The Indian Panorama

Tag: Indian-Origin

  • Indian-origin town council Sarika Bansal’s campaign sign defaced

    Indian-origin town council Sarika Bansal’s campaign sign defaced

    CHARLOTTE, NC (TIP): The campaign sign of an Indian-origin woman running for a town council in the US state of North Carolina was vandalized, with a photo of a Black person’s face superimposed over her face, according to a media report. Sarika Bansal, the only person of color running for the Cary Town Council this year, found a campaign sign of hers defaced on Thursday, a report said.
    Bansal was attending the town council’s regular meeting when she was informed that her campaign sign was found vandalized in the Highcroft Village neighborhood in West Cary, where she is contesting for the seat.
    Bansal’s head was seemingly scratched off, and a photo of a Black person’s face was superimposed over her face on the sign, the newspaper reported on Friday.
    She termed the incident “shocking” and said she was “truly saddened by the act of vandalism and racism” against her campaign.
    “We must embrace diversity as a means of building strength and unity in our town. There is no place for bigotry and racism against people of color, brown or Black, in the Town of Cary,” she was quoted as saying.
    In North Carolina, it is a class 3 misdemeanor for a person to steal, deface, vandalize or remove a political sign that is lawfully placed.
    In a statement, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said the town will do “everything we can to get to the bottom of this”.
    “This racist, despicable act stands in stark opposition to the values we hold dear in Cary and will only serve to bring our community closer,” Weinbrecht said.
    According to the report, Asian Americans make up 20 per cent of the 180,000-resident population in Cary.
    “West Cary needs sustainable leadership,” Bansal said.
    “Having diversity on the Town Council is going to help bring the change that we need today,” she added.
    A small business owner and resident of Cary, Bansal started her business, Raj Jewels, in Morrisville five years ago. She has been active in local government in recent years.
    In a statement on Friday, Bansal called on other candidates to “commit themselves to working for a Cary that accepts people of all backgrounds and color.”
    Bansal is in a three-way race with current Councilman Ryan Eades and newcomer Rachel Jordan for the town’s District D seat.
    If elected, Bansal would become the second woman of color and the first Indian American to serve on the town council.
    Cary’s municipal election is on October 10, weeks before the county’s Election Day on November 7.

     

  • Indian American CEO Kishore Kethineni gets two-year jail for bank fraud

    Indian American CEO Kishore Kethineni gets two-year jail for bank fraud

    • Parminder Aujla

    SACRAMENTO (TIP): The Indian American CEO of multiple software development and IT services companies in the Bay Area has been sentenced to two years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud and for his failure to pay over more than $2 million in employment taxes.
    Kishore Kethineni, was sentenced by Edward J. Davila, United States District Judge, on Friday, according to a press release from US Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California.
    Kethineni, of Dublin, California, pleaded guilty to the charges on Feb 21, 2023. In pleading guilty, Kethineni admitted that he conspired with his two brothers to engage in a scheme in which they fraudulently obtained over $3.1 million in loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
    The PPP is a Covid-19 pandemic relief program administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provided forgivable loans through third-party lenders to small businesses for payroll and certain other expenses.
    Kethineni was the sole owner and CEO of four of the companies involved in the scheme: BiteGate, Inc., Dinenamics, Inc., Neelinfo, Inc., and TechPMC, Inc.
    His brothers were the owners of the three other companies involved: Boxstertech, Inc., Hiretechforce, Inc., and TechGlobalSystems, Inc.
    From April 2020 through May 2021, Kethineni and his brothers submitted multiple PPP loan applications on behalf of their various respective companies, in which they made fraudulent representations and provided falsified payroll data and records to obtain loans and loan forgiveness under the program, according to the release.
    Collectively, Kethineni and his brothers submitted at least 12 PPP loan applications on behalf of their seven companies. The applications sometimes were virtually identical.
    The applications resulted in the approval and funding of nine loans totaling over $3.1 million in PPP funds. Upon receipt of the PPP loan funds, Kethineni redirected significant amounts to himself and his family members instead of using the funds for payroll and other authorized business expenses under the program.
    Kethineni also admitted to willfully failing to account for and pay over employment taxes that his company, Neelinfo, Inc., had withheld from the pay of its employees, incurring an employment tax liability of over $2 million over the course of five years (from 2014 through 2018).
    Kethineni acknowledged that he used a payroll service company to process Neelinfo’s employee payroll and track its employment tax obligations.
    Every quarter, the payroll service company provided Neelinfo with a prepared Form 941 that reflected the taxes withheld from Neelinfo’s employees, which Neelinfo was required to pay over to the IRS.
    Despite receiving these prepared tax forms each quarter, Kethineni did not file them with the IRS, nor did he pay over any employment taxes on behalf of Neelinfo, while still causing Neelinfo to make thousands of dollars in other expenditures, according to the release.
    At the end of each year, the payroll service also provided Neelinfo with its employees’ Forms W-2, which were used by the employees to file their personal income taxes.
    However, due to Kethineni’s failure to file any employment tax forms or pay over Neelinfo’s employment taxes as required, some of Neelinfo’s employees were subject to audits and inspection by the IRS after filing income tax returns based on income that Neelinfo never reported.
    On Feb 15, 2023, Kethineni was charged by Superseding Information with one count of failure to pay over employment tax and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Kethineni pleaded guilty to both counts.
    In addition to the prison term, Judge Davila also ordered Kethineni to serve two years of supervised release—to begin after the prison term—to pay $3,295,514.25 in restitution, and to pay a $15,000 fine. The court also ordered entry of a money forfeiture in the amount of $3,186,315.00.

  • Four Indian-origin graduates among eight named for 2023 Chevron Graduate Energy Fellows at University of Houston

    Four Indian-origin graduates among eight named for 2023 Chevron Graduate Energy Fellows at University of Houston

