WASHINGTON – White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said Tuesday that President Donald Trump is not expected to extend a March 5 deadline for when legal protection and work permits begin to expire for young immigrants known as “dreamers” – raising the stakes for lawmakers struggling to reach a solution.

“I doubt very much” Trump would extend the program, Kelly told reporters during an impromptu interview at the U.S. Capitol.

He told reporters he was “not so sure this president has the authority to extend it” because the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects roughly 690,000 undocumented immigrants was not based on law.

Kelly’s comments come as lawmakers are trying to craft a plan to grant permanent legal protections to dreamers and resolve other aspects of the immigration system. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday a debate on immigration policy will begin once a new short-term spending agreement is passed later this week.

“I’m going to structure it in such a way that’s fair to everyone,” he told reporters. “And in the Senate, on those rare occasions when we have these open debates, whoever gets to 60 [votes] wins.”

Any immigration legislation will require the support of at least 60 senators to clear procedural hurdles and earn final passage – putting a premium on bipartisan ideas that can prevail in the closely-divided chamber.

McConnell urged senators with ideas to quickly draft them into legislation, because “there’s a good chance by February the 8th it’ll be time to go forward.”

With the clock ticking, Kelly also said he would recommend against Trump signing a short-term extension of DACA approved by lawmakers.

“What makes them act is pressure,” Kelly said of Congress.

But some Republicans said a short-term extension may be their only choice.

“I hope we don’t end up there. But I’m not for ending up with no solution, either,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a lead GOP negotiator on immigration, told reporters.

With lawmakers deadlocked, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., the lead Democratic negotiator on immigration, faulted Republicans for stalling.

Durbin said his party is “willing to support a broadly unpopular and partisan proposal – the wall – in exchange for a broadly popular and bipartisan proposal” that would legalize the status of dreamers. “But the president will not take yes for an answer.”

Trump announced the end of DACA in September, giving lawmakers until early March to enact a permanent solution. But a federal court last month ordered the Department of Homeland Security to continue accepting applications for DACA, prompting some lawmakers to say that they would have more time to resolve the issue. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is appealing the court ruling, and unless higher courts rule on the legality of the program, DHS will be required to continue renewing DACA status for recipients even after the March 5 deadline.

On Tuesday, Trump tweeted that “nearly 7 in 10 Americans support an immigration reform package that includes DACA, fully secures the border, ends chain migration & cancels the visa lottery. If D’s oppose this deal, they aren’t serious about DACA-they just want open borders.”

Last month, Trump unveiled a four-part immigration plan and used his State of the Union address to endorse legalizing the status of 1.8 million dreamers – more than the actual number of young immigrants currently protected by DACA.

Kelly called Trump’s endorsement of legalizing a larger pool of immigrants “stunning and no one expected it.”

“There are 690,000 official DACA registrants and the president sent over what amounts to be two and a half times that number, to 1.8 million,” he said. “The difference between [690,000] and 1.8 million were the people that some would say were too afraid to sign up, others would say were too lazy to get off their asses, but they didn’t sign up.”

Kelly said he couldn’t believe that lawmakers would vote against Trump’s immigration plan given how “generous” it is.

“If before the champions of DACA were members on one side of the aisle, I would say right now the champion of all people who are DACA is Donald Trump – but you would never write that.”

About 800,000 have applied for and received DACA protections since the program began in 2012. The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute has estimated that at least 1.3 million people are immediately eligible for the program.

Immigration reform advocates have said in the past that many people brought to the country illegally as children did not apply for DACA because they did not meet the age or educational requirements, couldn’t afford the application fees ranging from $400 to $500 or fear sharing personal information with the federal government.

On Tuesday afternoon, Trump signed a presidential memorandum establishing a “National Vetting Center” to make good on his calls for more rigorous screening of foreign visitors, refugees and others entering the United States.

According to an administration official, the plan will establish a physical, brick-and-mortar headquarters for the vetting center that will centralize different DHS databases and tools for conducting background checks.

The center will be staffed by multiple federal agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, whose officers are stationed at U.S. airports, border crossings and other ports of entry.

Trump has called for “extreme vetting” of visitors from Muslim-majority nations, and the Supreme Court ruled in December that his administration can enforce its broad “ban” on travelers from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea, as well as some categories of travelers from Venezuela.

DHS officials announced last week that the agency will lift a seven-month freeze on refugee admissions for applicants from 11 “high-risk” nations, after they finish implementing new security measures they said would include more in-depth interviews and background checks.

The role that the new National Vetting Center would play in carrying out these checks was not immediately clear.

With talks struggling to progress across the Capitol, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tweeted that he agrees with Kelly that “DACA should NOT be extended by Executive action. To do so would continue President Obama’s Executive overreach. DACA fix must be done through Congress and signed by President.”

The post White House Chief of Staff: Trump not expected to extend DACA deadline appeared first on News India Times.

KOLKATA – U.S. Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster on Wednesday said India should seize the strategic opportunity through trade and investment to become a major hub for U.S. business in the Indo-Pacific region.

Juster said the U.S. seeks to assist India’s effort to build up “its indigenous defense capabilities as well as enhance the inter-operability of our two forces” as major defense partners in the Indo-Pacific region.

“India should now seize the strategic opportunity — through trade and investment — to become a major hub for U.S. business in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said while addressing a session hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce (Eastern Region) and the Bengal Chamber of Commerce here.

According to him, India is in the midst of an economic surge, as it integrates more into the global economy, and the U.S. trade and investment relationship with India continues to grow.

“Bilateral trade has gone from approximately $20 billion in 2001 to $115 billion in 2016. Of course, given the size of our respective markets, there is still plenty of room to expand these numbers,” he said.

Juster asserted there were many benefits in expanding the bilateral economic relationship and making India a regional hub for the U.S. business.

“Increased openness to U.S. goods and services and an expanded presence of U.S. companies will also stimulate private sector investment in improved infrastructure and overall connectivity,” he said, adding the U.S. companies had innovative technologies that could support India’s goal to create 100 smart cities.

“In a similar vein, we should enhance our efforts to promote connectivity within South Asia, which is one of the least economically integrated regions in the world,” he said.

Juster emphasized opening India’s market further to the U.S. as trade and investment would spur collaboration on many emerging technologies that would “drive and protect our economies, including those related to advanced manufacturing and cyber security”.

He pointed out that the U.S.’ environment technology could play a key role in helping India address air pollution, energy efficiency and other challenges.

The U.S. technology could also help India address its food security and agricultural concerns, he said.

Juster said cooperation in defense and counter-terrorism had been a key pillar of the partnership between the two countries.

Elaborating further on defense cooperation, he said the U.S. defense companies were already investing in India, producing components for complex defense systems.

“There is the defense sector, where we have gone from nearly zero sales to close to $15 billion in a decade – and this includes sale of some of America’s most advanced military equipment. We want to see this trend continue – because India’s defense needs are vast and because the United States, as a global leader in developing advanced military technology, is committed to enhancing India’s security,” he said.

According to him, India is projected to spend around $150 billion in this sector over the next 10-15 years, so the opportunity is enormous.

Juster said the U.S. is uniquely positioned to offer India a comprehensive energy partnership in all forms of energy — coal, crude oil, natural gas and nuclear power as well as technologies related to clean fossil fuels, smart grids, energy storage and renewable resources.

“And travel, tourism and education all play critical roles in our trade relationship with India. Indeed, the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office reported almost 1.2 million Indian visitors to the United States in 2016, and this is expected to grow to 1.4 million by 2022,” he said.

“Moreover, the reported number of Indian students studying in the U.S. in 2016 was 186,000, making India our second-largest source of international students,” he said.

Juster said the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy reflected the growing range of shared interests between the two countries and it was a natural complement to India’s “Act East” policy.

He also said that 200 American companies were operating in eastern India through direct investments.

“Last June, 10 delegates from east India were part of our India delegation to the USA Summit and we are hoping to double that number this year,” he added.

The post India should seize opportunity to become U.S. business hub: Envoy appeared first on News India Times.

NEW DELHI – Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused the Congress of having “small mind” and fostering one family’s legacy at the country’s cost and said there was “festival of honesty” under his government with people knowing they will get account of the tax they pay.

Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, Modi went to hit out on the Congress on several issues, arguing it had no right to give lessons on democracy and should not “mislead” the country on the issue of employment generation.

He said Congress-led UPA was fully responsible for the NPAs of banks and the country will never forgive the party for its “sin”.

