldn?t be more pleased to extend my partnership with the Dream Hotel Group, this time, on a new venture to create an unforgettable dining experience at Dream New Delhi,” said Chef Todd English. “I?ve always dreamt of bringing my restaurant to India and I can’t think of a more exciting place to establish it.”
While Trump has been trying to restrict immigrants from entering this great nation of immigrants, India-based Infosys, an information technology outsourcing firm, announced July 6 it will hire 2,000 workers over the next four years for a technology hub in North Carolina, the second of four planned hubs in the U.S.
Infosys executives were joined by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper at a news conference in which they said the hub will be developed in the state’s Research Triangle region. The company expects to hire the first 500 North Carolina workers within two years as part of an overall strategy leading to eventual creation of 10,000 job overall across the four sites. The first was announced for Indiana in May and the other two locations haven’t yet been announced.
Infosys already has more than 1,100 jobs in North Carolina and will begin hiring later this year, company President Ravi Kumar said in the appearance before reporters at North Carolina’s old Capitol Building with Cooper.
Kumar stressed that the jobs created as part of its U.S. expansion would go to American workers. While workers could come to North Carolina from all over the country, Kumar emphasized the company aimed to fill positions in part through recruiting local university graduates and training workers via a customized community college program. “This was an easy one for us,” Kumar said. “That’s one of the key reasons why we chose North Carolina – there’s such an excellent ecosystem of colleges and schools.”
The jobs will be created in Wake County, which contains Raleigh and parts of the Research Triangle Park, with average salaries of $71,000. A state incentives panel earlier finalized an agreement whereby Infosys could receive more than $22 million in taxpayer-funded grants if they meet job creation, investment and wage thresholds. The state community college system is also chipping in $3 million for Infosys worker training.
Gov. Roy Cooper defended using the incentives to attract a company that is coming to a region of North Carolina that already has less than 4 percent unemployment. He says it’s all part of competing with other states that offer similar benefits to attract jobs.
Infosys said it will use the technology hubs to work with its clients on products such as artificial intelligence, big data analysis and shared computing. Previously, Infosys announced its first hub as part of plans to hire 2,000 new workers by the end of 2021 in the Indianapolis area, home turf of Vice President Mike Pence, a former Indiana governor.
Washington Dulles International Airport and Air India celebrated the first-ever nonstop flight connecting the National Capital Region and Delhi, India, last week with delegations from the Embassy of India, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia.
The inaugural events, which included a ceremonial water cannon salute, traditional gate-side Indian prayer ceremony, press conference, ribbon cutting and gala luncheon, commemorate Air India’s new three weekly nonstop, roundtrip flights between Indira Gandhi International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.
The new Air India service represents another milestone in the growing relationship between the National Capital Region and India. “Today, we celebrate an important partnership and welcome Air India’s direct air service to Dulles,” said Governor McAuliffe. “Virginia is committed to expanding and growing our relationships with the international community, especially our friends in India. We look forward to the opportunities this new route will provide for people in Virginia and India alike. This will be an important avenue for business, tourism and educational opportunities between our two great countries.”
“This inaugural launch highlights our work with the international community to drive business and tourism to the D.C. region,” said District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser. “Here in the nation’s capital, we are delighted to invite many more visitors from India to explore the sights and sounds that make Washington, D.C., the greatest city in the world.”
Sabre Global Demand Data shows that for the year ending March 2016, the Washington, D.C., area welcomed more than 281,000 Indian visitors—making India the fourth largest overseas travel market for the region.
“With international visitation between India and the Washington, D.C., area expected to double by 2025, the Airports Authority’s partnership with Air India, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia is just one way we’re working to enhance the level of service offered at Dulles International,” said Jerome L. Davis, executive vice president and chief revenue officer of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
“India currently represents a 6 percent market share of all international travelers to the Commonwealth and is Virginia’s fourth largest market,” said Todd Haymore, Secretary of Commerce and Trade. “With projected growth, this new direct route to Dulles International will not only help to boost visitation from this high growth market, but also introduce the Commonwealth to new Indian audiences, including businesses, tourists and students.”
Flight service between Dulles International and Delhi is also estimated to bring in an additional 30,000 leisure and business travelers and $30 million in total economic impact annually to the National Capital Region.
“According to Travel Market Insights, visitation from India to D.C. has grown 40 percent since 2013, and 70 percent to the region,” said Elliott Ferguson, president and chief executive officer of Destination DC, the official destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital. “We’re excited about the potential for even more Indian business and leisure travelers to experience Washington D.C.’s dynamic neighborhoods and free attractions as well as the diverse experiences throughout the capital region.”
“Serving 7.5 million international travelers annually with nonstop service to more than 50 international destinations in more than 40 countries, Dulles International Airport is the region’s gateway to the world,” said Margaret McKeough, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Airports Authority. “Air India’s service launch adds our 33rd capital-to-capital connection—linking the world’s oldest democracy with the world’s largest democracy.”
“The Washington, D.C., metro is Air India’s fifth U.S. destination after New York, Newark, Chicago and San Francisco, and it reinforces our commitment to providing the most convenient service between the United States and India,” commented Ashwani Lohani, chairman and managing director of Air India Limited.
As part of an effort to stimulate travel to Virginia through Dulles International Airport, the Commonwealth of Virginia approved an incentive package over a three-year period beginning in fiscal year 2018 to support Air India. In addition, the District of Columbia plans to provide incentive funding this year to support the partnership. Tourism marketing support will be provided by the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Capital Region USA and Destination DC.
Air India is the flag carrier of India and a member of the Star Alliance group. Air India transports passengers, baggage and cargo across a network of 66 domestic Indian destinations and 34 international destinations in the United States, Europe, Australia, Far-East and South-East Asia and the Gulf. Air India flies one of the youngest aircraft fleets—including the wide-body Boeing B777, B747 and B787 Dreamliner, as well as the narrow body Airbus A321, A320 and A319. Air India plans to operate a Boeing 777-200LR, with eight first class, 35 business class and 195 economy seats, on service to Washington Dulles International Airport. For more information, visit airindia.in.