    HOUSTON (TIP): Four Indian-origin students at the University of Houston have been named among eight who received the inaugural 2023 Chevron Graduate Energy Fellowship for actively being involved in innovative energy-related research. Funded by Chevron, the program supports graduate students’ research efforts through a one-year USD 12,000 fellowship which includes mentoring by faculty experts and the opportunity to engage with subject matter experts at Chevron, according to a press release.
    Chevron is an American multinational energy corporation predominantly in oil and gas. The UH-Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows have showcased a broad range of energy-related research at the University of Houston (UH) and their work focuses on scalable innovations for transformational impact on the energy industry, it said.
    “The motivation for my research focus came from my past work evaluating the impact of state climate policies on household energy burden across socioeconomic groups,” said Aparajita Datta, one of the fellows and a political science PhD candidate whose research focuses on the intersection of energy, climate and redistributive policies in the US.
    Another fellow, Chirag Goel’s research proposal stems from his passion for nuclear fusion reactions that power the sun and stars and has been driven to replicate a similar process on Earth.
    “High-temperature superconductors (HTS) present the opportunity to achieve carbon-free economies by 2050,” Goel said.
    The potential impact of this research extends to renewable energy generation, electric power transmission and advanced scientific applications, all of which contribute to a sustainable clean energy future.
    Meghana Idamakanti, a third-year PhD student hopes to contribute to sustainable energy initiatives, focusing on the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
    Swapnil Sharma, a PhD student and an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi graduate co-founded CovRelief to track the availability of hospital beds that helped many people during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Creating a positive social impact through his work has been a core motivator for Sharma.
    “We love that Chevron is sponsoring this group of fellows because it’s a fantastic way for us to get involved with the students who are working on some of the biggest problems we’ll face in society,” Chevron Technology Ventures President Jim Gable was quoted as saying.
    “The UH-Chevron Energy Fellowship program is an exciting opportunity for our graduate students to research the many critical areas that impact the energy industry, our communities and our global competitiveness,” said Vice President for Energy and Innovation Ramanan Krishnamoorti.
    “Today’s students not only recognize the importance of energy, but they are actively driving the push for affordable, reliable, sustainable and secure energy and making choices that clearly indicate that they are meaningfully contributing to the change,” Krishnamoorti said.
    Others who received the Fellowship include Kripa Adhikari, Erin Picton, Mohamad Sarhan, and Larkin Spires.
    The selected fellows will engage with Chevron subject matter experts on a quarterly basis and participate in educational and research engagements organized by UH Energy throughout the year.
    They will submit quarterly progress reports and may have opportunities to contribute to energy-related blogs and thought leadership pieces, the release said.

  • Indian American ‘Living legend’ of statistics, CR Rao, passes at 102

    Indian American ‘Living legend’ of statistics, CR Rao, passes at 102

    NEW YORK (TIP: Named ‘a living legend’ of statistics, Indian American mathematician and statistician Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao, popularly known as CR Rao, has died at the age of 102.
    The man with many titles, from ‘Legendary Mathematician’ and ‘Statistics Professor’ to a ‘Rockstar’ in the field of statistics, CR breathed his last in Buffalo, New York on August 22, just 18 days before his 103rd birthday.
    Tributes and condolences poured in from peers, friends, and family at his passing on social media commemorating his monumental achievements in the field of statistics.
    In May, Rao, a research professor in the Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Buffalo since 2010, added another accolade to his long list of awards as the winner of the 2023 International Prize in Statistics, considered the Nobel Prize for the field.
    In announcing the award, the International Prize in Statistics noted Rao’s “work more than 75 years ago continues to exert a profound influence on science.” It added.
    “In his remarkable 1945 paper published in the Bulletin of the Calcutta Mathematical Society, Calyampudi Radhakrishna (C.R.) Rao demonstrated three fundamental results that paved the way for the modern field of statistics and provided statistical tools heavily used in science today,” it added.
    “In awarding this prize, we celebrate the monumental work by C.R. Rao that not only revolutionized statistical thinking in its time, but also continues to exert enormous influence on human understanding of science across a wide spectrum of disciplines,” said Guy Nason, chair of the International Prize in Statistics Foundation.
    He was also awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1968, Padma Vibhushan in 2001 and SS Bhatnagar Award. He also received the Wilks Medal of the American Statistical Association in 1979 and the US National Medal of Science in 2002.
    Rao was born on September 10, 1920, to a Telegu family in Hadagali, Bellary, Madras Presidency (now in Karnataka) to politician mother A. Lakshmikanthamma and policeman father C. Doraswamy Naidu.
    Unlike most kids, mathematics as a subject was not scary for him. In fact, by the age of 5, he had memorized multiplication tables up to 16 with adroitness.
    His early schooling was conducted in Gudur, Nuzvid, Nandigama and Vishakhapatnam. He received an MA in mathematics from Andhra University, followed swiftly by an MA in statistics from Calcutta University in 1943.
    He then obtained a PhD from Cambridge University in 1948, with a thesis titled “Statistical problems of biological classification.”
    His work spanning seven decades contained enormous advances in anthropology, chemistry, econometrics, geology, biology, psychology, social sciences and national planning.
    In particular, physics has his well-known Hiesenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. The Rao-Blackwell theorem is considered some of his best work. He published 14 books, over 400 journal publications and received 38 honorary doctoral degrees from universities.

  • August 25 New York & Dallas E – Edition

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”E-Edition” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F08%2FTIP-E-Edition-August-25.pdf”][vc_single_image image=”149741″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/TIP-E-Edition-August-25.pdf”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Lead Stories This Week” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2F”][vc_wp_posts number=”5″ show_date=”1″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”82828″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][vc_single_image image=”82829″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Indian American Vivek Ramaswamy is a ‘very promising candidate’, says Elon Musk

    Indian American Vivek Ramaswamy is a ‘very promising candidate’, says Elon Musk

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP):  Indian American Republican presidential aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy has received a big shout-out from Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO. “He is a very promising candidate,” Musk posted on X, formerly Twitter, after watching Ramaswamy’s video interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson. He also reposted a snippet of the interview on X. In the 45-minute interview, Ramaswamy, the youngest Republican presidential contender at 37, spoke about the “void” he is trying to fill in American politics.

    Ramaswamy also argued that the US is at a point where the “government and the broader establishment believe that the citizens of the nation cannot be trusted with the truth.”

    Praising the candidate after the interview, Carlson,  the former Fox News primetime host said that the Republican hopeful is “one of the best-versed voices in policy” he has spoken with. “ Vivek Ramaswamy is the youngest Republican presidential candidate ever. He’s worth listening to,” Carlson wrote.

    The Musk endorsement was considered intriguing given the history between Musk and Ramaswamy. A few months ago, the Republican leader had castigated Musk’s interactions with Chinese leaders during a trip to China.

    Musk, who had met China’s Foreign Minister and announced plans to expand his business in the country, drew criticism from Ramaswamy, who accused China of manipulating prominent American business leaders to advance its agenda. “It’s deeply concerning that Elon Musk met with China’s foreign minister…,” Ramaswamy then wrote.

    Ramaswamy, dubbed by the New Yorker magazine as the “CEO of Anti-Woke Inc,” is one of three Indian American Republican candidates with Nikki Haley and Hirsh Vardhan Singh setting their sights on the 2024 White House race. Ramaswamy was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and hails from a family of Indian immigrants. His father is an engineer at General Electric and his mother a geriatric psychiatrist.