Congress members protested throughout Modi’s over 90 minute speech, raising slogans and displaying placards.

Modi also sought to reach out to the middle class, which is seemingly feeling squeezed by the tax proposals in the Union Budget, saying the government was bringing about ease of living through good governance, improving education, infrastructure and housing.

With some MPs from Andhra Pradesh protesting before his speech over the pending promises at the time of division of state, Modi accused the Congress of “dividing” the state and earlier the country in 1947 for political gains.

“This is your character. You divided India. Even after 70 years of Independence, 125 crore people of India continue to suffer because of the poison you sowed. Not a single day passes when people of India are not punished for your sins.

“When we speak about creating new states, we remember the manner in which Atal Bihari Vajpayee created Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. He showed how farsighted decision making is done,” Modi said.

Attacking Congress over its leaders’ claims about the development done by the party in its long rule, Modi said several countries, which had gained independence almost when India had attained it, had surged ahead in development.

He said there was nominal opposition during the first few decades after Independence and Congress hold sway and even decided top judicial appointments. “But you spent the entire time singing songs in praise of one family forgetting the country. If you had worked responsibly channelizing the energy of people, the country would have reached new heights….”.

Congress feels that the country was born on August 15, 1947 and democracy was given by the party and by country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, he said, noting there was democracy in India from ancient times.

Modi said that if Sardar Vallabhai Patel had been the first Prime Minister instead of Nehru, the country would have not faced the Kashmir problem.

He also took a dig at Rahul Gandhi’s elevation as Congress chief, and also slammed him for tearing the UPA government’s ordinance to save convicted legislators from disqualification.

He also accused the party of inaugurating half-finished projects to gain publicity.

Referring to unemployment, he said four opposition ruled states – West Bengal, Karnataka, Odisha and Kerala – had claimed to have generated one crore jobs. “Will you not treat it as employment,” he said, adding that unemployment was posed as a national problem and the answer has also to be in a national perspective.

Modi said the aspirational youth from the middle class were keen on setting their own enterprise than on jobs. “We should support their aspirations,” he said, adding that the NDA government has given 10 crore Mudra loans.

“Is it not a boost to employment. You have habit of singing your praises… Atalji had said no one rises with a small mind.”

Referring to Aadhar, he said Congress had apprehension that Modi will not make use of it and now when government was making full use of it, objections were still being raised.

He said Rs 57,000 crore had been saved due to direct transfer of money to beneficiaries and this was earlier going in the pockets of middlemen.

“If employment has gone, it is of these middlemen, the people who looted the country,” Modi said.

Referring to farmers, Modi said efforts were being made to reduce their cost of cultivation and supplement their incomes through steps such as bee-keeping, animal husbandry and bamboo plantation.

He said GST was benefiting the country and time taken to transport goods had come done considerably.

He said those who had indulged in corruption will not be spared. “Today there is festival of honesty. People have faith that they will get account of every rupee given in tax,” Modi said.

The post Congress has ‘small mind’, ‘festival of honesty’ under my government: Modi appeared first on News India Times.

HUALIEN, Taiwan – Rescuers combed through the rubble of collapsed buildings on Wednesday, in a search for 67 people missing after a strong earthquake which killed at least seven near Taiwan’s popular tourist city of Hualien.

The magnitude 6.4 quake, which hit near the coastal city just before midnight (1600 GMT) on Tuesday, injured 260 people and caused four buildings to collapse, officials said.

Hualien Mayor Fu Kun-chi said the number of people missing was now close to 60, although an exact figure was not provided. As many as 150 were initially feared missing.

Many of the missing were believed to be still trapped inside buildings, some of which tilted precariously, after the quake struck about 22 km (14 miles) northeast of Hualien on Taiwan’s east coast.

At the city’s Marshal Hotel, rescuers trying to free two trapped Taiwanese pulled one out alive, but the other person was declared dead, the government said.

Mainland Chinese, Czech, Japanese, Singaporean and South Korean nationals were among the injured.

“This is the worst earthquake in the history of Hualien, or at least over the past 40 years that I’ve been alive,” said volunteer Yang Hsi Hua.

“We’ve never had anything like this, we’ve never had a building topple over. Also, it was constantly shaking, so everyone was really scared, we ran to empty open spaces to avoid it.”

Aftershocks with a magnitude of at least 5.0 could rock the island in the next two weeks, the government said. Smaller tremors rattled nervous residents throughout the day.

Residents waited and watched anxiously as emergency workers dressed in fluorescent orange and red suits and wearing helmets searched for residents trapped in apartment blocks.

Hualien is home to about 100,000 people. Its streets were buckled by the force of the quake, with around 40,000 homes left without water and around 1,900 without power. Water supply had returned to nearly 5,000 homes by noon (0400 GMT), while power was restored to around 1,700 households.

DAMAGE, PANIC

Emergency workers surrounded a badly damaged 12-storey residential building, a major focus of the rescue effort. Windows had collapsed and the building was wedged into the ground at a roughly 40-degree angle.

Rescuers worked their way around and through the building while residents looked on from behind cordoned-off roads. Others spoke of the panic when the earthquake struck.

“We were still open when it happened,” said Lin Ching-wen, who operates a restaurant near a damaged military hospital.

“I grabbed my wife and children and we ran out and tried to rescue people,” he said.

A Reuters video showed large cracks in the road, while police and emergency services tried to help anxious people roaming the streets. A car sat submerged in rubble as rescue workers combed through the ruins of a nearby building.

President Tsai Ing-wen went to the scene of the quake early on Wednesday to help direct rescue operations.

“The president has asked the cabinet and related ministries to immediately launch the ‘disaster mechanism’ and to work at the fastest rate on disaster relief work,” Tsai’s office said in a statement.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker and major Apple supplier, said initial assessments indicated no impact from the earthquake.

Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China considers part of its territory, lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes. An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 struck nearby on Sunday.

More than 100 people were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016, and some Taiwanese remain scarred by a 7.6 magnitude quake that was felt across the island and killed more than 2,000 people in 1999.

The post At least seven killed, 67 missing after quake rocks Taiwan tourist area appeared first on News India Times.

Any day now, the Trump administration is expected to release a final rule that could significantly scale back the minimum health benefits guaranteed to individuals insured under the Affordable Care Act.

In the meantime, the GOP-led administration is offering states some tools they could use to reduce these “essential health benefits” once the new rule lands – the latest evidence the president and his appointees are serious about weakening Obamacare regulations as much as possible without help from an impossibly divided Congress.

States have nearly three weeks to apply for a total of $8 million in funding to be used for “implementing the insurance market reforms and consumer protections” laid out under the 2010 health-care law, according to a notice of funding posted Monday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The funds are left over from a pot of money originally used to help states review insurers’ proposed rate hikes.

To be sure, $8 million is mere pocket change for CMS. But the dollars could be instrumental for states – especially small ones – seeking to dial down health benefits insurers are required to cover under Obamacare. For example, states could use their share to hire an actuary or a clinician to form leaner coverage requirements for, say, maternity care or mental health services, to replace the benchmark plans they currently have in place.

“This is about helping state departments of insurance do their job better,” Michael Adelberg, a principal at Faegre Baker Daniels Consulting, told me Tuesday. “You’re letting them add tools to the toolbox.”

This whole effort stems from Republicans’ enduring opposition to regulations imposed upon insurers under the ACA, which among other things require them to cover 10 categories of care to ensure consumers on the individual market can access a full range of benefits.

These essential health benefits (or EHBs) are among the Obamacare regulations that Republicans have blamed for skyrocketing premiums in the marketplaces, as they mean everyone buys plans with benefits they may not need or want. While EHBs are a major boon to certain customers – like a young woman who may need maternity coverage, for example – they also mean those individuals with fewer health-care needs may not be able to purchase as lean or as cheap of a plan as they may want.

During the debate last year about repealing and replacing the ACA, Republicans on Capitol Hill argued passionately about scrapping the health-coverage requirements. That repeal effort stalled, but CMS in October proposed a massive, 365-page rule suggesting an array of changes to how individual and small business plans are run.

States, insurers and health providers are anxiously awaiting imminent release of the final rule, which is currently being reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget. CMS didn’t respond to an inquiry about when it is expected to be finalized.

On EHBs, the proposed rule says states won’t have to choose from a limited fixed menu of benchmark plans to set their minimum coverage requirements. Instead, they’d be able to select a la carte. For example, Ohio could choose the ambulatory care standards from one benchmark plan and the preventive services from another. Wisconsin could choose the benchmark plan from North Dakota or New Jersey or Virginia.