Indian American executive Naveen Chopra has been named interim chief executive officer of the company, Pandora, as co-founder and CEO Tim Westergren, under intensifying competitive pressure from Spotify and Apple Music, is relinquishing his position and stepping down from the company board. Chopra, the chief financial officer, will remain in the interim CEO role as the company seeks a permanent replacement.
“Tim stepped in to be CEO at a critical time for the company and was quickly able to reset relations with the major labels, launch our on-demand service, reconstitute the management team and refortify our balance sheet by securing an investment from Sirius. We support Tim’s desire to identify a new CEO for Pandora’s next stage,” said Tim Leiweke, Pandora board member.
Westergren, who helped found the company 17 years ago, returned as CEO about 15 months ago with Pandora struggling to match the subscribers heading to rival services. He had also been CEO between 2002 and 2004.
After Westergren’s return as CEO in March, the company launched a new $10 a month on-demand music service which lets users select the songs they want to hear, copying what Spotify and Apple Music already offer.
Pandora had 4.7 million paying subscribers at the end of March, while Spotify said it had more than 50 million. Pandora and other streaming music services use algorithms to determine what listeners want to hear, based on the songs they like and do not like. Ads are played in the free version, but users can pay $5 per month to listen ad-free. Pandora makes most of its money from the free version, bringing in nearly $1.1 billion in ad revenue last year.
The company, based in Oakland, Calif., also said June 27 that Michael Herring has stepped down as president and that former MySpace and MTV Networks executive Jason Hirschhorn is joining Pandora’s board. Shares of Pandora Media Inc., which are already down 35 percent since the beginning of the year, slipped about 1 percent to $8.38 in midday trading.
Prior to joining Pandora, Chopra served as interim CEO of TiVo Inc. A graduate of Stanford in computer science and economics, he also earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
U.S. President Donald Trump said June 27 a recent order for 100 new Boeing aircraft placed by Indian airline SpiceJet will create thousands of American jobs. SpiceJet announced the $22 billion order with the U.S. aircraft maker in January. The order is expected to create 132,000 high-skilled jobs in America.
“I was pleased to learn about an Indian airlines’ recent order of 100 new American planes, one of the largest orders of its kind, which will support thousands and thousands of American jobs,” Trump said alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House Rose Garden.
During their maiden meeting, Modi and Trump discussed a range of issues. Trump’s remarks come at a time when there are concerns in certain quarters that jobs are moving out of the U.S.
SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said the planes will be manufactured in the U.S “As per the U.S. Department of Commerce, it creates 132,000 high-skilled, high-paid American jobs within the U.S.,” Singh said in a statement.
“We have placed a large order for the Boeing 737 MAX, in fact, the biggest ever placed by an Indian airline with Boeing. The new planes start to join the fleet in the middle of 2018 and with that our operating cost will further go down,” he noted.
The no-frills airline, which was on the verge of going belly up more than two years ago, has remained profitable for nine straight quarters. “We have paid back most of the liabilities. Today, there are no government dues, there is zero bank debt. We have cleaned the slate as far as the past is concerned,” Singh said.
Along with the January order, the airline last week inked an initial pact for 40 Boeing 737 MAX planes. This includes conversion of 20 737 MAX 8 airplanes from the carrier’s existing order of 737 MAX 10s.
Noting that funding arrangements for the plane orders are “coming very quickly,” the SpiceJet chief said the airline has already funded a significant number of those aircraft through a sale and leaseback mechanism.
“And we have several offers. We really see no great challenge to funding these planes. Going further, we will take a call, depending on what is cheaper for us at that point in time,” he said.
“Our objective is that whatever we go in for should reduce the cost of financing. Fortunately, we are in a pretty conducive financial environment, where interest rates are low across the world,” he added.
India’s domestic aviation sector has been growing by double-digits for more than two years and many airlines, including SpiceJet, have ambitious expansion plans. “There is enough for more; even if the market grows around 12-15 percent, there is a requirement of 60 aircraft every year. There is space for all,” Singh said.
Prem Reddy, Sachin Jain, and Tejal Gandhi have been featured in Modern Healthcare magazine’s annual list of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders, announced June 19. “The 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders recognition program honors physicians working in all sectors of the healthcare industry who are steering their organizations and the healthcare delivery system through dynamic, challenging times,” said the magazine in a statement announcing this year’s awards. “These physicians stand out for the scope of their executive responsibilities, personal achievements, innovation and commitment to their communities,” noted the publication.
The awards are based on nominations from members of the health care community. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was ranked number one on the list, followed by John Noseworthy, president and CEO of the Mayo Clinic.
Prem Reddy, chairman and CEO of Prime Healthcare Services, ranked number 19 on this year’s list. Reddy is a cardiologist, entrepreneur and philanthropist, according to his bio on Modern Healthcare’s web site. “He was born into a family of leaders in rural India, where he learned the values and guiding principles that led to his medical and business accomplishments,” noted the publication.
Sachin Jain, CEO of CareMore Health System, ranked number 23 on this year’s awards list. CareMore Health System is an innovative health plan and care delivery system based in Cerritos, Calif., with more than 100,000 members in eight states, and $1.2 billion in revenue. Jain is also a consulting professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Tejal Gandhi, chief clinical and safety officer at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, ranked number 30 on the list. Gandhi leads programs focusing on improving patient and workforce safety. She has long advocated for patient safety at the regional, national and international levels, driving educational and professional certification efforts, and helping to promote innovation in health care quality, noted Modern Healthcare.
NEW YORK – According to the New York Attorney General, Infosys, the Indian multinational IT outsourcing and consulting company, placed foreign workers in New York jobs without paying prevailing wages and the taxes owed on them.
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a $1 million settlement with Infosys Corporation, for “systematically abusing the United States visa rules in placing foreign workers at client sites in New York State.” This can hardly bode well for the Indian company that has been trying to reposition itself in the U,S, after President Donald Trump took office, and the potential changes in store for H-1B visas of which Infosys is one of the major users. It has attempted lately, also portray itself as a company employing local American workers.