    A self-proclaimed “capitalist and citizen,” Ramaswamy’s studied at Harvard and Yale universities and reportedly has a net worth exceeding $500 million.

    The biotech entrepreneur has emerged as a breakout candidate in the Republican primaries as he challenges former US President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for a Republican nomination.

    Notably, Ramaswamy, who wears his Hindu faith on his sleeve, has managed to carve a distinct niche in a party traditionally dominated by evangelical Christians. His campaign message emphasizes the alignment of his Hindu values with the Judeo-Christian foundation of the United States.

    Ramaswamy has risen in Republican primary polls according to RealClearPolitics, placing third behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 6.4% percent support.

  • Indian girl shot dead by boyfriend in US; family in India waits for her body

    Indian girl shot dead by boyfriend in US; family in India waits for her body

    LUDHIANA/NEW YORK (TIP): Social media activities of once a ruralite girl belonging to a small peasant family of Brahampur village in Ludhiana district cost her dear as she was shot dead by her friend after inviting her to Westfield Galleria Mall in Roseville, USA, on Saturday morning.

    The family, headed by Harwinder Singh alias Satnam Baba, in now running from pillar to post to get the body of their daughter back to India, which is still lying in a morgue in custody of Roseville Police.

    Identified as Simranjit Singh (29), the alleged killer has been booked for homicide by the Placer County Jail Police.

    Harpreet Kaur alias Nav Saran (34), who, along with her siblings had toiled hard in fields during her stay at Brahampur, had shifted to Malaysia in search of greener pastures around nine years ago. Besides working in various jobs, Saran emerged as a popular blogger and social media personality during past few years that fetched her fame among lakhs of followers. Though the Roseville police are yet to release details of their past records, the Ludhiana family informed that Nav Saran and Simranjit Singh had become friends during their stay in Malaysia and had shifted to America around five months ago. Simranjit Singh had promised to marry Nav Saran after reaching the USA but started imposing restrictions on her social activities. Nav Saran and Simranjit Singh also had a scuffle three days prior to the fateful day.

    However, Simranjit Singh invited her to a mall for a truce but killed her by firing four bullets at her when they were standing in the parking. The police arrested him shortly after the incident.

    The Ludhiana family is in shock after receiving the information about the tragedy.

    “Malaysia has been much better and more prosperous for our family than America which snatched our daughter from us,” said Gurmit Kaur, mother of Nav Saran.

    (Source: Tribune, India)

  • Indian-origin UK based professor Jasjit Singh appointed by Singapore National University to internationally raise appreciation of Sikh way of life

    Indian-origin UK based professor Jasjit Singh appointed by Singapore National University to internationally raise appreciation of Sikh way of life

    SINGAPORE (TIP): The prestigious National University of Singapore on Wednesday, August 23,  appointed UK-based Indian-origin academician Jasjit Singh as a visiting faculty to conduct lectures on Sikh beliefs and raise appreciation of the Sikh way of life internationally. Singh, 51, currently an associate professor at the UK’s University of Leeds, is considered a leading authority in Sikh studies.

    “With his expertise on British Sikhism, Prof Singh will sharpen our scholarly lens on Sikh beliefs and practices and deepen our students’ knowledge and appreciation of the Sikh way of life not only in Singapore but internationally,” Professor Lionel Wee, Dean at National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), said. He announced Singh’s appointment as the inaugural Central Sikh Gurdwara Board (CSGB) Visiting Professor (Chair) in Sikh Studies on Wednesday. “Singh is a leading authority in Sikh studies, he is also well-regarded as an innovator in his impact-related work as demonstrated by his meaningful engagements with minority ethnic communities and organizations in the UK,” Wee said.

    CSGB led the Sikh community here in raising the 1.06 million Singaporean dollars endowment fund, with the Singapore government matching dollar-for-dollar, for setting up with NUS FASS the first visiting professorship (Chair) in Asia, outside the Indian subcontinent.

    Singh began his one semester at FASS on August 7, in the new academic year 2023-2024.

    Singh is currently teaching an undergraduate course titled ‘Introduction to Sikhism’, where students will be introduced to the foundational tenets of Sikhism and its historical development in pre-colonial and colonial India.

    He will also deliver guest lectures on the Sikhs for undergraduate courses, ‘South Asia in Singapore’ and ‘World Religions’. At the NUS FASS South Asian Studies Program, he will also lead research on digital Sikhism – the study of the impact of the digital online environment on the religious lives of Sikhs and specifically how Sikhs in Singapore engage online.

    Additionally, Singh will deliver a series of workshops to the Sikh community and a public lecture open to all organized by the CSGB and NUS which are scheduled to take place in November 2023.

    Commenting on his appointment, Singh said, “This position provides me with the opportunity to teach students from a different social and cultural context to my own and to learn about how they perceive Sikhs and how these perceptions have been developed. It allows me to research a relatively underexamined but very significant part of the Sikh diaspora.”

     

  • Indian-origin Suri Sehgal gets Swaminathan Award for leadership in agriculture

    Indian-origin Suri Sehgal gets Swaminathan Award for leadership in agriculture

    NEW DELHI (TIP):  Dr. Surinder (Suri) Sehgal, visionary agricultural entrepreneur, and founder of SM Sehgal Foundation (India) and Sehgal Foundation (USA), has received the prestigious Dr. MS Swaminathan Award for Leadership in Agriculture for 2022. The award is presented annually to an eminent agricultural expert who has made remarkable contributions towards enhancing food security, alleviating poverty, and effecting positive change within the farming community and the national agricultural landscape.

    Noted India-based think tank, Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS) instituted this award in 2004 in honor of Dr. MS Swaminathan, a doyen of Indian agriculture. Twelve eminent agricultural leaders have received this award so far.

    Dr. Suri Sehgal was a global leader in the development and spread of the hybrid seed industry worldwide and helped build the Indian seed sector through the establishment of Proagro Group of seed companies (now Bayer) and Hytech Seed India based in Hyderabad, India. He is renowned for his unwavering commitment to empowering communities and fostering sustainable agricultural practices through his development initiatives through S M Sehgal Foundation (India) and Sehgal Foundation (USA).

    SM Sehgal Foundation (SMSF) reaches more than 4.2 million people in 2,040 villages in India. SMSF has been instrumental in improving availability, access, and quality of water; improved farming practices and farmer income; promoted local participation, especially women, in government programs; empowered village youth, especially girls, with digital and life skills learning; transformed school environments; and continues to expand their reach to empower rural India.