If states want to go this route, they could use the new funding announced this week, according to the language in the CMS notice. The notice says “states may use funds to assess whether potential modifications to the set of benefits included in the state’s EHB-benchmark plan or medication of specific categories of benefits will increase affordability for consumers.”

In other words, the Trump administration is encouraging states to find ways to make Obamacare marketplace plans cheaper by allowing insurers to sell leaner, less expensive coverage.

Potential changes to EHBs are prompting heavy pushback from many health-care advocates, who are loath to see reduced benefits in the plans available to Americans – especially those who don’t have access to employer-sponsored coverage.

More than 100 patient and community organizations wrote to Verma last year that they are “very concerned that the proposed changes to how the state can select their essential health benefits will diminish patient care and increase beneficiary’s out of pocket costs.”

The post The Health 202: The Trump administration is giving states another way around Obamacare regulations appeared first on News India Times.

The Society of Indo-American Engineers and Architects (SIAEA) held its 37^th Annual Gala on Dec, 16, 2017 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, which was attended by more than 500 people.

Those who were honored by SIAEA President Shailesh Naik include India’s Consul for Community Affairs K. Devadasan Nair, New York State Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, Metro-North Railroad Acting President Catherine Rinaldi, New York City Small Business Services Commissioner Gregg Bishop, New York City EDC Executive Vice President Patrick Askew and New York State Director of Immigration Affairs & Special Counsel Jennifer Rajkumar.

The evening began with the cocktail hour followed by the singing of the American and Indian National Anthems by Shimul Sheth.

Then a two minute silence was observed in honor of the former President late Bansi Shah which was followed by the lamp lighting ceremony led by Meenakshi Varandani, Chitra Radin and Anita Asokan, the Gala Souvenir was unveiled by the honorees thereafter.

The Souvenir covered articles on the subject and endorsements from dignitaries and SIAEA sponsors, it also featured letters from the Consul General of India in New York Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty as well as New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Connecticut State Governor Dannel Malloy, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and New York State Senators Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Roxanne J. Persaud.

The evening featured energetic Bollywood performances by Namrata Dance School and Achievement Awards and Scholarships were given to eleven students.

The Gala Chair Yatish Sharma and President Shailesh Naik welcomed everyone and shared the year’s accomplishments and highlights.

President Naik then thanked the Executive Committee and Gala Co-chairs Yatish Sharma and Avinash Chauhan for creating such a successful event while celebrating the achievements of various Indian American professionals, reinforcing the importance of working collaboratively.

During the evening recognition plaques were presented to gala sponsors Judlau OHL Group, V.J. Associates, Boileroom, Signs and Decal, MP Engineers and Wire and Plastic.

Honoree Awards were presented to nine distinguished Indian American professionals including Bogram Setty, Mahendra Patel, Manish Chadha, Nimesh Shah, Raj Shah, Rakesh Narang, Ramesh Patel, Umesh K. Jois, and Vineet Jain.

2017 Scholarships were awarded to Indian American students pursuing degrees in engineering or architecture, including Anish Jain, Apurva Sawant, Darshan Kataria, Ellisa Khoja, Gaurav Rana, Ishan Shah, Karan Patel, Madhuri Surve, Naiya Patel and Prem Gandhi.

This year a new student scholarship was awarded to SaiAdiVishnu Sanigepalli, named after late Bansi Shah, to honor his accomplishments and community contributions.

In the past year SIAEA has hosted many networking events, participated in several industrial conferences which allowed for the exposure of member firms and offered multiple technical seminars and training sessions on varying topics including “Codes and Controls,” “Pumps and Controls,” and “People, Our Planet and Water.”

The post Society of Indo-American Engineers and Architects holds 37th Annual Gala appeared first on News India Times.

The Coalition of Indian Organizations of Long Island celebrated the 69^th Republic Day of India on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at Clinton G. Martin Hall in New Hyde Park.

The celebration was attended by Consul General of India in New York Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty, judges of the New York Supreme Court, public officials at the local and state level and other prominent members of the Indian American community in Long Island.

The event, organized by the Chairman of the Indian American Voters Forum Varinder Bhalla, brought 14 Indian organizations of Long Island under one umbrella as well as the largest gathering of the American dignitaries.

The organizations that were present include:

• Dr. Urmilesh Arya and Gobind Munjal of the Association of Indians in America
• Arya Veer Mukhi of the Samaj of Long Island
• Gobind Bathija of Asa Mai Temple
• Anjani Persaud of the Brahmakumaris of Long Island
• Thomas Oommen of the Federation of Malayalee Associations
• Minesh Patel of the Gujrati Samaj of New York
• Dr. Rakesh Dua and Dr. Ajay Lodha of the Indian American Physicians of Long Island
• Gunjan Rastogi of the India Association of Long Island
• Varinder Bhalla of the Indian American Voters Forum
• Dr. Rajinder Uppal of the International Punjabi Society
• Dr. Ajey Jain of the Rajasthan Association of North America
• Dr. Himanshu Pandya of SPARK Youth Club of New York
• Rakesh Bhargava of World Spiritual Awareness Forum Inc.
• Koshy Oommen of the World Malayalee Association

New York Supreme Court Justices Denise Sher and Ruth Balkin were present to represent the judiciary while New York Senator Elaine Phillips presented a Senate Proclamation to Ambassador Chakravorty.

Legislature Majority Leader Rich Nicolello and Legislator Tom McKevitt were there to represent Nassau County as well as Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman.

Hempstead Township was represented by its Town Clerk Sylvia Cabana and Supervisor Laura Gillen, who hoisted the Indian flag at Town Hall on Jan. 26.

Gillen also presented a Citation to Ambassador Chakravorty honoring the 69^th anniversary of the India Republic Day and another Republic Day Citation was also presented to the Ambassador on behalf of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino.

Niketa Bhatia, who successfully petitioned the Syosset School District to have Diwali be designated as an official holiday, was honored with a Citation from the Oyster Bay Township.

Many Indian American children performed in the cultural show whose highlight was a performance by the artists of the Surati for Performing Arts, a nationally acclaimed group which has performed at the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center and the United Nations, among others.

The pageantry of the Republic Day event was enhanced by bagpipers of Nassau County Firefighters Band who has also played at President Donald Trump’s Inauguration in Washington D.C. and in Europe on the 100^th anniversary of the end of World War I.

The post Indian American community of Long Island celebrates Republic Day appeared first on News India Times.

Dina Pahlajani is the new president of Children’s Hope India (CHI), a New York based non-profit organization that provides health and education to children in India and the United States and completed 25 years, last year.

Pahlajani is also a co-founder of Children’s Hope India and was the organization’s first president when they started; she later served again in 2007.

Pahlajani is actively involved in overseeing the India projects along with developing program plans, creating strategic partnerships and coordinating the development of CHI’s initiatives.

Pahlajani is a practicing Pediatrician on Long Island and a member of the Charity Committee of the Nassau Pediatric Society.

She strongly believes that as a society it is incumbent upon us to be the voice of this very vulnerable segment of our society.

“For CHI this is a very exciting time as we can look back and see the difference our programs have made in the communities in which we have been working. The opening of Children’s Hope India Girls School for 800 girls in Bhopal will be a game changer,” Pahlajani said in a press release.

She will be replacing Maya Rajani who recently completed her three-year term as CHI President with a very successful 25^th year gala which raised over $1 million for education.

“I wish to express my sincere gratitude to have had the opportunity to lead this amazing organization twice as President in my 18+ year tenure with CHI. Each time I have been rewarded manifold, have learned and grown in countless ways.  Thank you for all the support, encouragement and trust,” Rajani said in a press release.

Along with a new president CHI elected their new vice president and treasurer, and this year, have a new position known as the Director of Innovation and Strategy to lead its nine-member board.

Sagorica Rudra was elected as vice president and she has been a board member of CHI since 1995, previously serving as secretary.

Rudra entered the Financial Services industry in 1993 after earning an MBA in International Finance from St. John’s University.

She has spearheaded the silent auction at the annual gala and golf charity events and overseen CHI’s programs in Kolkata, India.

“I’m excited about my new role and will strive to increase CHI’s outreach, especially among the younger generation. I feel blessed to be a part of such an amazing organization,” Rudra said in a press release.

Nisha Bharwani has become the new treasurer of CHI.

She is graduate of St. Mira’s College in Pune, India and has had over twenty years experience in small business accounting and administration.