Infosys Corporation has a significant presence in New York State, said the press release from Schneiderman’s office. The settlement resolves whistleblower claims that Infosys Corporation, in the course of providing outsourcing services, routinely brought foreign IT personnel into New York to perform work in violation of the terms of their visas, it says.
The H-1B visa allows a business to employ a foreign national temporarily in a “specialty occupation” in the United States, and H-1B visa holders in New York are accordingly paid according to prevailing wage requirements, and state taxes are withheld on salary earned while working in the State.
The Attorney General’s office contends that Infosys knowingly and unlawfully obtained temporary visitor visas (B-1 visas) instead of H-1B. The B-1 visas are much easier to obtain but do not allow visa holders to work here.
Infosys workers using B-1 visas were doing work that would otherwise have been performed by U.S. citizens or H1-B visa holders, and were paid significantly less than what comparable U.S. workers or H1-B visa holders would have been paid in the same positions, Schneiderman’s office says.
According to the AG’s investigation, Infosys provided instructions to employees on B-1 visas regarding how to deceive U.S. Consular Officials and/or Customs and Border Protection Officers. This conduct included creation of a “Do’s and Don’ts” memorandum that was provided to Infosys employees entering the United States that explicitly instructed such employees to avoid talking about the work they were doing; The Indian company sent “invitation letters” to U.S. consular officials that contained materially false representations about the true purpose of the Infosys employees’ visits to the United States
Schneiderman thanked the whistleblower and its attorneys, and to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, for their assistance in bringing this case to resolution. The New York AG’s office was helped by the investigative work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Texas and other federal law enforcement, on which this investigation significantly relied, the press release said.
“The whole world is looking at India. 7,000 reforms alone (have been carried out) by the Government of India for ease of business and minimum government, (with) maximum governance,” PM Modi said at the round-table to the chief executives of world’s top business leaders in Washington, DC.
PM Modi presented India as a “win-win” opportunity to the business tycoons. “The growth of India presents a win-win partnership for India and the US both. US companies have a great opportunity to contribute to that,” the PM explained.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was meeting with the who’s who of American business – including Google’s Sundar Pichai, Apple’s Tim Cook and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos – at a round-table gathering in Washington DC on Sunday, June 25th.
As the Indian Embassy in Washington DC tweeted, it was “A Stellar Starcast” that had gathered to meet the workaholic PM, despite it being a Sunday morning in the US. As many as 21 high-profile chief executives of US corporations were in attendance at the round-table with Modi at the Hotel Willard Intercontinental in Washington.
The PM, in his inimitable style, also had a suggestion for US business schools. “The implementation of the landmark initiative of GST (Goods and Services Tax Bill) could be a subject of studies in US business schools,” he said, talking about the historic bill that will do away with the system of cascading taxes that has for long been seen as a drag on business and for consumers. In reference to this, he emphasised the importance attached by his government to “efficiency, transparency, growth and benefit for all”.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud charges against Adesh Kumar Tyagi, the former CEO, sole director, and majority shareholder of Systems America, Inc., subsequently renamed Cloudeeva, Inc.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on May 31, 2017, alleges that Tyagi falsely claimed in press releases he issued between July 2010 and September 2011 that the company had hundreds of customers and supported customer operations in nearly 20 countries when, in fact, the company had only two main clients in 2010 and did not support operations in any foreign countries in 2010 and 2011. Tyagi also allegedly falsely claimed in an Initial Disclosure he published on behalf of Systems American on July 2, 2010 that he was not a party to any material litigation. In Annual Reports he published on behalf of Systems America on February 24, 2011 and July 24, 2012, Tyagi claimed that no officer or director of the company had been named as a defendant in a criminal proceeding, when he had been named as a defendant in two pending criminal proceedings at the time of each publication. The complaint also alleges that Tyagi placed buy limit orders in small increments during individual trading days and marked the close on at least 16 trade dates in order to artificially inflate the share price and trading volume of the company’s securities. Finally, the complaint alleges that Tyagi failed to file with the SEC required disclosures of his holdings and transactions in company securities.
The SEC’s complaint charges Tyagi with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 10(b), 13(d), and 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Exchange Act Rules 10b-5, 13d-1, and 16a-3, and seeks to hold Tyagi secondarily liable as a control person under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act and as an aider and abettor under Exchange Act Section 20(e) for the company’s violations of Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5(b). The complaint seeks permanent injunctions, an injunction prohibiting Tyagi from participating in transactions of any security of an entity of which he is an officer, director, owner, significant shareholder, or control person, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, penalties, and officer-and-director and penny stock bars.
On November 9, 2016, Tyagi pleaded guilty to certain of the misconduct at issue in the SEC’s complaint in a parallel criminal matter in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to one co
BCB Bancorp, Inc., based in Bayonne, the holding company for BCB Community Bank, has announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement, with IA Bancorp, Inc., pursuant to which the company will acquire IAB and its wholly owned subsidiary, I n d u s – A m e r i c a n Bank. Upon consummation of the merger, Indus- American Bank will merge with BCB Community Bank and will operate as a division of BCB Community Bank. Following the closing of the merger, BCB will form an advisory board which will consist of current members of the IAB board of directors and other prominent community members.
Indus-American Bank, which has its headquarters in Edison, operates full-service branches in Edison, Jersey City, Parsippany and Plainsboro, and Hicksville, New York. Indus-American Bank was founded primarily to meet the banking needs of the South Asian- American community. Indus-American Bank specializes in core business banking products for small- to medium-sized companies, with an emphasis on real estate-based lending. Mark D. Hogan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, stated, “We are extremely excited and pleased to welcome Indus-American customers and employees to BCB. Our partnership with Indus-American is consistent with BCB’s strategic plan of executing smart growth via expansions and organic branching. This transaction will allow the combined entities to further develop our existing markets in Jersey City and Edison, and will provide further opportunities in Parsippany, Plainsboro and Hicksville, New York, three new, attractive markets for BCB.”