    During the event, a short film on Dr. Sehgal’s life and his transformational impact on farmers and rural communities in India and elsewhere was shown. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, MSSRF chairperson, joined online to convey the blessings of Dr. MS Swaminathan to Dr. Sehgal. The citation was read by Dr. Gurbachan Singh, TAAS vice chairman and trustee. The award was presented by an eminent maize breeder, world food laureate, and previous recipient of this award, Dr. SK Vasal, who successfully led the quality protein maize (QPM) breeding program at CIMMYT, Mexico.

    In his award acceptance speech, Sehgal talked about the journey he covered as a plant breeder and in social development. “Throughout my entire career in plant science and agriculture business management, I have felt an imperative to address world hunger, create food security, and promote biodiversity—a vision exemplified by Dr M S Swaminathan for whom this award is named,” he said.

    Sehgal also expressed his gratitude to TAAS for conferring this prestigious Dr. MS Swaminathan award, and his thanks to all who helped him on his journey from plant scientist to philanthropist, especially his wife Edda.

    Sehgal was born in Guliana, the then British Indian province of Punjab, in 1934, as the fifth of eight children of a Sikh mother and a Hindu father. He overcame significant challenges in his early years, including experiencing the turmoil of the Partition of India. He arrived in the United States in 1959 to pursue a Ph.D. at Harvard University. It was at Harvard, he met his future wife, Edda.

    In the next three decades, Sehgal distinguished himself as a respected crop scientist, seedsman, and accomplished international business leader before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey.

    The Sehgals live in Fort Myers, FL.

  • Indian American Sikh leader who ‘threatened’ to burn gurdwara in California’s Bakersfield to appear in court

    Indian American Sikh leader who ‘threatened’ to burn gurdwara in California’s Bakersfield to appear in court

    • Parminder Singh Aujla

    BAKERSFIELD, CA (TIP): A former Bakersfield city council Sikh candidate, who allegedly threatened to burn down a gurdwara in a California city, will be making a court appearance on August 31 for a preliminary hearing, a media report said. Rajvir Singh Gill, 60, was arrested in March on suspicion of trying to hire hitmen to shoot members of Bakersfield Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji Khalsa Darbar, and burn down the property, the media reported. Gill, charged with seven counts of soliciting specified criminal acts, is expected to be back in Kern County Court for a motion on August 31, the news report said. He will also be in court for his preliminary hearings on October 5 and 6, Gill was told after he made a brief court appearance on August 17.

    According to police records, Gill had an ongoing dispute with specific members of the temple and had also offered to pay someone to burn down the gurdwara.

    He had attempted to run for City Council Ward 7 against Manpreet Kaur in 2022, who won and was the first Sikh Punjabi woman elected to the Bakersfield City Council.

    Kaur had then issued a statement on the incident: “Hearing this news is distressing and frightening. This is one of our most highly attended Sikh temples locally. To hear of an alleged attempt to destroy a place of worship is heartbreaking and unfathomable.”

    An earlier report cited a member from Sikh temple as saying that Gill had shown up at the property, disrupting prayers and threatening members of the congregation and carrying a gun before being arrested.

    Gill offered $10,000 to two Hispanic men to kill certain leaders of the congregation who are involved in the court cases, temple member Sukhwinder Singh Ranghi had told the media earlier. Ranghi claimed that Gill drove the men around the city pointing out the homes of the temple leaders he wanted to be killed.

    He also alleged that Gill had instructed the men on how they could burn down the temple by exploiting faulty electrical wiring, installed by his own workers when the temple was built more than a decade ago.

  • Indian American researcher Nalinikanth Kotagiri leads imaging study to speedily diagnose lung infections

    Indian American researcher Nalinikanth Kotagiri leads imaging study to speedily diagnose lung infections

    CINCINNATI (TIP): A federally funded study, led by an Indian American researcher Nalinikanth Kotagiri, looks to develop a new imaging method that can identify certain types of lung infections — in real-time — in order to speed up treatment for critically ill patients.

    Kotagiri, an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the UC James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, has been awarded a five-year $3 million, R01 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to develop and study the effectiveness of different kinds of injectable probes (metallic contrast agents) that would collect at the site of the infection and immediately light up under a nuclear imaging machine, known as a PET scan, according to a University of Cincinnati press release. Currently, radiologists use chest X-rays to confirm the diagnosis of pneumonia and other infections in the lungs. An X-ray, however, cannot determine the specifics of the infection or whether the infection is bacterial, viral or fungal.

    A specific diagnosis can only be determined by a pathologist, after culturing a sample of lung tissue which is collected from an invasive procedure (called a bronchoscopy) and takes time, typically two to three days.

    Critically ill patients, however, such as those with infectious pneumonia and underlying conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), might not have time to spare, says Kotagiri.

    “Our solution is to use imaging to identify what is causing the pneumatic episode,” within hours, to hasten a treatment plan, he says. An added benefit, he says, is that the contrast agent development process “doesn’t require elaborate processing or preparation time.”

    This is critical as the development of contrast agents can be time-consuming and complicated. A simple and fast process is expected to reduce preparation time in a clinical laboratory and potentially enable the adoption of the technology in a clinical setting.

    With this study, in animal models, Kotagiri and colleagues will only be looking at bacterial and viral pneumonias in conjunction with COPD, but the imaging approach has the potential to apply to other types of infections such as fungal infections or conditions such as cystic fibrosis.

    Imaging the patient after treatment, Kotagiri says, could also identify whether the patient is responding to medications such as antibiotics. Imaging could also potentially aid in determining the right antibiotics to use, targeting the pathogens that were identified.

    The collaborators on this project include experts in COPD and lung diseases: Francis McCormack, MD, a pulmonologist, and Michael Borchers, Ph.D., at the University of Cincinnati. Changchun Xie, Ph.D., at the University of Cincinnati, is the team’s biostatistician, and Suzanne Lapi, Ph.D., at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, will provide the radiochemistry expertise to optimize contrast agent development.

  • Indian American Naeem Khan wins National Design Award for fashion

    Indian American Naeem Khan wins National Design Award for fashion

    NEW YORK (TIP): Indian American fashion designer Naeem Khan is among recipients of 2023 National Design Awards given by the New York-based Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

    Born and raised in India, Khan won the award in the fashion design category for creating “clothing that embodies beauty, glamour, and femininity while purposefully evolving his vision in the world of fashion.”

    The National Design Awards honor innovation and impact and recognize the power of design to change the world.

    Established in 2000 as a project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards bring national recognition to the ways in which design enriches everyday life.

    Born and raised in India surrounded by the beauty of its culture, architecture, history, and design, Naeem Khan launched his eponymous collection in 2003, according to the citation.