Her professionalism and leadership in managing CHI’s financial accounting has been productive as well and she is passionate about providing educational and development opportunities to children who want to achieve and is actively involved with CHI projects in India, commuting between the two countries often to supervise projects and interact with the India chapter of CHI.

“I feel truly rewarded when I see the difference we make in a child’s life.  It’s instant gratification,” Bharwani said in a press release.

Lavina Melwani is now the Director of Innovation & Strategy of CHI.

A co-founder and former president of CHI, she has been involved in all aspects of CHI since its inception, including fund-raising, creative partnerships, publicity and social media.

Melwani majored in History Honors at the University of Delhi, and has lived in Hong Kong, Africa and the U.S.

She is an award-winning journalist who has written for several international publications including India Today, The Hindu and the Wall Street Journal, she also publishes the online lifestyle portal Lassi with Lavina and has blogged for the Smithsonian as well.

“I love the power, promise and potential of the people I meet every day. In my new role I am looking to create exciting alliances and possibilities for CHI,” Melwani said in a press release.

Started more than two decades ago, Children’s Hope India has over 22 projects in slums and villages across several cities in India and the New York Metropolitan area, and has impacted over 250,000 children by looking after their health, education and vocational training.

The focus of Children’s Hope India is the ‘whole’ child and providing all the tools a child needs to progress from poverty to prosperity with a cradle to career approach.

Since 2015 alone, CHI has allocated over $1.5 million to programs in several cities in India and additional ones in the New York metro area and is now expanding to access more education to enrich and empower children for life in the 21st century.

The post Children’s Hope India introduces new board members appeared first on News India Times.

Indian American Miki Agrawal has finally brought an 18^th century invention, which is used in most parts of the world, to America: the bidet.

Often used in countries like India, Italy, Japan and other parts of Asia, the bidet, invented by a Frenchman, is a common fixture in toilets used to clean yourself after you go to the bathroom.

According to The New Yorker, traditional bidets look like second toilets with a faucet for washing and Agrawal’s new invention The Tushy “is an attachable appliance that sprays water from inside a regular toilet. The user removes her toilet seat, connects the device to the toilet’s existing water supply, and reattaches the seat for ‘an instant life upgrade.’”

Advocates of bidets say that they reduce bathroom time; mess and waste as they cut down on toilet-paper use and if America starts using the bidet, they could save some fifteen million trees a year since the average American uses fifty-seven sheets a day, according to The New Yorker.

According to The New York Times, advocates also say that using a bidet reduces urinary-tract infections as they remove bacteria that can travel up to the bladder, though the evidence is inconclusive, in fact a 2010 study conducted with 268 women in Japan, revealed that habitual bidet users actually presented aggravated vaginal microflora and that bidet users were far more likely to show fecal bacteria as well as contamination by other pathogens than nonusers were.

Even Philip Tierno, a professor of microbiology and pathology at New York University School of Medicine, told The New York Times that no method is enough to completely eliminate bacteria.

“If you compare the bidet experience with wet wipes, there’s no contest. The wipes work better,” Tierno told The New York Times, but this did not stop Agrawal and she went onto pursuing her bidet business.

However, The Tushy is not the only thing Agrawal has invented.

In 2011, Agrawal “sold millions and millions of units” of Thinx, a menstrual underwear that is designed to replace pads and liners while breaking taboos, however she was accused of sexual harassment as several employees claimed that she allegedly touched their breasts and pierced their nipples, even FaceTimed them from the toilet itself.

So she had to leave the company and that’s when she thought about creating a bidet business after her partner bought her one for Valentine’s Day in 2012, and four years later The Tushy was born.

According to The New York Times, Agrawal raised $1.4 million for Tushy which employs 11 people, “I am being a lot more careful about hiring, and I have an H.R. manual in place now,” she told The New Yorker.

Although her bidet sales were three times greater than the year before over Christmas and sold 532 of them in under 10 minutes on the Home Shopping Network in early January, Agrawal told The New York Times that there is still more work to be done.

“We have indoctrinated Americans into thinking that dry paper is going to clean you, and it’s not,” she told The New York Times.

According to The New York Times, the clip-on bidet attachment, whose designed is inspired by the sleek iPhone, is worth $69.

According to The New Yorker, Agrawal and her twin sister, Radha, who is also her business partner, grew up in Canada where bidets “are only slightly more common than in the U.S.,” however, since their father is Indian and their mother is Japanese, they had been exposed to bidets long before.

Agrawal told The New York Times that she is very passionate about The Tushy and plans to introduce travel and baby bidets later this year.

She is also looking forward to publishing her book this fall, “Disrupt-Her,” which is about female leadership and uses Shakti, the shape-shifting Hindu goddess, as writing inspiration.

“She gets to embody so many sides of herself — there’s Kali, the fighter; Durga, the warrior; Parvati, the goddess of wisdom; Lalita, the sensual goddess. As women, we have so many sides to ourselves, yet in business only the fighter or warrior gets to come out. What I realized is I don’t have to lead with a sword in my hand. I can lead sitting down,” Agrawal told The New York Times.

The post Miki Agrawal introduces the bidet to America appeared first on News India Times.

Queens Night Market to Host Small Business Series for Third Year:

The Queens International Night Market, which recently announced plans to return for its fourth season (opening April 21st, 2018), is hosting a free series of small business seminars starting next week. The seminars will be held on February 13th, February 20th, and February 26th from 6:00-8:30pm at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City.

Since it launched, the Queens Night Market has welcomed more than 600,000 visitors, helped launch 200 new businesses in New York, and represented approximately 80 countries through its vendors and their food, art, and merchandise. In 2017, the event averaged 9,000 people each Saturday night.

This will be the third year that the Queens Night Market produces the seminar series, and this year’s program is in collaboration with Empire State Development (ESD), the economic development arm for New York State, and the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC).

The small business seminars are open to vendors interested in the Night Market, and also open to individuals and families interested in starting any type of business in NYC. Over 150 aspiring entrepreneurs enrolled for the seminar series the last two years.

John Wang, the founder of the Queens Night Market, said, “The Queens Night Market really rides on the shoulders of our vendors, who are all small businesses, and the majority of whom make their business debut at our event. They are critical to the success and popularity of the Night Market, so we make it our mission to promote and support small businesses as much as we can. We hope that aspiring entrepreneurs find these small business seminars helpful, informative, and encouraging.”

“Small businesses are essential to New York’s economy and ESD is proud to partner with Queens Night Market to facilitate this year’s Small Business Seminars,” said ESD President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky. “The seminar series will provide small business owners with the resources they need to make educated decisions about accessing new capital, business plans and marketing technologies necessary to grow their businesses and build strong local and regional economies.”

The seminars will cover a range of topics such as creating a business plan, branding and marketing, social media and technology, securing financing, and obtaining permits. Seminar presenters include experts from the Queens Economic Development Corporation, CAMBA Corporation, Business Center for New Americans, Renaissance Economic Development Corporation, BOC Capital Corporation, Kiva Zip, the Department of Health, and FoodtoEat.com.

The seminars will also cover Night Market topics and feature guest speakers, expert panels, networking, and Q&A opportunities. Popular Night Market vendors will share their stories, successes, and challenges with the attendees. The guest speakers will include Queens Thread, Sweet Zahra, The August Tree, In Patella, Joon, The Malaysian Project, Joey Bats Sweets, Theobucket, Burmese Bites, and Moon Man.

Aspiring entrepreneurs interested in attending the free seminars can find more details and RSVP for individual sessions here:

Session I – February 13th, 6:00-8:30pm: First Steps to Formalize Your Business: http://bit.ly/2018-session-i

Session II – February 20th, 6:00-8:30pm: Serving & Developing Your Customer Base: http://bit.ly/2018-session-ii

Session III – February 26th, 6:00-8:30pm: Tips for Running a Successful Business & Access to Capital: http://bit.ly/2018-session-iii

2018 Vendor Application Now Open:

The Queens Night Market has officially opened vendor applications for its 2018 season. Interested vendors should apply online by following this link http://bit.ly/qnm-vendor-2018, or directing questions to: vendor@queensnightmarket.com

Last year, the event received approximately 600 vendor applications. As in previous years, vendor curation will focus on featuring food and products from as many countries represented in NYC as possible, highlighting cultural heritage and telling stories through the vendors.