The total transaction value is approximately $20 million, including the assumption by BCB of approximately $7.5 million of IAB preferred stock, outstanding shares of IAB common stock of approximately 4.18 million and based on a 10- day volume weighted average price of BCB common stock. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, which both boards of directors have approved, IAB shareholders shall be entitled to elect to receive either 0.189 shares of BCB common stock or $3.05 in cash for each share of IAB common stock, subject to an overall allocation of exchanged IAB shares into 80% BCB common stock and 20% cash.
The closing and the systems’ conversion is anticipated to occur in the fourth quarter of 2017, subject to approval by IAB shareholders, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. On a pro forma basis, the transaction is expected to be accretive to the Company’s 2018 earnings by approximately 10% per share, with tangible book value per share dilution of approximately 1.3% and an earn-back period of approximately 1.2 years.
Anil Bansal, Chairman of the Board of Directors of IAB, said, “We believe our loyal Indus-American Bank customers and shareholders will greatly benefit from this merger. BCB is a true community bank, with a history of a very strong commitment to its customers and the communities it serves.
This merger will bring expanded lending capacity, supplementary retail and business products and added capital, which should enable our combined organizations to better serve our customers, to continue growing in our marketplaces, and to further enhance shareholder value.”
Thomas Coughlin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company and the Bank, added, “BCB is excited to be partnering with IAB and Indus-American Bank. Indus- American Bank’s branch locations complement BCB’s current locations. BCB will continue Indus-American Bank’s commitment of service to its customers and its communities. The existing Indus- American branches will operate and be known as “BCB-Indus-American Bank, a division of BCB Community Bank,” in recognition of the strong identity forged over the years by Indus-American Bank.”
The merger will add approximately $235 million to the Company’s asset base, based on IAB’s assets as of March 31, 2017. Following completion of the merger, the Company will have total assets of over $2 billion, based on IAB’s and BCB’s respective assets as of March 31, 2017. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals and IAB shareholder approval. The merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Amazon has unveiled a teaser for its first Indian original drama series, Inside Edge, which seeks to capitalize on the country’s national sporting obsession, cricket. The series will launch on July 10 and will stream on Prime Video worldwide in over 200 countries. Inside Edge follows the ups and downs of the fictional Mumbai Mavericks professional cricket team through a season of the Powerplay League, a fictional version of the lucrative Indian Premier League. According to Amazon, the series is set “in a landscape of conflicting interests, where selfishness is almost a virtue, where sex, money and power are mere means to an end.”
The series is executive produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar who head leading Bollywood banner Excel Entertainment. Its credits include Dil Chahta Hai,Lakshya and last year’s Raees starring Shah Rukh Khan, among other titles.
Inside Edge is created by Karan Anshuman and stars Vivek Oberoi, Richa Chadha, Sanjay Suri, Angad Bedi, Tanuj Virwani, Siddhanth Chaturvedi, Sarah Jane Dias and Amit Sial.
Prime Video has 18 Indian originals at various stages of development via deals signed with a range of producers. In addition to Inside Edge, Excel has also been signed on to produce two other shows, Mirzapur and Made in Heaven.
Since the video giant launched in India last December, Amazon has been building on its local content offerings via a slew of licensing deals with leading banners to offer blockbuster movies covering Bollywood to regional cinema. In addition, Prime Video also offers a wide range of homegrown comedy content via stand-up specials featuring some of India’s leading comics.
Meanwhile, rival Netflix has also commissioned its first Indian series, Sacred Games, produced by Phantom Films, whose founders include well-known film-maker Anurag Kashyap. Phantom has also been signed by Amazon to produce two shows, Stardust and The Family Man.
The world’s favourite jeweller is gearing up for a sizzling promotion with a 60KG gold giveaway. Joyalukkas has consistently launched massive promotions during summer since it opened its doors 30 years ago and 2017 is no exception. This year’s promotion will see lucky shoppers go home with up to 1.5KG gold in USA through raffle draws.
“Opening showrooms in the USA is a dream come true for all of us at Joyalukkas Group,” said Mr. Joy Alukkas, Chairman and Managing Director of Joyalukkas Group. “USA is an exciting location and we are looking forward to providing the quality of jewellery and service Joyalukkas is known for to the cosmopolitan mix of customers here.
The response to the opening our showrooms in USA was heartwarming and we strive to return this great reception with the sizzling promotion, great value and quality service for all customers.”
Shoppers get 1 raffle coupon to enter the raffle draw for 60KG gold upon purchase of gold jewellery worth USD 200 and above. They also get 2 raffle coupons on purchase of diamond and polki jewellery. Adding to this exciting opportunity are generous offers.
The Joyalukkas USA showrooms show cases a mix of traditional, ethno contemporary and international designs that have won of hearts and following of customers around the world in exclusive Joyalukkas brands, such as Veda Temple Jewellery, Pride Diamonds, Eleganza Polki Diamonds, Masaaki Pearls, Zenina Turkish Jewellery, Li’l Joy Kids Jewellery, the Apurva Antique collection & Ratna Precious Stone Jewellery, along with exquisite pieces in gold, diamond, precious stones, platinum and pearl.
Joyalukkas Group is a multi-billion dollar global conglomerate, with varied business interests. The group operates its various business operations across UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia, London, USA and India. The group businesses include jewellery, money exchange, fashion & textiles, luxury air charters, malls and realty. Joyalukkas employs over 8,000 professionals across the world, and is one of the most awarded and recognized jewellery retail chains in the world.
Trump Hotels announced on June 6th that it has teamed up with Chawla Pointe, LLC, to launch “American Idea,” a midscale brand of lodging in the Mississippi Delta area. Indian American hoteliers Suresh Chawla and Dinesh Chawla, whose late father V.K. Chawla founded Chawla Pointe in the 1980s, currently run the business. They will partner with Trump Hotels to initially build three hotels in the region.