    “These influences helped cultivate his vast knowledge of textiles. Khan is known for the exquisite hand-embroidery in his work, crafted by artisans in his family-owned factory founded by his grandfather decades ago.”

    “As a teenager, Khan moved to the United States and apprenticed for Halston, where he absorbed the ethos of modernism, and the secrets of draping and cutting fabric to create clean, elegant, and timeless silhouettes,” it noted.

    “Today, his focus is to create clothing that embodies beauty, glamour, and femininity while purposefully evolving his vision in the world of fashion. A key element to Khan’s work is keeping the tradition and craft of making clothes by hand,” the citation added. Khan’s collections have adorned glamorous women around the world, including Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift, Rachel McAdams, former First Lady Michelle Obama, Queen Noor of Jordan, and the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, among others.

    He launched the Naeem Khan Bridal collection in 2013. He was inducted as a member of the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2008.

    Today the Naeem Khan Ready-to-Wear and Bridal collections are sold at more than 150 retail outlets across the world.

    National Design Award winners are selected by a multidisciplinary jury of design practitioners, educators, and leaders. The jury met at Cooper Hewitt to select this year’s winners.

    Nominations are open to all and are also solicited from experts from a wide range of design and related fields. Jurors join from diverse locations to review submissions, resulting in a final selection of 10 category awardees.

     

  • Indian American chef Jassi Bindra wins $10,000 ‘Chopped’ award

    Indian American chef Jassi Bindra wins $10,000 ‘Chopped’ award

    DALLAS (TIP): Jassi Bindra, the Indian American chef known for his eclectic spin on Indian cuisine, won the $10,000 grand prize on a recently aired episode on the Food Network series “Chopped.”

    In the episode that aired on August 15, Bindra, co-owner and executive chef at Amrina in Woodlands, Texas, beat out three other chefs in a set of three 20- to 30-minute cooking rounds, impressing judges Chris Santos, Maneet Chauhan and Eric Adjepong. The chef appeared to go into the challenge with confidence, intending to use traditional recipes from India with his own eclectic touch, according to Eater, Houston.

    “I’m here to show how Indian cuisine can be sexy,” said Bindra before facing off in the appetizer challenge against Massachusetts chef Emilie Rose Bishop, traveling celebrity chef Morgan Ferguson from Maryland, and Rachel McGill, the first James Beard Award-nominated chef from Lincoln, Nebraska. The chef held a watch party at Amrina on Aug 16, inviting guests to watch the excitement unfold, according to Eater. Bindra said reservations began “blowing up” starting at 5 pm and by the time of the episode, it was a packed house full of curious diners.

    People kept asking him whether he won. “I just said, ‘Keep watching!’ … The fun was actually in watching. It felt like a game show with all the cheering,” he said.

    Bindra says the show was a fun challenge. “It really brings out your inner qualities with planning and time management,” he said. “If I get a chance again, I’d love to showcase my skills again.”

    Until then, the chef will celebrate his win, which he considers a win for Houston and the Sikh community, too.

    Bindra told Eater this could be the first time a turbaned chef from the community has won a reality TV cooking competition like Chopped, which is part of the reason he busted out with the Punjabi phrase “Balle Balle” and a popular dance Punjabi dance move following his win. He’s hoping to share the experience, too. Bindra says he’ll donate some of his $10,000 to charity, particularly the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

    The remainder will go to gadgets for his kitchen, gifts for his son, and partying with his friends. Then, after restaurant week, he’ll offer a three-course Chopped menu at Amrina, with a twist on the three dishes featured on the show, so diners can get a literal taste. Before crafting the Amrina concept alongside co-owners and brothers Surpreet and Preet Paul Singh in 2022, Bindra spent several years at the Michelin Guide-featured Northern Indian restaurant Punjab Grill in Washington, DC.

     

  • Indian American family of Punjabi-origin owns Miss World America pageant

    Indian American family of Punjabi-origin owns Miss World America pageant

    SEATTLE, WA (TIP): An Indian-origin family now owns the Miss World America pageant, preliminary to the Miss World competition. The family comprises Ekta, who belongs to Abohar, and husband Sanjay Saini of Ludhiana. Earlier, they were appointed new national directors of Miss World America pageant. Last year, their daughter, Shree Saini, won the Miss World America contest and was the first runners-up in the Miss World pageant. Shree is the first Indian-American Miss World America, who has served with over one hundred non-profit organizations.

    The Miss World Organisation, located in the UK, recently announced new national directors for the US in Ekta and Sanjay Saini, based in Washington state. The National Miss World America organization’s headquarters for the US is now in Seattle, Washington. Ekta and Sanjay are the first of south-Asian descent to hold this position and hope to change the landscape of the Miss World America Organization by creating the most giving pageant in the world and transforming the lives of its contestants.

     

     

  • August 18 New York & Dallas E – Edition

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”E-Edition” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F08%2FTIP-August-18-E-Edition.pdf”][vc_single_image image=”149322″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/TIP-August-18-E-Edition.pdf”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Lead Stories This Week” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2F”][vc_wp_posts number=”5″ show_date=”1″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”82828″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][vc_single_image image=”82829″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Indo-Canadian real-estate kingpin Daljit Thind honored with Order of British Columbia

    Indo-Canadian real-estate kingpin Daljit Thind honored with Order of British Columbia

    VANCOUVER (TIP): An Indo-Canadian real-estate mogul is among the 14 people who have been named to the Order of British Columbia, the province’s highest form of recognition and an official part of the Canadian Honors System.

    Daljit Thind of Thind Properties is one of Vancouver’s premier real-estate developers and collaborates with the cities and non-profit organizations to offer low-cost rental apartments, thereby addressing a crucial housing shortage.

    “This honor is a mark of excellence, reflected in the service and achievements of these incredible British Columbians. Their accomplishments have left an indelible mark on their communities, and ensuing legacies will impact our province to the benefit of future generations,” said Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.

    Born and raised at Rachian village in Ludhiana, Thind moved to Burnaby in 1990.

    However, he was unable to get credentialled to pursue his desired career as a pharmacist and needed financial assistance to support his family.

    A Canadian friend helped him secure employment as a tile layer, which allowed him to learn about the construction industry.

    “Today, he is responsible for over $4 billion in development and more than 1,000 jobs throughout Greater Vancouver,” a British Columbia government statement read.

    According to his website profile, Thind is one of British Columbia’s first Indo-Canadian developers to build high rises. “His buyers come from all walks of life and symbolize the aspirations of the diverse residents in the neighborhood. He continues to strive for equitable access to real estate, especially for newcomers, by advocating for increased housing density,” the award statement read.

    Thind will also be honored for his philanthropic works in areas that include mental health, education, housing, sport and women’s rights.