Website: queensnightmarket.com

Facebook: facebook.com/QueensNightMarket

Instagram: instagram.com/queensnightmarket/

Twitter: twitter.com/QnsNightMarket

About ESD’s Division of Small Business and Technology Development:

Empire State Development’s Division of Small Business and Technology Development directs a wide array of programs and initiatives to support small business growth and to help entrepreneurs maximize their opportunities for success. Small businesses – of up to 100 employees – make up 98 percent of all businesses in New York State. The Division supports small businesses by providing and implementing: access to capital, through partnerships with financial institutions, alternative lenders, direct lending and financial assistance programs; training and technical assistance that incentivize businesses to launch, grow and innovate; and access to information and resources, including industry-university partnerships through which businesses can develop and commercialize promising new products and technologies.

The post Queens Night Market to host free small business seminars appeared first on News India Times.

NEW YORK – Indian American Samhita Mukhopadhyay has been named the executive editor of Teen Vogue magazine and will be overseeing the brand’s editorial team and work on brand strategy and will be reporting to Chief Content Officer Phillip Picardi, according to a MediaPost report.

According to wwd.com, Mukhopadhyay was working at the Millennial digital news site Mic.com where she senior editorial director of culture and identities and led the site’s coverage of Standing Rock, The Movement for Black Lives, Islamophobia, trans issues and sexual assault on college campuses.

Mukhopadhyay was also the former executive editor of Feministing.com, the coeditor of “Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance and Revolution in Trump’s America” and the author of “Outdated: Why Dating is Ruining Your Love Life,” according to wwd.com.

“I have admired Samhita’s work from afar for quite some time. I deeply respect her ability to tackle complex topics and distill them in a sensible way for a young, engaged, and conscientious audience. After getting to know Samhita through this process, I am confident that her experience as an editor and a leader is exactly what we need to further propel Teen Vogue into the future,” chief content officer Phillip Picardi told wwd.com.

According to wwd.com, last November, Condé Nast said that as a result of company-wide budget cuts, Teen Vogue which by then had become a quarterly issue would become a digital-only, allowing editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth to leave.

Mukhopadhyay’s experience in digital news will enhance the magazine’s website platform.

“I am deeply impressed with Teen Vogue’s coverage of the most important issues impacting young women’s lives today, as well as with Phill’s leadership. I am honored and excited to help lead this vibrant and inspired team to expand and deepen their coverage on everything from body positivity, fashion, pop culture, Black Lives Matter, college sexual assault, and more,” Mukhopadhyay told wwd.com.

The post Samhita Mukhopadhyay named Executive Editor of Teen Vogue appeared first on News India Times.

The Toilet Garden, located next to Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, is a café that creates awareness about sanitation and hygiene, according to a Yourstory.com report.

The café is designed using toilets as seats with the backdrop of greenery and cemented floors and one can enjoy their hot steaming coffee while “sitting on the toilet.”

Open twice a week, the Toilet Garden can house up to 30 people at a time and its walls are covered with quotes and anecdotes related to sanitation like “Poverty is no bar to sanitation.”

According to Yourstory.com, the café seems to bring alive the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, who wanted to make sanitation a priority for India more than a century ago and the Safai Vidyalaya campus houses a biogas plant where all human waste is collected.

The café also has an open auditorium for performances, mainly for events organized by Sabarmati Ashram or Safai Vidyalaya, according to Yourstory.com

The Toilet Garden started out as an idea 70 years ago during the struggle for India’s Independence, when Ishwarbhai Patel, then only 10-years-old, was shocked when one of his teachers lectured his class about open defecation, manual scavenging and the way the community that cleaned night soil was treated by the public, according to Yourstory.com.

But it wasn’t until the late 1950s, after Patel graduated from college that he decided to follow his heart and began on working to change the lives of thousands of sanitation workers.

He was soon recognized as ‘Mr. Toilet,’ the one who sought for an end to the caste system and to allow the entry of “untouchables” into temples.

Patel traveled throughout the country for over 50 years, trying to understand the loopholes in the system while spreading the message of sanitation.

On December 26, 2010, however, he passed away at the age of 77, leaving behind a legacy focusing on sanitation.

But the awareness about sanitation has still not made it all around India today as 600 million people still defecate in the open.

According to the most recent Swachhta Status Report of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), in 2015, more than half of the rural population (52.1 percent) still defecated in the open, making it a major public health and sanitation problem.

The aim of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationwide cleanliness drive is to clean up India by 2019, the year that marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Gandhi, the report said. Even as the government rallies to build more toilets, end open defecation, and improve waste management, this little café is doing its bit.

The post Unique Toilet Garden in Ahmedabad promotes sanitation appeared first on News India Times.

NEW YORK – Natasha Verma, the 23-year-old Indian American anchor at NBC Boston, is ready to be back on the air after being diagnosed with and treated for cancer, according to a Boston.com report.

Verma will also continue to work on a non-profit, “Put a Cap on Cancer,” that was inspired by her own feelings of distress over losing her hair from cancer.

After noticing a lump on her collarbone while working out at the gym last summer, Verma detailed how she thought of it to only be a muscle sprain. However, when she started to feel shooting pain in her arm, she went to a doctor who didn’t say much about it. When Verma began experiencing additional symptoms, including a tightening in her chest, she decided to visit the emergency room on Monday, Aug. 21.

It was the day of the solar eclipse and “the ER was empty because everyone was outside watching the sun. That was the only way I was able to get a doctor and an ultrasound,” Verma told Boston.com.

Even the doctor in the ER had doubts about Verma’s lump being cancerous as she was “young and healthy” but for her “peace of mind,” the doctor ordered an ultrasound.

When the reports for the ultrasound came back, a PET scan that “lit up like a Christmas tree” showed that Verma had been diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin Lymphoma and with aggressive chemotherapy, doctors told Verma that “she would be looking at six months off the air.”

“I was so shocked when I first got the diagnosis, I was like, ‘No, I’ll be fine, I’m going to work through it,’” Verma told Boston.com.

But soon enough, it became clear to Verma that working through chemo would be impossible.

“I had a really, really tough time with chemotherapy. It was really terrible. Pain like I’ve never experienced before, excruciating pain in every single muscle in my body. I had jaw pain. I had stomach burns, because when you’re pumped with chemo it kills every fast-growing cell, good or bad. The cells that line your stomach are fast-growing, so they got killed,” she told Boston.com, adding that it killed her mentally too, “even when I was feeling healthy during chemo, I would look in the mirror and I looked weak. I didn’t recognize myself. It would make me feel sick even when the chemo wasn’t.”

Verma told Boston.com that when she was first diagnosed with cancer, “the first thing I thought about was my hair.”

“I know that’s kind of a superficial thing to think about, but it’s my identity. I’m on television. It’s just the first thing people think about with cancer and chemo,” she added.

Finally, on Jan. 3, Verma announced her illness on Facebook: “I am very aware that many of you have asked about my whereabouts on NBC 10 Boston. Thank you for your concern,” she wrote. “Five months ago, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I immediately underwent aggressive chemotherapy at Beth Israel Boston. With the incredible support of my family and friends, I was able to overcome the physical and emotional toll of this terrible disease. Thanks to my brilliant oncology team I am in remission!”

After that, Verma launched the nonprofit project called “Put a Cap on Cancer.”

Verma told Boston.com that the goal of “Put a Cap on Cancer” is to provide wigs attached to baseball caps (“Cap Wigs”) to cancer patients who want a “fashionable and comfortable” solution to hair loss caused by chemo.

Verma added that she initially struggled while experimenting with wigs after she started losing her hair to chemo, “I had a lot of problems finding a wig that worked for me. They were itchy, they didn’t sit right, I hated the hairline, my scalp was too sensitive.”

But when she decided to place a baseball cap on top of her wig, she liked the look, “really no one could tell it was a wig. Plus, it was easy to throw on without prepping the wig, styling it, and gluing it down.”

In the weeks that followed her public announcement, she’s received more than 100 requests for her wig/cap combos, which use 100 percent human hair and come in 80 different shades, according to Boston.com.

Recently, Verma announced that the New England Patriots football team was donating 100 Patriots caps to the program, thanks to the team’s safety Duron Harmon.

Verma told Boston.com that she plans to continue the “Put a Cap on Cancer” program when she returns to her job at NBC Boston.

“Wigs are so tough to find, and every person’s needs are so different. So having this technique, throwing a wig and hat on quickly, it helps. And when you look healthy, you feel healthy,” Verma told Boston.com, adding that she is “nervous and excited” about getting back on the air in February and she has learned a lot from being diagnosed with cancer.