American Idea hotels will build upon President Donald Trump’s pledge on the campaign trail to put America first. The three-star chain will feature artifacts of American culture in the hotels, such as an old Coca Cola machine in the lobby or American-made sundries in the rooms, reported the New York Times.
When Suresh Chawla began construction on a luxury hotel in rural Mississippi last fall, he had no idea it would be the first in a series of new licensing agreements with The Trump Organization.
Chawla, who manages a small chain of hotels with his brother, Dinesh, envisioned an upscale offering to complement the 17 mid-scale hotels the family already operates. The new hotel, which is expected to be completed in first half of 2018, would be called the Lyric Hotel and Spa, and allow “guests from all over the world to immerse themselves in Mississippi culture.”
Now, some nine months after breaking ground on the hotel, Chawla Hotels is teaming up with President Donald Trump’s sons to make that aim a reality. It’s the same idea, the Chawla brothers say, but with the day-to-day operations turned over to the Trump Organization in a licensing deal the Trumps aim to replicate across the country. The new four-star chain, dubbed “Scion,” will be built by local partners such as Chawla Hotels that have agreed to pay royalties and other fees to the Trump Organization.
“The Trump Organization will be branding the hotel as a Scion hotel,” Suresh Chawla explained. “They will be managing and marketing the hotel. My brother and I are a board of directors that will consult them.”
In addition to the Scion-branded hotel, the Chawla brothers have agreed to move three of their existing hotels under a new brand called “American IDEA,” a more affordable, three-star option that Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., announced Monday in New York. Unlike the higher-priced Scion option, which the Trump Organization will run, American Idea hotels will be managed by partners such as the Chawlas.
The Chawla brothers are the first publicly announced partners in both chains, which are expected to grow rapidly in the coming months. “We were developing our own hotel. We were going to go full-service boutique. We had no idea we’d be associated with the Trump Organization,” Suresh Chawla told Forbes Monday evening on his way to the announcement in New York. “Now, we are doing a whole new interior package. It’s going to be much higher quality.”
So how did a pair of Indian-American immigrants become business partners with the Trump family?
It began with a phone call in March. Suresh Chawla was on spring break, watching a tennis match with his family. He received a call was from an employee at the Trump Organization who had read about the Chawla’s new hotel and wanted in on it. “They read about our hotel and asked if we’d be interested [in partnering]. I had to Google ‘Scion’ to find out what it was,” Dinesh Chawla said, adding that he quickly realized he and his brother “shared about 80 percent of our goals” for the hotel with the Trump Organization. “We want it to be a great social enterprise, as well as a profitable enterprise. … I really felt they listened to us.”
The Chawla brothers declined to disclose the details of their financial arrangement with the Trump Organization. Mitch Garrett, a vice president of Acquisition & Development at Trump Hotels who helped broker the deal, did not respond to a request for comment.
“The only thing I can say for sure,” Dinesh Chawla said, “is on the Scion deal the Trump Organization will manage the day-to-day. And we hope they look out for our financial interests; I can’t imagine they wouldn’t. We have some leverage, too. We are their first hotel [under the Scion brand]. If we suck, there’s going to be a deflating effect.”
The hotel industry has seen several years of consecutive growth. But while Asian markets are demanding construction of luxury and upscale hotels, U.S. markets have skewed toward mid-scale and upper-mid-scale chains. Think: La Quinta Inn & Suites, Quality Inn, Holiday Inn and now–American IDEA. Overall in the US, the number of hotel rooms currently in construction is up 18% from last year. Mid-scale and upper mid-scale hotels are up 35% and 21% respectively, according to the research firm STR, Inc.
Prominent hotel operators have recently expanded their mid-scale offerings. Last month, Hilton opened doors on a new hotel brand dubbed “Tru.” The chain is expected to be Hilton’s largest brand by number of units, with more than 400 Tru hotels in development. Marriott, meanwhile, recently introduced “Moxy,” a budget friendly hotel chain with millennial travelers in mind, after a successful brand launch in Europe.
In the case of Chawla Hotels and the new American IDEA properties, the Chawla brothers said they will complete renovations prior to transferring the name in the spring of 2018. The hotels must adhere to standards set by the Trump Organization in the licensing agreement. While Donald Trump turned over management of his company to his sons upon taking office earlier this year, the president has been criticized for not doing enough to separate himself from the family business.
In March, Eric Trump told Forbes that he would provide copies of the company’s financial reports to his father on a regular basis.
That the Trump Organization is launching its new, cheaper hotel lines with a pair of socially liberal immigrant entrepreneurs isn’t lost on the Chawla brothers. The arrangement was kept under wraps until Monday afternoon, when The New York Times first reported details of the deal. But the relationship had been a long time in the making for the Chawla brothers, whose father cold-called Donald Trump some 30 years ago to ask for a loan. Trump declined, Suresh Chawla said, but offered his father advice that would stick with the family as it grew a modest hotel chain in the Mississippi Delta.
“This all started because of my father and his hard work 30 years ago,” Suresh Chawla said, adding that his parents came to the United States after falling in love at a refugee camp in 1947.
Suresh Chawla has come to support Trump as president–he donated to his campaign–but he initially favored Marco Rubio. While the Chawla brothers were raised in a staunchly Democratic household, they said politics did not get in the way of their current business partnership with the Trump Organization. “My father was a Bill Clinton fanatic. When he first moved here in 1977, he was a Jimmy Carter guy,” Suresh Chawla said. “Despite all that, he would still have loved to do this deal. … Associating with the Trump brand will be good for the Delta.”
What about President Trump’s stance on immigration, including his failed bid at temporarily blocking travel to the U.S. from citizens of a half-dozen mostly Muslim countries? Are the Chawla brothers concerned about possible political ramifications from doing business with the Trumps?
“I don’t even understand the travel ban,” Suresh Chawla said. “The whole concept of what’s going on there… I kind of stay away from all that. I do know this country was built by immigrants–including us. But I don’t know what to think as far as the politics of the travel ban.”
