Obama appoints record number of Indian-Americans in 2013

Washington, Dec 29: Indian-Americans never had it so good in the US, as a record number of members from the over three million-strong community were appointed to key positions in the White House in 2013.

Reflecting his special affection, President Barack Obama appointed a record number of Indian-Americans in the first year of his second innings at the White House, which experts say recognises the inherent talent of this ethnic community.

Possibly for the first time ever, more than a dozen Indian-Americans have been given key positions in the White House, while there are hardly any important departments where Indian-Americans do not occupy key posts.

There is no official list of Indian-Americans in the Obama Administration, but according to a list compiled by the PTI, the number easily crosses 50 -- a record figure so far.

Five Indian-Americans are holding key positions in the Obama Administration, which have been confirmed by the United States Senate.

While Rajiv Shah, Administrator of USAID, continues to be the highest ranking Indian-American in the administration; the most important administrative appointment of the year was that of Nisha Biswal, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs.

Azita Raji, Member, President's Commission on White House Fellowship; Islam Siddiqui, Chief Agricultural Negotiator, US Trade Representative, and Vinai Thummalapally, Executive Director, Select USA, Department of Commerce, are the three others confirmed as administration officials by the Senate.

If confirmed by the Senate, Vivek Murthy, would be the first-ever Indian-American Surgeon General.

Two other Indian-Americans awaiting confirmation from the Senate include Arun Kumar, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service.

Puneet Talwar, who played a key role in the Iranian nuclear deal, recently testified before the Senate for the key position of the Assistant Secretary of State for Political- Military Affairs.

If confirmed, for the first time ever two Assistant Secretary of State positions at the State Department would be held by Indian-Americans.

Obama himself praised Indian-Americans when he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the White House on September 27.

"Indian-Americans make extraordinary contributions to the United States every single day - businessmen, scientists, academics, now Miss America is of Indian-American descent, and I think it's a signal of how close our countries are," Obama said.

In fact the top two positions in the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department are being held by Indian Americans. Atul Keshap was recently appointed as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asia and is Deputy to Biswal.

In fact, the State Department over the past few years has seen a steady increase in number of Indian-Americans gaining key diplomatic positions.

In his remarks at the swearing in of Biswal, Secretary of State John Kerry recognised the talent of Indian-Americans.

"Nisha's experience and the success that so many Indian Americans bring to the American table shows to everybody in the world the deep ties that we have between the United States and India," Kerry said.

"When I joined, I knew of only two other Indian Americans; today, we have several dozens serving their country all around the world to advance American interests and promote American values," Keshap told PTI.

"A particular pleasure is seeing how many Indian Americans – ably led by Assistant Secretary Biswal - choose to spend their careers at the State Department working to advance relations between our two great democracies; they are building a legacy of accomplishment that will be of lasting benefit to both of our peoples for many decades to come," Keshap said.

"I think Indian American community's talents are being recognised," Ami Bera, the only Indian American in the current Congress, told PTI, referring to the large number of key positions being held by young Indian Americans in the various wings of the Obama Administration.

"I think that the first generation my generation who are born and raised here...many went into medicine, engineering and so forth. But the next generation our children and grandchildren...I think they are growing at being open to many different paths...political science, law etc so I think it is natural progression," he said.

While Bera has been a source of inspiration for the young Indian-Americans, this year also saw Indian-Americans entering the judiciary with a bang as Sri Srinivasan became the first South Asian to be sworn in as a judge of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Prior to Obama's presidency, there had only been one South Asian federal judge nominated and confirmed to a lifetime appointment.

Obama has nominated five more including Srinivasan.

Among others being; Indira Talwani to the District Court Massachusetts, Vince Chhabria for District Court Northern District of California, and Manish Shah, Northern District of Illinois Court.

Not to miss is Preetinder Singh "Preet" Bharara, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who is one of the most powerful US attorneys in the country now.

Among other key positions held in the administration are Kamala Vasagam, General Counsel, US Office of Personnel Management; Priya Aiyar, Deputy General Counsel, in the Department of Treasury; Kamran Khan, Vice-President for Compact Implementation, Millennium Challenge Corporation; the high profile Mythili Raman, Chief of Staff, Criminal Division, Department of Justice and Subhasri Ramanathan, Counselor to the Secretary, Department of Homeland Security.

While Daleep Singh is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Europe & Eurasia; Vikram Singh is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security; and Kiran Ahuja, Executive Director, White House Initiative on Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI).

"Our Nation draws its strength from the diversity of its population and from its commitment to equal opportunity for all. We are at our best when we draw on the talents of all parts of our society, and our greatest accomplishments are achieved when diverse perspectives are brought to bear to overcome our greatest challenges," Ahuja told PTI.

"That is why his administration reflects the diversity of America, and why the President is committed to building a government that represents the people it serves - not only through relevant programs and services, but also in its composition. We are proud of the inclusion of AAPIs at all levels of government, and look forward to continuing on that progress," Ahuja said.

Vikram Aiyer is Deputy Chief of Staff, US Patent and Trademark Office in the Department of Commerce; Gaurab Bansal, Deputy Chief of Staff, Export-Import Bank; Amit Bose, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs, Department of Transportation; Jyoti Jasrasaria, Confidential Assistant to the Deputy US Trade Representative; Ven Neralla, Director of Congressional Affairs for Research, Education, and Economics, and National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture and Rajan Trivedi, Special Assistant to the Vice President and CEO, Millenium Challenge Corporation.

Obama Administration has the distinction of hiring the largest number of Indian Americans to his White House.

This includes Shilpa Phadke, Special Assistant to the President, Office of Cabinet Affairs; Anuj Gupta, Associate Staff Secretary, Office of the Staff Secretary; Rishi R Sahgal, Deputy Associate Counsel, Office of the White House Counsel; Shilpa Hegde, Assistant Staff Secretary, Office of the Staff Secretary; Rohan Patel, Associate Director, White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Jeremy Bernton, Outreach and Recruitment Director, Presidential Office.

Among other Indian-Americans occupying key positions are Gautam Raghavan, Advisor, White House Office of Public Engagement; Pavneet Singh, Senior Advisor and Director for International Economic Affairs, White House National Security Staff; Taara Rangarajan, Advisor to the National Security Advisor, White House National Security Staff; Puneet Talwar, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Iran, Iraq and the Gulf States.

Prem G Kumar, Senior Director for Middle East and North Africa, White House National Security Staff; Nitin K Chadda, Director for Iran Affairs, White House National Security Council and Avin Sharma, Economics Director, White House Office of Presidential Personnel also hold key positions.

"This is a record. The community owes it to Obama for recognising the talent of Indian Americans," Dr Sambhu Banik, a Bethesda psychologist, told PTI.

In 1990, he was appointed by President Ronald Regan as executive director of the President's Committee on Mental Retardation. In 1987, Regan appointed Joy Cherian to Equal Employment Opportunities Commission.

Also for the first time, Indian American Nina Davuluri, 24, was crowned with the Miss American title in 2013.