“Cancer — this is so crazy to say — but honestly, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I realized family is the most important thing. Career can take a backseat sometimes, and at the end of the day, it’s important to do good for others. I don’t know if I had all of that in focus before the diagnosis,” Verma told Boston.com.

The post Natasha Verma, NBC Boston news anchor, puts a ‘cap’ on cancer appeared first on News India Times.

NEW YORK – Indian American Democratic gubernatorial candidate Krishanti Vignarajah has dropped a lawsuit she had filed against Gov. Larry Hogan’s campaign and the state Board of Elections, in which she was asking a judge to affirm her eligibility to run for governor, according to a Bethesda Magazine report.

Vignarajah’s attorneys were scheduled to appear at a hearing in Annapolis, Maryland, to dismiss the case; however, Vignarajah dropped the lawsuit on Monday, according to online court records.

Raquel Coombs, a spokeswoman for the state’s Attorney General’s Office, wrote an email to Bethesda Magazine on Tuesday stating that Vignarajah “voluntarily dismissed the case” and she does not know why.

“As we detailed in her pleading, Krish is absolutely eligible to run and serve as Governor. In light of the defendants’ concessions, we determined that no further litigation is necessary at this time.” Andrew Herman, an attorney who represented Vignarajah in the case, said in a statement.

According to Bethesda Magazine, Vignarajah filed the case in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court in October, asking a judge to rule whether she has a right to appear on the ballot for the state’s June 26 primary election as the question of her eligibility was raised after Bethesda Beat reported that she was a Gaithersburg resident who had previously worked as an aide to Michelle Obama and had voted many times in Washington, D.C. while she was registered to vote in Maryland.

She most recently cast votes in D.C. in 2014, which an election law attorney said could potentially make her ineligible to run for governor in Maryland as the state constitution requires a candidate for governor to have lived and been registered to vote in the state for at least five years leading up to the election, according to Bethesda Magazine.

Vignarajah had indicated in her initial complaint that she was suing the state Board of Elections and the governor’s campaign because she believed members of the campaign team and Mary Wagner, the board’s director of voter registration, had questioned her eligibility to run for governor, according to Bethesda Magazine.

According to Bethesda Magazine, state attorneys did file a motion to dismiss the case in November, and wrote that it is impossible for anyone to challenge Vignarajah’s qualifications to run because she had not formally filed to run for governor yet.

Vignarajah told Bethesda Magazine that despite the votes she cast in D.C. and the fact that she used a D.C. address to register to vote in the city, she is still eligible to run for governor because her Maryland voter registration has remained active since 2006.

Vignarajah has still not filed her candidacy with the Board of Elections as she has not named a lieutenant governor running mate yet; the filing deadline is Feb. 27, according to Bethesda Magazine.

Vignarajah told Bethesda Magazine that she has raised $431,000 since launching her campaign in September, including a personal loan of $100,000 and the Washington Post reported that most of her contributions have come from out of state donors including other Indian Americans as well as celebrities like Ashley Judd and Meryl Streep.

According to her website, Vignarajah has served in the Obama White House as a Policy Director for First Lady Michelle Obama and at the State Department as a Senior Advisor under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of State John Kerry.

Vignarajah’s website states that she was only 9-months-old when she and her family escaped a country on the brink of civil war and came to the United States with $200 in their pockets; both of her parents eventually became teachers.

After graduating from Woodlawn High School in Maryland, Vignarajah attended Yale College where she earned a Master’s degree in Political Science and a B.S. in Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology, according to her website.

According to her website, she was also a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University, where she received an M.Phil. in International Relations before returning to Yale Law School, where she served on the Yale Law Journal.

During the Obama Administration, Vignarajah managed and led White House and State Department programs related to entrepreneurship, private sector investment, infrastructure, women’s issues, engagement with youth and religious communities, climate change, and budget development and execution.

Vignarajah has also worked at McKinsey & Company, where she consulted for Fortune 100 companies, practiced law at Jenner & Block in Washington, DC, clerked for Chief Judge Michael Boudin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and taught at Georgetown University as an adjunct.

Vignarajah has also spoken widely about women empowerment and recently delivered the commencement address at Hood College, according to her website. According to her website, Vignarajah lives with her husband, Collin O’Mara, a conservationist and sportsman who currently serves as CEO of the National Wildlife Federation and they welcomed their baby girl Alana, in June.

The post Krishanti Vignarajah drops lawsuit to affirm eligibility to run for governor appeared first on News India Times.

NEW YORK – Dr. Nagagopal Venna has been appointed as the chief of the newly-created Division of Neuro-Immunology and Neuro-Infectious Diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital, primarily working in the neurology department’s inpatient and outpatient services.

Venna is a distinguished neurologist in Boston and has just completed 20 years of service at the Massachusetts General Hospital, the flagship medical institution for Harvard Medical School and one of the best hospitals in the country.

Prior to joining Massachusetts General Hospital, Venna was the director of Clinical Neurology in the Neurological Unit at Boston City Hospital for 18 years.

His appointment at the Massachusetts General Hospital comes with the recognition of his leading role in the rapidly expanding specialty field within neurology, which is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of patients affected by unusual autoimmune disorders of the brain, spinal cord and nerves.

Venna leads a team of bright, young and mid-career academic neurologists who are working in collaboration with researchers in related clinical and basic science fields to develop earlier diagnosis and rapid treatment of the variety of some newly-recognized neurological disorders.

Venna is also the founder and director of the Fellowship in Advanced General and Autoimmune Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital where he practiced and trained several neurologists in the specialized field of Autoimmune Neurology for 10 years, providing advanced training to over 20 young neurologists.

Autoimmune Neurology encompasses an ever-expanding group of neurological diseases that are unusual and often difficult to diagnose as they are caused by one’s own disordered immune system attacking nervous tissues of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves in various combinations and resulting in serious and complex disabilities.

The Fellowship is also dedicated to the comprehensive and compassionate care of patients with other complex and often previously unsolved diagnoses.

A component of the new division that Venna now heads at Massachusetts General Hospital is the section of Neuro-Infectious Diseases for the diagnosis and care of infections and infection-related complications of the nervous system including those caused by HIV.

His involvement in this rapidly changing and complex field of neurological complications and disabilities associated with HIV, started with some of the first cases of HIV-AIDS in the Boston area in the early 1980s while he was director of Clinical Neurology at the Neurological Unit of Boston City Hospital, which naturally lead to establishing the first HIV Neurology subspecialty clinic in association with an Infectious Diseases department at Massachusetts General Hospital 20 years ago.

Today, Venna continues to direct this section providing world class comprehensive care for people affected by neurological infections.

In these 20 years, Venna trained and mentored many neurology residents, inspiring them to pursue neuro-infectious diseases as long term career path while he taught and trained the over 20 Fellows of the infectious diseases in the neurological complications of variety of infections in addition to HIV.

Venna has been recognized for his dedication and excellence as teacher, educator and mentor for generations of neurologists.

In 2014, he was honored by being appointed as Master Clinician-Educator for the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital to help guide and train future neurologists in the science and art of Neurology.

Venna also leads a select group of senior and junior neurology faculty physicians in the Partners Residency Training Program in Neurology at MGH-Harvard Medical School, who excel in, and are dedicated to train as well as inspire trainees in the best skills and practices.

Venna’s teaching in Neurology has also received the Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching by the Boston University School of Medicine where he worked for 18 years and his portrait is now a permanent part of the Boston University Medical School library and the Sherman Auditorium at the main campus of Boston University.

He was also selected many times for the Teacher of the Year Award in Neurology by both Boston City Hospital at Boston University and Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard.

Venna has also had the honor of leading and teaching in the “Chief’s Rounds” in the neurology department at Massachusetts General Hospital, which was held every two weeks, where trainees would bring in and present cases of patients admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital neurology service and were selected for the complexity of their disorders.

Excellence in the care of patients with disorders of the nervous system has been the central focus of Venna’s career.

Venna has been selected as the Best Doctors in America by his peers for many years now since 1997 and was honored by the Brian McGovern Award for Clinical Excellence in 2007, an award across all specialties of Medicine and Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Venna is an alum of Guntur Medical College in India, and did his post-graduate training and experience in Internal Medicine in Ireland leading to the Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians in Ireland and UK.

He considers Dr. Thomas Sabin, at the Neurological Unit of Boston City Hospital, which is considered the “Cradle of American Neurology,” as his chief mentor.