“The most important thing,” Suresh continued, “is we’re hoping that tourism will boom in the Delta as a result of [the deal with the Trump Organization]. That is the overriding issue here.”
Dinesh Chawla said he voted for Barack Obama in 2008. He supported Hillary Clinton last year, and said he encouraged his female hotel managers to study her preparation for public speaking engagements when dealing with challenging situations at work. “I liked Hillary a lot. If I had a daughter, she would be a role model.”
Still, the deal with the Trump Organization, he said, “is not a political thing. It’s purely business.”
Four Indians and a Pakistani national pleaded guilty to charges for their role in a massive telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme in the U.S. perpetrated by India-based call centers, the U.S. Department of Justice said, a scheme affecting hundreds of Indian Americans.
Indian nationals Rajubhai Patel, 32; Viraj Patel, 33; Dilipkumar Ambal Patel, 53; and Pakistani Fahad Ali, 25, each pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy before U.S. District Court Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas. Indian national Hardik Patel, 31, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy before the same court June 2.
Sentencing dates were pending for all five defendants, the Department of Justice said in a June 5 statement. Based on the statements in his June 2 guilty plea, beginning in August 2012, Hardik Patel owned and managed the day-to-day operations of an India-based scam call center before leaving for the U.S.
While in India, he communicated extensively via email, text and other means with various India-based co-defendants to operate the scheme and exchange scripts used in the scheme. He also used to coordinate the processing of payments from scammed victims, obtain and exchange lead lists used by callers to target U.S. victims and exchange spreadsheets containing the personal identifying information of U.S. persons misappropriated by the scammers to register reloadable cards used in the scheme.
Hardik Patel also managed worker payroll and kept detailed records of profits and expenses for various associated scam call centers. He continued to communicate with India-based co-defendants about the scheme and assist with the conspiracy after he moved to the U.S.
According to his June 6 guilty plea, Rajubhai Patel operated as a runner and assisted a co-defendant in managing the activities of a crew of other runners, based primarily out of Illinois, who liquidated victims’ funds in various locales in the U.S. for conspirators from India-based call centers.
Viraj Patel first became involved in the conspiracy between April and September 2013, prior to entering the U.S, when he worked at and assisted with overseeing the operations of a call center in India engaging in scam activity at the behest of a co-defendant.
Dilipkumar A. Patel operated as a runner in and around Southern California, along with other co-defendants based in the region. To date, 56 other individuals and five India-based call centers have been charged for their roles in the fraud and money laundering scheme in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Texas on Oct. 19, 2016.
Humphrey will build upon AAHOA’s record-setting year as chief operating officer
ATLANTA – The Asian American Hotel Owners Association announced today the promotion of Rachel Humphrey to chief operating officer. Humphrey’s promotion comes as AAHOA is reaching historic heights for the organization. After hitting a record 16,655 members in 2016, AAHOA’s 2017 convention featured a record 6,689 attendees, the largest trade show in the hotel industry and a mainstage roundtable discussion with 11 hotel brand executives—a first for any industry event.
“We’re extremely happy to announce Rachel Humphrey’s promotion to COO and are thrilled to have her leadership and vision on our executive team,” said AAHOA President and CEO Chip Rogers. “Since joining AAHOA in 2015, Rachel has been dedicated to growing our organization’s footprint in the industry. Her exemplary work has not only been reflected in a record-breaking year for AAHOA but also in terms of building meaningful, productive relationships with every brand in the industry. As the representative of owners, Rachel has always fiercely and respectfully advocated for their best interest and the best interest of the industry at large. I know she’ll bring that drive and determination to her new role.”
Humphrey previously served as vice president and managing attorney for franchise relations with AAHOA, responsible for strategically developing relationships with brands. In addition, she fielded hundreds of AAHOA member inquiries annually on a wide variety of hotel ownership issues and managed AAHOA’s education department, which saw a record 7,125 members attend education in 2016.
“Rachel has been integral to AAHOA’s success and growth, and her leadership specifically in relating to our partners and brands has been tremendous,” said AAHOA Chairman Bhavesh Patel. “On behalf of the AAHOA Board of Directors, I welcome her to her new position as COO. Her unique vision and ability to bring people together make her supremely qualified to oversee the operations of our ever-growing association. Together with President and CEO Chip Rogers, AAHOA has never had stronger leadership.”
As COO, Humphrey is charged with executing the day-to-day activities of the organization, which includes achieving its strategic and long-term goals, serving on the executive leadership team, spearheading growth strategies and improving all operational systems. She will report to the president and CEO.
“I’m honored to take on this new duty and responsibility,” said Humphrey. “Working with our staff, members, partners and brands over the last two years has been a great opportunity, and I’m excited to take on the new role of overseeing the organization’s operations. In the last few years, AAHOA has grown not only in terms of raw numbers, like our record 16,655 members, but also in our stature in the industry. As the voice of America’s hotel owners, AAHOA has a big role to play in the future of hospitality, and I’m excited to contribute to that. I thank our CEO Chip Rogers, Chairman Bhavesh Patel and the entire AAHOA Board of Directors for this opportunity.”
Before joining AAHOA, Humphrey spent 20 years in private practice as an attorney. She received a bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College and a Juris Doctor from the Syracuse University College of Law.
AAHOA is headquartered in Atlanta with a government affairs office in Washington, D.C. AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world. The more than 16,000 AAHOA members own almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA members are core economic contributors in virtually every community in the United States. As an association, AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American Dream.
Jet Airways has appointed Indian American Vinay Dube, a senior executive with Delta Airlines, as its chief executive officer. Currently Dube is the senior vice president of Asia Pacific with Delta and has been associated with the U.S.-based carrier since 2007. There has been no full-time CEO at Jet Airways since Cramer Ball quit in February 2016.
“As the CEO of Jet Airways, Dube will be responsible for strengthening the airline’s overall business performance and its position in the domestic and international markets,” the airline said in a May 31 news release.