    “He is a strong proponent of providing aid to the less fortunate and has contributed millions toward initiatives, such as supporting refugee families, providing meals for underprivileged children and preserving Indigenous culture, as well as aiding in programs to combat domestic violence and to help newcomers get settled,” the statement said.

    Apart from Thind, ‘Deadpool’ and ‘Free Guy’ actor Ryan Reynolds, who was born in Vancouver, will also receive the honor.

     

  • Indian American Executive Neeraj Khemlani quits as CBS News President

    Indian American Executive Neeraj Khemlani quits as CBS News President

    NEW YORK (TIP): CBS News President and co-head Neeraj Khemlani, who has led the Tiffany Network’s news division and local TV stations for a little more than two years, is stepping down to take up a new role.

    The Indian American executive had been in charge of flagship programs such as “60 Minutes,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “Face the Nation,” and the “Evening News.”

    He will remain at CBS in a different capacity, he told staff in an internal email, according to media reports. He has signed a “multi-year, multi-platform first-look deal with CBS to develop content” for the network, including “documentaries, scripted series and books for Simon & Schuster.”

    “I have some news to share today, and I don’t want to bury the lead,” Khemlani wrote. “After an exhilarating run, and before the next season starts, I’ve decided to step back from my current role and start a new exciting chapter.”

    “It’s an opportunity that will allow me to write, report and develop stories that I’ve long wanted to pursue,” he added. It’s unclear who will replace Khemlani, though Wendy McMahon, who shared his title as president and co-head of CBS News and TV stations, is seen as a possible successor, media channel reported.

    George Cheeks, chief executive of CBS, praised Khemlani in a separate memo to staff and said that he would update them “soon” with “information about the new leadership and structure for the division.”

    Khlemlani, a former executive at Hearst, should be credited with putting “new business plans in place to drive more revenue, which is essential in a challenging environment for all media companies,” he wrote.

    While CBS News dominates much of its competition on Sundays, the network has not been able to climb out of third place against NBC and ABC with its daily programs, though it improved its standing in the ratings under Khemlani, a report noted. During his tenure, Khemlani bolstered CBS News’ reporting ranks, luring prominent journalists such as Robert Costa and Cecilia Vega to the outlet.

    Khemlani is the third network news chief to exit in 2023. Chris Licht was fired from CNN earlier this year after a rocky run and Noah Oppenheim exited NBC News in January.

  • Indian American Arushi Garg won $50,000 Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge

    Indian American Arushi Garg won $50,000 Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge

    HOUSTON, TX (TIP): Breaking many stereotypes about women and their hobbies, an Indian American woman just won a mega prize on reality TV that involved giving plush makeovers to cars. Arushi Garg, a 38-year-old social media creator and mom from Houston just won season 1 of Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge that aired on NBC. Apart from national recognition, Garg got to take home a cash prize of $50,000 as well as a highly customized Nissan Skyline (GT-R).

    Her design is now also available as a die-cast toy exclusively to be purchased on Mattel Creations. Garg who originally hails from Jaipur,
    Rajasthan, showcased her roots by transforming a Maruti Van — a car launched in India during the early 80’s.

    She called her transformed car “Jaipur Jewel,” and liberally used motifs, colors and patterns from India. Her entry made her win a ticket to the finale along with $25,000.

    In the finale, Garg was given the iconic 1996 Nissan Skyline to transform into a life-size Hot Wheels showstopper. The car, dubbed “Rally Resilience” by Arushi, is a bright red creation with 24-inch wheels, extended fenders and beaming light bars representing power, bravery, kindness and courage. Adding to its uniqueness is the affirmation “never quit,” which is transcribed on the car and can be seen under UV light.

    For me, this win represents getting outside of your comfort zone and using the opportunity to challenge everyone to go for their dreams and use their creativity to empower and inspire others.

    I hope this win shows to the younger immigrant generation that anything is possible as long as we have the courage and belief in ourselves.

    “My win on the show is a representation of my family’s approach toward life. It also shows that one should never quit. I may be the first person of Indian-origin to have designed a Hot Wheels and I am proud of my little achievement” , said Arushi Garg in her interview to a media portal.

  • Indian American Diversity Expert Kalpana Kotagal sworn in as EEOC Commissioner

    Indian American Diversity Expert Kalpana Kotagal sworn in as EEOC Commissioner

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): Kalpana Kotagal, an Indian American diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility expert, has been sworn in as Commissioner of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

    Nominated by President Joe Biden on April 1, 2022, she was confirmed on July 14, 2023, to serve as Commissioner, for a term expiring July 1, 2027. She was sworn in by EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows on Aug 9.

    Kotagal joins Burrows, Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels, and Commissioners Keith E. Sonderling and Andrea R. Lucas on the presidentially appointed, bipartisan Commission. Kotagal’s swearing in restores the Commission to its full complement, according to an EEOC release. “We are excited to welcome Kalpana Kotagal to the Commission,” Burrows said. “She has dedicated her career to advancing civil rights both in the courtroom and by working collaboratively with employers. Her creative approaches to ensuring equal opportunity, her legal expertise, and her commitment to workers will greatly benefit the Commission.”

    Prior to her appointment to the EEOC, Kotagal was a partner at Cohen Milstein, a member of the firm’s Civil Rights & Employment practice group, and chair of the firm’s Hiring and Diversity Committee.

    Kotagal is a highly acclaimed litigator who has represented women and other marginalized people in employment and civil rights litigation involving issues related to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as wage and hour issues and the non-discrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act.

    “It’s an honor to start a new chapter as an EEOC Commissioner and an incredible opportunity to apply the experience from my previous work,” Kotagal said.

    “I look forward to working toward solutions for the issues facing today’s workforce alongside my colleagues on the Commission and in the agency.” Prior to her work at Cohen Milstein, Kotagal served as a law clerk to Betty Binns Fletcher of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

    She attended Stanford University, where she was a Morris K. Udall Scholar and graduated with honors. She earned her JD, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where she was a James Wilson Fellow.

    The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

     

  • Ten Indian American women on Forbes 50 Over 50 list

    Ten Indian American women on Forbes 50 Over 50 list

    NEW YORK (TIP): From Republican Party presidential aspirant Nikki Haley to leading woman owned investment firm founder Geeta Aiyer, 10 Indian American women have made it to 2023 Forbes 50 Over 50 list of entrepreneurs, investors, inventors and artists. “All of them—200 in total, spread across four categories—are changing the world,” says Forbes of the women on its third annual list — “a group of people whose collective power—literally—stretches from the deep sea to outer space.” Nikki Haley, 51, is featured in the Impact list of change makers with three others.