The post Nagagopal Venna appointed chief at Massachusetts General Hospital appeared first on News India Times.

NEW YORK – The effervescent tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, 56, one of the greatest classical musicians India has ever produced, and a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement, will be on a hectic Spring tour next month, covering 12 cities across the US in three weeks, with flautist Rakesh Chaurasia.

Hussain, son of the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha, has been feted for his prowess, in both India, and the US, including winning a Grammy Award. Now a resident of San Francisco, California, he was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002, by the Government of India, as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990. In 1999, he was awarded the United States National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship, the highest award given to traditional artists and musicians.

A child prodigy, Hussain started to learn the Pakhawaj at the age of three, and was touring by the age of 11. He emigrated to the United States in 1969 to do his Ph.D. at the University of Washington, receiving a doctorate in music. His glittering international career has seen him play at top venues of the world, including four widely-heralded and sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall’s Artist Perspective series, in 2009, with some of the most renowned musicians globally.

Hussain’s historic collaborations include ‘Shakti’, which he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar, ‘Remember Shakti’, the Diga Rhythm Band, Making Music, Planet Drum with Mickey Hart, Tabla Beat Science, Sangam with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland and recordings and performances with artists as diverse as George Harrison, YoYo Ma, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Airto Moreira, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, Mark Morris, Rennie Harris, and the Kodo drummers.

In an exclusive e-mail interview to News India Times, Hussain gives insight to what keeps him going, and the artists who have inspired him. Excerpts from the interview:

You will perform next month with flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, the nephew of flute maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. Rakesh Chaurasia is known to experiment with traditional style, and you have performed with him before. Is his style a huge departure from Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia’s style?

Rakesh Chaurasia is one of the new breed of traditional Indian artists who have had the good fortune to not only study Indian classical music in detail, but also simultaneously familiarize themselves with non-Indian forms of music and in real time assimilate, analyze, compare and develop a musical expression which incorporates all forms of music globally. This makes his style not different, but more accessible than his uncle’s. He is able to, with greatest of ease, translate the Indian music language to musicality of listeners anywhere in the world.

I had the pleasure of watching and hearing you perform, at Carnegie Hall, some years ago. It was an interactive session between some students in New York on stage with you and students in Delhi, through live video conference. You had the audience spellbound. Your energy, youthfulness and commitment is amazing, to say the least. What keeps you going? What inspires you?

I consider myself a student of the arts and I know that every time I get on stage with an artist I have not worked with before, I am able to see my music thoughts through their eyes and ears, thus discovering elements in my music which I might have overlooked; and seeing them through the eyes of the musician provides me with a new learning experience. This process keeps the encounters fresh and far from being monotonous and something to look forward to always.

Doing collaborative jazz music ensemble seems to be a favorite of yours, over the years. Last year, you took the stage with Dave Holland, in New Jersey. You were among those invited by President Obama to the International Jazz Day 2016 All-Star Global Concert at the White House. Today, there are a lot of fine, highly rated Indian American and South Asian-origin American jazz musicians, including Rudresh Mahanthappa, Vijay Iyer, Sunny Jain and Rez Abbasi. What do you reckon is the reason for this?

Today’s Indian musicians have access to music from all over the world and from a very early time in their studentship they are exposed to different musical expressions and thoughts. This allows them to, without fear of failure, chose any genre of music they feel defines them. In my view, this, plus a new found elevation of music as a profession which is socially acceptable, might be the reason.

Your accolades are many, including the National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship, and a Grammy Award for Best World Music album, for ‘Planet Drum,’ produced by Mickey Hart. What was it like working with Hart, who is also best known for being a drummer for the rock band “Grateful Dead’, who many consider to be the godfather of the jam band world?

I consider Mickey Hart as one of my mentors. He brought me to a wondrous world of rhythm and self-expression, which I had no idea existed. He has had a big hand in shaping the way I look at rhythm, time signatures, grooves and helped me in developing a more universal style of drumming. It is always very exciting and at the same time very challenging to work with Mickey. He would never accept anything less then what the vision demands.

Over the years, you have toured extensively with Hart, and other members from ‘Planet Drum.’ Did your music and your vision for music change in any way after the success of ‘Planet Drum’ which was at #1 on the Billboard World Music chart for 26 weeks in 1991?

The success of Planet Drum planted the idea of rhythm and bass oriented music, apart from winning the first ever world music Grammy, Planet Drum brought forth the idea that it was possible to successfully create drum albums and also do economically viable tours of this music.

You live in San Francisco, but continue to tour around the world. What’s it’s like to live out of a suitcase, when on tour? Do you even think of maybe spending more time in India?

It is difficult to be away from home and not sleep in your own bed for long periods of time but the upside is that you meet new people, see different worlds and make music with many exciting artists. After doing this for a while, a routine is established and a relatively painless way to relate to the suitcase is found.

You called New Jersey home, as an Old Dominion Fellow, a professor of music, at Princeton University, more than 10 years ago. Of course, you have a doctorate in music too. Do you miss teaching? What did you take away from that experience?

Teaching is the first and the best from of learning. I think that I really discovered more about my tradition and my playing through the process of sharing the information with others. I am constantly mentoring fellow rhythm players all over the world, so just because I am not teaching on a campus does not mean that the transmission has stopped.

You must be tired of answering this question, but here we go again: Is Indian classical music dying in the din of Bollywood music?

Indian classical music is thriving and prospering all over the globe. No “din” has in any way smothered the sound of this art form.

What kind of music do you like to listen to?

I like to listen to folk music from all parts of the world. It gives me better insight into the culture of the land.

The post Zakir Hussain Interview: Indian classical music thriving, prospering all over the globe appeared first on News India Times.

NEW YORK – Two Indian Americans, Parmjit Singh, 44, and Parthey Patel, 30, were the victims of a shooting that happened at two different gas stations and convenience stores in Rome, Georgia, according to a myajc.com report.

Singh was pronounced dead at the scene while Patel is still in critical condition, according to myajc.com.

Police say that Lamar Rashad Nicholson, 28, walked into the Hi-Tech Quick Stop on Burnett Ferry Road on the night of Feb. 6 a little before 9 p.m. and walked “right up to the counter pulls a gun out of his right pocket, fires 3 rounds, and runs out, he’s in and out in under 12 seconds,” Floyd County Police Sgt. William Wacker told Fox News.

Police added that there was no robbery or altercation.

Ten minutes later, Nicholson got into his car, drove a mile and a half down the road and entered Elm Street Food and Beverage, another convenience store, stealing some money before shooting Patel, according to myajc.com.

“For whatever reason after he stuffed his pockets full of money he shot the clerk anyway,” Rome Police Lt. John Walters told Fox News.

According to Fox News, while Patel was being rushed to the hospital, police spotted Nicholson in his car less than two miles away, along with a pistol and some money on the seat.

According to myajc.com, Nicholson was arrested on multiple charges including murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm while committing a crime and use of a firearm by a convicted felon though he was not charged with robbery in Singh’s shooting; he is being held without bond in the Floyd County jail.

Nicholson, a convicted felon, was arrested just a few weeks ago for violently snatching up his 3-year-old daughter by the arm, according to a report from the Floyd County sheriff’s office. He faced charges of child cruelty, disorderly conduct and simple battery in connection with that incident.

Friends of Singh, who was also known as “Remi,” dropped off balloons and flowers in front of his store and prayed for his two children who are in high school.

“That’s the sad part, they’ve got to grow up the rest of their lives without a dad because someone wanted to take their anger out on him,” Michael Dykes, a friend, told Fox News.

Singh’s brother-in-law, Harry Singh, remembered him as a “personable man who was friendly with everyone he met.”

“Whenever we all sit down and have a family get-together, he’s always the center of attention. He’s the one who tells us stories and jokes,” Harry Singh told myajc.com.

Harry told myajc.com that his brother-in-law started out driving limousines in New York before moving to Michigan to get into the convenience store business.

“He moved to Georgia about five years ago to be closer to family and ended up owning two stores in Rome, one on Martha Berry Boulevard and another on Burnett Ferry Road, where he died. He and his wife of 20 years had just bought a house, one of his lifetime goals. He was a very hardworking man and worked 14 hours a day,” Harry told myajc.com.

Singh’s customers paid a tribute to him on Facebook, remembering his as “a kind and polite man who enjoyed joking with his customers.”

Florence McCain, one of Singh’s customers, told myajc.com that his family had just bought and renovated the Burnett Ferry store in September.