He would also head the executive management team that has been tasked by the board to drive the airline’s growth and future strategy “by leveraging its enduring partnership with our equity partner Etihad Airways,” the release said.
Dube’s appointment was approved by the Jet Airways’ board of directors during their May 30 meeting.
The appointment is subject to receipt of all requisite government, regulatory approvals, including security clearance. According to the release, Dube helped Delta grow one of the largest premium carriers across the Pacific, profitably expanding its Asia-Pacific business, entering new markets and restructuring its network, partner and customer base.
Dube began his career with American Airlines as an operations research analyst and later became manager of Network Forecasting Systems. Later, he moved to Sabre Inc., a global leader in technology solutions and marketing services for the travel industry. He has a master’s degree in operations research.
“An Indian American, Vinay brings an enviable combination of smart and sharp mindset with global exposure to industry best practices,” Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal said. “I am sure Jet Airways will gain substantially from his wealth of experience and industry insight. I personally look forward to Vinay providing leadership to the entire Jet Airways team.”
On his appointment, Dube said he is looking forward to meeting the organization’s business objectives and deepening the relationship with its strategic partner Etihad Airways.
Since the exit of Ball last year, there have been two acting CEOs — Gaurang Shetty and Amit Agarwal. Dube’s appointment also comes at a time when the airline is facing challenging business conditions and its consolidated net profit fell nearly 95 percent to Rs 23 crore in the three months ending March 2017 as higher fuel prices and lower fares took a toll on its bottom line. Jet Airways flies to 65 destinations and the group currently has a fleet of 113 aircraft.
Westborough-based eClinicalWorks, one of the country’s largest vendors of electronic health records will pay a $155 million settlement to resolve allegations it caused health care providers to submit false claims to the federal government, the U.S. Department of Justice and federal prosecutors in Vermont announced May 31.
The acting U.S. attorney for Vermont said eClinicalWorks, of Westborough, Massachusetts, and three executives will pay the settlement to resolve allegations the company misrepresented the abilities of its software and paid kickbacks to some customers in exchange for promoting its products. The company’s CEO is an Indian American executive, Girish Navani.
“Every day, millions of Americans rely on the accuracy of their electronic health records to record and transmit their vital health information,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler, of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, said in statement. “This resolution is a testament to our deep commitment to public health and our determination to hold accountable those whose conduct results in improper payments by the federal government.”
Most of the money will go into federal Medicare and Medicaid funds in Washington, said Eugenia Cowles, acting U.S. attorney for Vermont, who said it was the largest False Claims Act recovery in the district of Vermont.
The case began as a whistleblower lawsuit filed in Vermont by a former employee of the New York City Division of Health Care Access and Improvement. The employee, Brendan Delaney, was implementing the eClinicalWorks electronic health records system at the Rikers Island jail complex when he noticed numerous software problems he alleged put patients at risk, said the Phillips & Cohen law firm, which represented him.
Vermont is among many states that had providers that used the software, prosecutors said. An attorney representing Delaney said they chose to file the lawsuit in Vermont because of the talented team of lawyers in the federal prosecutor’s office. Delaney will receive $30 million from the settlement. Colette G. Matzzie, who represented Delaney, called the case “ground-breaking.”
Cricket fans will soon test their expertise of the game for a chance to win $10,000 during the second annual MoneyGram Cricket Bee competition. The game includes trivia questions about the history of cricket, key moments, teams, players and other general knowledge.
“We are thrilled to sponsor the 2017 Cricket Bee and as always we enjoy being a part of an initiative that our customers are passionate about,” says Ivy Wisco, MoneyGram’s global marketing strategy leader. “Our South Asian consumers are some of the top senders in the world and we know how much cricket means to them. Sponsoring the Cricket Bee allows us to say thank you to our customers, and build relationships with new customers as well.”
The Cricket Bee was created by leading multicultural firm, Touchdown Media which strives to bring cricket enthusiasts together from across North America.
“Cricket is a passion point for many immigrants and whether one plays the game or not, one always knows a lot of trivia. We hope to bring all cricket lovers together on this platform and encourage the spirit of the game,” said Rahul Walia, CEO, Touchdown Media Inc.
Open to those 18 and older, the contest will begin in July with regional rounds in San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, New Jersey and Toronto. The top two finalists in each regional round will move on to the finals which will be held in New Jersey on August 12.
The regional contests will have two components, a written test and an oral test. In the written qualifier, contestants will be asked 25 questions. They must get at least 15 correct in order to advance to the oral round. In the oral round, the contest will be held on a miss and out basis; simply if a contestant misses the right answer, they are eliminated.
This year, the initiative has also tied up with several local Cricket leagues across the country including the Bay Area Cricket Association, the Northern California Cricket Association, the Edison Cricket Club, the North Texas Cricket Association and the Bolingbrook Premiere League.
Registration deadline for the regional rounds begin on July 7, 2017. Contestants can register and watch a video detailing and explaining the contest at Cricketbee.com. A sample set of questions and sources will be provided for the participants. Please see the official rules for details.
According to the World Bank, South Asia is the fastest growing developing area in the world. An estimated $112 billion in remittances flowed into the region in 2016. India received more than $62 billion, making it the top receiver country in the region.
MoneyGram is a global provider of innovative money transfer and payment services and is recognized worldwide as a financial connection to friends and family. Whether online, or through a mobile device, at a kiosk or in a local store, we connect consumers any way that is convenient for them. We also provide bill payment services, issue money orders and process official checks in select markets. More information about MoneyGram International, Inc. is available at moneygram.com.
Jayshree Ullal and Neerja Sethi are tow Indian Americans on Forbes third annual edition of “America’s Richest Self-Made Women” list, released on May 17. Both Jayshree Ullal and Neerja Sethi had made the list a year ago.
According to reports, Ullal, who has made her $840 million fortune in the technology industry, came in at No. 21 on the list. At No. 24 on the list, Sethi has a net worth of $750 million. The minimum net worth needed to make this year’s list is $260 million, up from $250 million in 2016.