    In February of 2023, Haley announced her intent to become the Republican party’s candidate for US president.

    The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley became the first Indian American to serve in a presidential cabinet when she was sworn in as US ambassador to the United Nations in 2017.

    She served as governor of South Carolina from 2010 to 2014. Of the 117 governors in South Carolina’s history, she is the only woman and only person of color to have led the state.

    Haley grew up in South Carolina and graduated from Clemson University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

    Sarita Mohanty, 53, President & CEO, The SCAN Foundation

    In 2021, at 50, Sarita Mohanty became the second CEO and president of The SCAN Foundation, a California-based healthcare nonprofit focused on improving care for older adults through policy, impact investing and grantmaking.

    Mohanty came to the foundation from Kaiser Permanente, where she served as vice president of care coordination for Medicaid and vulnerable populations. At Kaiser, she led the development of Thrive Local, a referral network of health systems, government agencies and community groups that provide social services, including housing, food and utilities.

    She completed medical school at Boston University and residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She holds an M.P.H. from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from UCLA.

    Ghazal Qureshi, 54, Founder & CEO, UpBrainery Technologies

    In 2020, just after she turned 51, Ghazal Qureshi founded UpBrainery Technologies. Her goal is to expand online education through AI, machine learning and a neuroscience-backed curriculum.

    Within months of its launch, the startup formed partnerships with Whataburger, Nasdaq and the Girl Scouts. In 2022, the Department of Defense awarded the company a $5 million contract for the use of its Career and Technical Education (CTE) tech platform in military middle schools.

    Today, UpBrainery offers a curriculum that exceeds 10,000 hours and a reach that spans 13 countries. In 2011, Qureshi founded IDEA Lab Kids, a franchise that allows kids aged four to 14 to explore the STEAM fields (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) via online and in-person programming.

    S. Mona Sinha, 58, Global Executive Director, Equality Now

    In 2023, at 57, S. Mona Sinha became global executive director of Equality Now, an NGO that has advocated for the rights and protections of women and girls around the world since 1992.

    She started her career in the corporate world and now applies learnings from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Unilever to scale Equality Now’s mission-driven initiatives.

    At Equality Now, she has succeeded in reforming rape laws in the Latin America and Caribbean region and child marriage laws in Africa and the Middle East.

    Sinha has chaired boards for the Equal Rights Amendment Coalition, Breakthrough and Women Moving Millions (WMM). To date, WMM has mobilized $1 billion in aid for women and girls.

    She additionally serves on the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum board.

    Sinha grew up in Kolkata, India, and developed an interest in humanitarian efforts while volunteering at Mother Teresa’s orphanage in the city. She came to the US in 1985 to attend Smith College. Author Alka Joshi, 65, is featured in the Artists list.

    In 2020, at 62, Alka Joshi published her debut novel, The Henna Artist. She began writing the book in 2010, but the ten years of work paid off: It became a global phenomenon, hitting the New York Times bestseller list and translated into 29 languages.

    Within a year and a half of publication, Netflix announced it would develop The Henna Artist into a television series starring Frida Pinto.

    Joshi published two more books in 2021 and 2023 and has a contract with Harper Collins to produce two more by 2025.

    Four decades after immigrating to the US, Joshi says her passion to inform the world about India through historical fiction took root in her 50s, when she traveled back to her birth country with her mother. The Henna Artist was inspired by Joshi’s mother, who had an arranged marriage at 18. Joshi wrote a protagonist who lived in an alternate reality—one where a woman like her mom could live independently.

    Monica Jain, 60, Founder, Fish 2.0 Ventures

    In 2013, at age 50, Monica Jain merged her passion for the ocean with her expertise in finance to confound Fish 2.0 Ventures and grow the blue economy–businesses that improve the health of the world’s seas and marine life.

    Fish 2.0 has connected more than 600 entrepreneurs in the seafood industry to a network of 500 private investors and facilitated investments of over $400 million.

    Jain, who also founded and heads a consulting firm called Manta Consulting, works directly with Fish 2.0 businesses to advise them and help them scale.

    She was recognized as a White House Champion of Change for Sustainable Seafood in 2016 for her impact on the industry.

    Geeta Aiyer, 65, President & Founder, Boston Common Asset Management

    A finance executive with over 30 years of experience and a passion for social justice, Geeta Aiyer founded Boston Common Asset Management, a majority women- and employee-owned sustainable investment firm, in 2003. She is the firm’s president and has AUM of $5 billion.

    In 2015, Aiyer became the first U.S. asset manager to serve on the board of UN PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment), which encourages investors to adopt sustainable investing.

    It has been her aim to work on sustainable and inclusive investment. Her portfolio has invested in Owens Corning, a manufacturer of energy-saving insulation, roofing and fiberglass composites. The firm has also invested in Carrier Global Corp, a global leader in making sustainable buildings, air conditioning, and healthy solutions for homes.

    In 2013, Aiyer received the SRI Service Award, recognizing leadership and innovation in SRI (Sustainable, Responsible, Impact) investing.

    Mala Gaonkar, 53, Founder, SurgoCap Partners

    Mala Gaonkar founded SurgoCap Partners in 2022, a New York investment firm focused on disruptive technologies across broad industry categories.

    On January 3, 2023, SurgoCap Partners began trading with an estimated $1.8 billion in trading under management. This marked the largest hedge fund launch led by a woman ever.

    Born in the US and raised in Bengaluru, India, Gaonkar founded the Surgo Foundation with Sema Sgaier in 2015 to invest in AI-powered technology that can solve global health problems.

    Gaonkar has reserved $100 million of her fund’s AUM for smaller endowments, foundations and nonprofits focusing on underserved communities or climate change. In her spare time, Gaonkar loves to write. Her short stories have appeared in Catamaran, Carolina Quarterly, and American Short Fiction. Ranji Nagaswami, 59 | Chief Strategy and Chief Commercial Officer, Strategic Value Partners Ranji Nagaswami is the chief strategy and chief commercial officer of Strategic Value Partners, a global investment firm managing nearly $18 billion in private credit, distressed debt and private equity investments.

    From 2010 to 2012, Nagaswami chaired the NYC Retirement System as chief investment advisor to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, overseeing the city’s pension funds.

    In 2016, she became the founder and lead moderator for the Aspen Finance Leaders Fellowship (FLF). Today there are 125 Aspen Finance Fellows around the world.

    Nagaswami has served on the Yale University investment committee, the UAW VEBA investment advisory council, and the Curtis Institute investment advisory council.