“They were just so nice, the whole family. I was kidding with him just a couple of weeks ago,” McCain said.

Daniela Comacho told myajc.com that she shopped at the Hi Tech Quick Stop specifically because of Singh’s kindness.

“I liked to go, not because it was close by but because of how nice of a person he was. He was always interested in knowing that everyone was having a good day,” Comacho said.

The post 1 Indian American dead, another critical, in Georgia shootings appeared first on News India Times.

NEW YORK – Shivam Patel, 28, an Indian American, pleaded guilty on Thursday, February 8, to two counts of making false statements to the FBI. He will now face up to 15 years in prison when sentenced June 4, according to the Virginian-Pilot.

In September of 2016, while conversing with an FBI informant, Patel expressed admiration for a U.S. Army officer who had shot and killed 13 soldiers on Fort Hood, Texas, according to court documents.

He then tried to join the U.S. Army and Air Force later that year and in the application process, he lied to military recruiters about a recent trip he had taken to Jordan in a failed attempt to make contact with the Islamic State and join a “real Muslim Army,” court documents further stated.

According to court documents, Patel was raised a Hindu. But after taking a trip to China in July 2016 to teach English, Patel converted to Islam as he was displeased with how China was treating Muslims.

His employer then arranged for Patel to fly back to Virginia on August 23, 2016. But instead Patel took a detour and decided to travel to Jordan in hopes of joining the Islamic State.

Even when FBI official searched through Patel’s computer last year, they found that he had researched how to join the Islamic State before he left for China, according to court documents.

According to court documents, Patel was captured while in Jordan and Jordanian officials had him deported on September 2, 2016, from where he flew to Chicago and then Detroit, the next day, where he met an FBI source and started talking about the Islamic State.

He explained to the FBI source that he had gone to Jordan in part to find like-minded Muslims because he wanted to do something “bigger, better, and more purposeful” such as dying in the cause of Allah, but was afraid of disappointing his parents, which he eventually did.

Patel also discussed his desire to see a holy war between Muslims and non-Muslims; he sang an Islamic State fight song as well and recalled making a replica of the Islamic State flag which he wanted to replace his neighbor’s American flag with, according to court documents.

According to court documents, Patel returned to his hometown, Williamsburg, Virginia on September 6, 2016 and moved into a motel that his parents owned.

He started applying for jobs with the military, as well as police and fire departments and correctional facilities and probation offices, while he still stayed in touch with the FBI source he had met.

According to court documents, he then texted the source Sept. 23, 2016, to express support for Maj. Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 soldiers in 2009 while serving at Fort Hood. He, however ended up misidentifying Hasan as Nidal Hussein, who happened to die as a martyr, when in fact he is alive and on military death row, along with claiming that the shooting happened at Fort Knox in Kentucky.

Court documents also say that in late 2016, Patel began stating that he did not actually support the Islamic State and that he simply expressed his support for a terrorist organization, which is not against the law, but failing to disclose his trips to Jordan when trying to join the Army and Air Force in December 2016 and January 2017 was a crime.

Court documents say that Patel even lied about his travel history, saying that his only time out of the country in the past seven years was a family trip to India in 2011 and 2012.

Patel was also warned before signing the Army application, that providing false information could result in criminal charges and when an army recruiter asked to see Patel’s passport to confirm his travel claims during his interview, Patel agreed to bring it at first and told the State Department two days later that he had accidentally thrown it away in October and needed a new one, according to court documents.

However, investigators did find Patel’s passport “near” the motel room where he was living, after his arrest in July 2017.

The post Shivam Patel of Virginia found guilty of lying to FBI about joining ISIS appeared first on News India Times.

NEW YORK – Mercury-nominated electronic music producer DJ Swami, who has been spreading the influence of British Indian music for the past 20 years, will join forces with Punjabi folk musicians Vijay Yamla, the grandson of celebrated Punjabi folk singer Yamla Jatt, along with Naresh Kukki, Dheera Singh and Gurtej Singh, to create an innovative musical and visual experience as they combine dynamic electronic beats with the raw energetic DNA of Punjab in a show called PunjabTronix at Flushing Town Hall, New York, on Saturday, March 10.

“We are delighted to be presenting PunjabTronix, a brand new, exciting contemporary music project where technology meets raw Punjabi folk music. This international collaboration between the exceptionally talented British and Indian artists is receiving global attention from audiences and promoters. I am looking forward to our US debut at Flushing Town Hall, and expect that audiences will have a great time enjoying this new music performance,” Jaswinder Singh, the Project Producer and Director of Asian Arts Agency, said in a press release.

Mixing live electronic dance music with Punjabi dhol drums, vocals, stringed instruments and the hypnotic sounding double flute algoza, the powerful distinct rhythms and traditional melodies of Punjab will interact creatively with live electronic drum machines, synthesizer, arpeggios and basslines.

There will be visual projections of original digital animations and cinematic Punjabi imagery, which is produced by filmmaker John Minton, a Bristol-based UK filmmaker who is known for his experimental, lo-fi, and hallucinatory style.

PunjabTronix is a new project produced and commissioned by Asian Arts Agency to respond to Reimagine India 2017, a cultural exchange program designed to develop creative collaborations between artists from England and India.

Being supported by Arts Council England and British Council, PunjabTronix is funded by Reimagine India and is a part of UK/India Year of Culture 2017 as well as the 70th anniversary celebrations of India’s Independence.

Tickets can be purchased at flushingtownhall.org

The post PunjabTronix to debut in New York, on March 10 appeared first on News India Times.

I

In a historic first, an Indian-American held the press podium at the White House Feb. 8, and will continue doing so temporarily to fill in for a senior colleague.

Raj Shah, 32, began his temporary stint at the press briefing Feb. 8, to fill the shoes of Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders who is away on a well-earned vacation. He was bombarded by questions on a senior White House advisor’s sudden exit. Shah faced the press in what is considered a grueling position, in the midst of a tumultuous few days at the White House when President Trump’s staff secretary, Rob Porter, resigned Feb. 7, after spousal abuse allegations surfaced.

But Shah was thrown a question by an Indian journalist, about the president’s thoughts concerning legal immigration as it affects Indian immigrants, and those applying for Green Cards through the normal route, and on lifting the country quotas for legal immigration

“The President wants to see legal immigration reforms. He wants to see us move from a process currently existing in law, of extended family chain migration toward merit-based legal immigration reform,” Shah said. ” We want to ensure that people coming in the country are the best and the brightest regardless of nationality, creed, religion or anything else in-between,” Shah added.

“We want to look at educational backgrounds, ability to contribute to the workforce in a way that helps American workers,” Shah said, adding, “The President wants reforms that improve America’s economy.”

The administration has consistently referred to family-reunification provisions in the U.S. Immigration Act, as “chain migration,” a term that some have said, gives a derogatory connotation to a clause that is held in high regard by Indian-Americans who have fought over decades to protect the right to bring in their immediate family members to this country.

The press briefing came on the heels of stories revealing Shah’s own scathing remarks about President Trump’s  candidacy in 2016 emails with colleagues. However, reporters preferred focusing on the latest scandal to hit the White House.

The New Yorker magazine in an article earlier this week, unearthed emails Shah sent while at the Republican National Committee, where he is known to have crafted the White Paper on how to defeat Hillary Clinton.

When President Trump’s “Access Hollywood” tape surfaced where he talked about being able to grope women because of his celebrity status, Shah, sent the following email to a colleague, as reported by New Yorker – “U wanna hear something a little f–ked up?” adding, “I’m kinda enjoying this, some justice. I honestly don’t think it’s the worst thing he’s done but he somehow got passes for the other acts.”

But Shah is not the first nor only staffer, neither is he the first Indian-American in the Trump administration, to have made negative comments about Trump during the Republican presidential primaries. These appear not to have influenced the president’s choice about hiring them.

The prime example is former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who is now the only Indian-American to hold a cabinet-level position in the Trump administration as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, opposed Trump strongly during the campaign.

Haley openly backed Florida Senator Marco Rubio and then Texas Senator Ted Cruz, before finally endorsing Trump as the presidential candidate. She also demanded Trump release his tax returns, castigating him for using strong divisive rhetoric, and also opposing his singling out of Muslims for an immigration ban.

In response Trump described her as “very weak ” on immigration, and tweeted, “The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!” on March 1, 2016.

The post Indian-American Raj Shah addresses immigration, other issues in historic White House briefing appeared first on News India Times.