Ullal, the 56-year-old chief executive officer of computer networking firm Arista Networks, where she has been since 2008, was born in London and raised in India before settling in California.
The former Cisco employee helped Arista go public in June 2014. The company reported $1.1 billion in revenues in 2016, according to Forbes. Ullal owns 7 percent of Arista’s stock. Ullal’s former employer, meanwhile, is suing Arista for alleged patent infringement, which the company steadfastly denies. Ullal won the Ernst and Young U.S. Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2015.
The Florida-based Sethi, 62, is the vice president of IT consulting and outsourcing company Syntel, a company she founded with her husband Bharat Desai in 1980 in their Troy, Mich., apartment.
Syntel started with an initial investment of $2,000 and made just $30,000 in first-year sales. Today, Syntel has $966 million in sales and about 23,000 employees across the globe — 80 percent of whom are in India.
Topping the 60-person list was Marian Ilitch of Michigan. The 84 year old earned her $5.1 billion net worth from Little Caesers. Rounding out the top five were Diane Hendricks of the roofing industry, Judy Love of retail and gas stations, TV mogul Oprah Winfrey and Doris Fisher of Gap, who earned $4.9 billion, $2.9 billion, $2.9 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively.
The 60 women, who have a record combined net worth of $61.5 billion, have created their own fortunes, deploying invention and innovation and achieving unparalleled success, Forbes said.
“These 60 entrepreneurs, innovators and entertainers made their fortunes in everything from makeup and music to fashion, food and finance,” said Luisa Kroll, Forbes’ assistant managing editor of wealth, in a statement. “A number of them saw their fortunes increase as investors and corporate buyers rushed in.”
ATLANTA, May 12, 2017 – Bhavesh Patel, chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), will address attendees at the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s 2017 Better Buildings Summit on Monday, May 15.
The summit, which is expected to draw nearly 1,000 leaders across key industries from around the United States, is aimed at showcasing energy-efficiency measures and sharing best practices for their adoption and implementation.
Mr. Patel, whose platform as chairman strongly emphasizes professional development among hoteliers, will speak to a hospitality breakout session on Monday morning.
“Energy efficiency hasn’t always been a major issue within hospitality, but it is our duty and to our business advantage, both as hoteliers and business owners, to do whatever we can to lessen our collective impact,” he said. “It’s an honor to speak at the Better Buildings Summit and I’m excited to learn more about what AAHOA members can do to reduce their energy consumption.”
Breakout session participants are expected to include representatives from MGM Resorts International, Hilton Worldwide, AH&LA, Disney Corp., Las Vegas Sands Corp., and others.
For more information on the summit and on the Dept. of Energy’s energy-saving initiatives, please visit betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov.
Founded in 1989, AAHOA (www.aahoa.com) is the largest hotel owners association in the
world, with more than 16,500 small business own
May 11, 2017 – GOPIO, the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (www.gopio.net and gopio.com), together with GOPIO SOUTH AFRICA will be conducting GOPIO Africa Business Summit, at The Coastlands Hotel, Umhlanga, Durban, Kwazulu Natal from May 19 through May 21, 2017.
The theme will be INDIASPORA BUILDING AFRICA THROUGH OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND FRONTIERS, The three-day convention of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) in Durban, South Africa will strike the right note in articulating Indiaspora Building Africa through opportunities beyond frontiers.
“GOPIO International is committed to the enhancement of the lives of the South Africa Indians to connect, share and engage with global Indian communities in social, health, cultural, academic issues as well as to promote and advance business and entrepreneurship alliances with global PIOs/NRIs and India,” said Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman of GOPIO International.
“The Global Indian Diaspora community has reached to a stage where it can contribute to the developing countries and the Indian Diaspora Business Summit in South Africa is the first GOPIO initiative to explore such opportunities and motivate PIOs and NRIs to get involved,” Dr. Abraham added.
Our International Coordinator for Africa Ishwar Ramlutchman has put together a great program for the Global Indian Diaspora Business Summit. The Summit will begin on Friday, May 19 at 17:00 Hours with a WELCOME & REGISTRATION OF
DELEGATES at The COASTLANDS UMHLANGA. The Durban Chamber Meetings will be followed by Cocktail and Dinner. The next day, Saturday, May 20, 2017 will begin with a business breakfast meeting from 7 AM to 9 AM. This would be followed by WELCOME AND INAUGUARATION OF CONVENTION. The meeting will
have the presence of Consulate General of India, Dr Shashank Vikram, Deputy Mayor of Durban, Mrs Fawzia Peer and MEC for Rural Development and Public works, Mr Ravi Pillay. From 10 AM to 11:30 will be PANEL DISCUSSION 1, The Topic will be: BUILDING AFRICA THROUGH TECHNOLOGY. The Speakers/Panelists would consist of Dr. Thomas Abraham, President, Innovative Research and Products, Inc., Stamford, CT, USA; Mr. Noel Lall, Managing Director, South Pacific Engineering Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia; Dr. Varma Mudunuru, Practicing Physician, Trinidad and Tobago; Mr. Mahen Poinswamy, IT Engineer, CapGemini, France and Mr Krishna Shivalingaiah, Sales Manager, Accenture IT, France. The Moderator will be Ms. Michelle Micheal, Durban, South Africa.
You have to give yourself credit for making history in instagram by adding 300k followers in less than 24 hrs last year with your glamorous mirror cakes and being the inspiration for cake afficianados around the world. Even the DIY(Do it yourself) kitchen table entrepreneurs are trying their hand at replicating your mirror glaze technique. In less than a year you have been recognized as a social media influencer with your prestigious nomination in the food category this year at ‘the shorty awards thanks to your every increasing followers. How do you feel about your phenomenal path to the top?
You have seen phenomenal success in an industry where it is very important to offer something unique and different. How have you kept yourself grounded and what is your strategy to keep the internet drooling over you flawless and incredible creations in the coming years?
To be honest, I like to do everything myself, using my hands. I do not have a large, mass production, which requires special equipment to accelerate the process.