    Purnima Puri, 51, Governing Partner and Head of Liquid Credit, HPS Investment Partners

    Purnima Puri is a governing partner at HPS Investment Partners, a $100 billion-AUM global investment firm. Puri leads the company’s $22 billion liquid credit business.

    Under her leadership, the firm launched new investment vehicles in 2022, including credit funds that capitalize on market volatility and new partnerships with pension clients, including California-based Fresno County Employees’ Retirement Association and State of Hawaii Employees’ Retirement System. Before joining HPS in 2007, Puri was a principal at Redwood Capital Management, a credit opportunity hedge fund. Prior to that, she worked at Goldman Sachs on both its credit arbitrage desk and principal investment areas.

    Puri serves on the Board of Trustees of Northwestern University, the Board of Dean’s Advisors of Harvard Business School, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ financial sector advisory council.

  • August 11 New York & Dallas E – Edition

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”E-Edition” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F08%2FTIP-August-11-E-Edition.pdf”][vc_single_image image=”148748″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/TIP-August-11-E-Edition.pdf”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Lead Stories This Week” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2F”][vc_wp_posts number=”5″ show_date=”1″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”82828″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][vc_single_image image=”82829″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Sikhs in Singapore hailed for their contribution in diverse fields while retaining their culture

    Sikhs in Singapore hailed for their contribution in diverse fields while retaining their culture

    SINGAPORE (TIP): Sikhs in Singapore have distinguished themselves in their chosen professions and made significant contributions in diverse fields while retaining their culture, faith and unique identity, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said. He was addressing the 75th anniversary celebration dinner of the Sikh Advisory Board (SAB) on Sunday, July 30, 2023. “You have all distinguished yourselves in your chosen professions and made significant contributions in diverse fields…Crucially, Sikhs have done all this in Singapore while retaining their culture, faith and unique identity,” he told the gathering. “Whether it is in the civil service or the uniformed services, the judiciary, business, sports or many other professions, Sikhs are well represented, excelling and taking on leadership positions,” he told the community.

    “From the government’s perspective, we certainly appreciate and value this very close collaboration with the community. Compared to other communities you may be small in number, but your contribution to Singapore is out of proportion to your number,” the minister added.

    Lawrence Wong also highlighted the Sikh Advisory Board having been instrumental in advising the state on matters concerning the community, be it religion, customs or overall welfare issues. The Board, he noted, has always been candid, open and forthcoming in sharing perspectives and views on the issues of concern to the community. “So, even though you may be an Advisory Board, I assure you the government listens to your advice and takes it very seriously. “The Board has also been instrumental in mediating disputes as those relating to employment practices to ensure that Sikhs continue to observe the key tenets of their faith,” he underscored.

  • Three Indian-origin Singapore based among nine sworn in as nominated members in Parliament

    Three Indian-origin Singapore based among nine sworn in as nominated members in Parliament

    SINGAPORE (TIP): Three Indian-origin Singaporeans were among nine nominated parliamentarians who took oath on Wednesday, August 2. Also sworn in on Wednesday, August 2, was Seah Kian Peng as the new Speaker of Parliament. He replaced Tan Chuan-Jin who resigned over an extramarital affair with fellow People’s Action Party parliamentarian Cheng Li Hui, who has also resigned. Of the nine Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs), this is the second term for Raj Joshua Thomas, an Indian-origin lawyer and president of the Security Association Singapore. All other eight NMPs are first timers.
    The NMPs are appointed for a two-and-a-half-year term. The NMP scheme was introduced in 1990 to ensure a wide representation of community views in Parliament. Up to nine NMPs can be appointed in each parliament.
    The other two Indian-origin NMPs are Parekh Nimil Rajnikant, chairperson of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and CEO of acquisition firm Pegasus Asia; and Chandradas Usha Ranee, an art historian, tax lawyer and co-founder of Plural Art magazine.
    Chua Tiang Choon Keith, vice president of the Singapore Anglican Community Services and executive chairman of food-and-beverage firm ABR Holdings; Mark Lee Kean Phi, CEO of apparel company Sing Lun Holdings; and Ong Hua Han, assistant vice president at Deutsche Bank AG also took oath as NMPs.
    The other NMPs were Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim, head of the public safety and security program at the Singapore University of Social Sciences; Jean See Jinli, director of the NTUC Freelancers and Self-employed Unit at NTUC’s Administration Research Unit; Dr Syed Harun Taha Alhabsyi, a consultant psychiatrist.

  • Punjabi-origin UK MP Tanmanjit Dhesi stopped by immigration officers at Amritsar airport for 2 hours

    Punjabi-origin UK MP Tanmanjit Dhesi stopped by immigration officers at Amritsar airport for 2 hours

    AMRITSAR (TIP)- Punjabi-origin MP Tanmanjit Singh Dhesi was stopped by immigration authorities at Amritsar airport for two hours on Thursday. August 3 morning. He had reached Amritsar by an Air India flight number AI-118 from Birmingham at 9 am. According to information, Dhesi did not have an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card. The immigration officials asked him for the documents following which he was stopped at the airport. It took two hours to provide all the documents before the authorities allowed him to leave the airport at around 11am. Dhesi, who is a British MP since 2017, has been vocal on Sikh issues.

  • Indian student killed in road accident in Australia

    Indian student killed in road accident in Australia

    MELBOURNE (TIP): A 22-year-old Indian student working as an Uber Eats driver in Australia was killed after his bike collided with an SUV in Sydney, a media report said.

    Akshay Deepak Doultani, a Mumbai native pursuing a master’s degree in Australia, died in a crash last week in New South Wales while working as a food delivery driver, the Australia Broadcasting Cooperation reported on Wednesday, August 2. Doultani received a scholarship for a master’s degree in finance at Macquarie University and came to Australia in February. He worked as an Uber Eats delivery rider at least three times a week to cover his expenses. He was taken to the Royal North Shore Hospital after the crash but died hours later, the report said.

    “The only reason why he wanted to come abroad was not [just to] have a good life for himself but to provide more amenities for his family so they could live a lifestyle that was much better,” his cousin Pratik Kamath was quoted as saying in the report. With Doultani’s death, the number of food delivery riders killed in Australia since 2017 rose to 12, according to the Transport Workers Union.

    “Akshay’s tragic loss is another reminder of how dangerous the gig economy can be , where workers are forced to push themselves to the limit just to make ends meet,” Labor senator for New South Wales Tony Sheldon posted on social media platform X. In a statement, Uber Eats said it was committed to the safety of delivery workers and had policies in place to enhance road safety. “In Australia, Uber Eats delivery people are covered by a support package designed specifically for them,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.

    The fatal crash is being investigated by New South Wales Police and Safework NSW, the state work safety regulator.
    (Source: PTI)