vol 7 issue 43 feb 21-27, 2015
TRANSCRIPT
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Washington, DC: President
Obama’s early appointees Rajiv
Shah and Neel Kahskari or Aneesh
Chopra have left his administration
down the years, only to make way
for more Indian Americans getting
high profile positions.
President Obama, with the
largest number of Indian
Americans in his administration,
keeps dipping into the expanding
talent pool of the three million-
strong Indian American communi-
ty, to take care of issues ranging
from combating terrorist propagan-
da abroad to nation's health at
home.
New Year saw Dr Vivek Murthy
taking over as US Surgeon General
and Richard Verma posted to India
as US ambassador. Last week,
White House named Rashad
Hussain to head Strategic Counter-
Terrorism Communications and
Dhanurjay 'DJ' Patil as its first
chief data scientist. Now Ravi
Chaudhary has been appointed
Executive Director in Federal
Aviation Administration.
By Jinal Shah
New York: The long wait for many
H4 visa holders seeking
Employment Authorization
Document (EAD) cards to work legally in the US is finally coming
to an end.
USCIS Director León Rodríguez
announced earlier this week that
effective May 26, 2015
Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) will begin receiving appli-
cations from qualified spouses of
H1-B visa holders. “Allowing the
spouses of these visa holders to
legally work in the United States
makes perfect sense,” Rodríguez
said in a statement issued by DHS.“It helps US businesses keep their
highly skilled workers by increas-
ing the chances these workers will
choose to stay in this country dur-
ing the transition from temporary
workers to permanent residents. It
The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
excellence in journalism TRAVEL 18 SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
President Obama keeps tapping IndianAmericans for key positions
Vol.7 No. 43 Feb 28-March 6, 2015 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Detailed story on page 8.
New York: In a filing last Friday,
Sureshbhai Patel’s attorney Hank
Sherrod amended his earlier law-
suit to exclude “claims and parties”
that could cause a “loss of momen-
tum” in the case. As a result, the
lawsuit now focuses on a lone
police officer — Eric Parker, who
was arrested and charged with
assaulting 57-year-old Patel on Feb6 in Madison, Alabama, leaving
him partially paralyzed .
New York attorney Ravi Bat ra
sees a problem there. “The revised
lawsuit has abandoned a claim, as
Continued on page 4
Continued on page 4
Indian rail budget: Improved service but no fare hike
Interior of an air-conditioned Chair Car coach in a Jan Shatabdi Express.
Spouses of some
skilled H1B visaholders to get work permits
Sureshbhai assault case stands
weakened in Alabama
New Delhi: Sparing a passenger fare hike but raising
freight rates again, Minister Suresh Prabhu presented his
maiden budget for Indian Railways Thursday, with a slew
of measures to improve service quality, safety and reach
and a 52-percent jump in plan outlay for 2015-16 at
Rs.100,011 crore ($16.7 billion).
Raising some passenger train speeds by 50 percent onnine key routes, wi-fi in 400 stations, easier norms for
unreserved tickets, 17,000 bio-toilets in trains, better con-
nectivity in north-east and cameras for safety of women
travelers are some of the highlights of the budget. "There
will be no hike in passenger fares. We will focus on
Details on page 11. Continued on page 4
In 2013, The South Asian Times highlighted the plight of thespouses of H1B workers. The curse of being an H4 wife
is lifting for some of them.
OBAMACARE ACCEPTANCE 9 FESTIVAL 15
Consul General of India inAtlanta Ajit Kumar met Sureshbhai Patel at the hospital inAlabama, & assuredsupport to the
family. He also met Patel’sfamily members and hospitalofficials.
Detailed comment byRavi Batra on page 3.
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Feb 28-March 6, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info
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W a s h i n g t o n :
There's a new
superhero in town
and he doesn't
sport a cape, mask
or wear embar-
rassing tights. He
wears a turban and
he fights the
Taliban and is a
huge Elvis fan.
Deep Singh or
'Super Sikh' is the
br ai nc hi ld of
Oak l and -based
writer Eileen
Alden and Silicon
Valley executive,
Supreet Singh Manchada, CBS
reported.
The pair launched a Kickstarter
campaign early this year to "help
bring the first turban Sikh super
hero to life".
In just 27 hours they had
enough to produce the first issue.
By February, they exceeded
their original goal of $5,000, rais-
ing more than $22,000.
Aldon and Manchada have brought in award-winning illus-
trator Amit Tayal, whose work
has been published international-
ly. The Kickstarter money
ensures at least three issues of the
series.
There are than 28 million Sikhs
worldwide and about a half
million living in
the US.
According to
comicbookre l i -
gion.com, there
are already 20 tur-
ban-wearing Sikh
heroes and villains
in comic books.
The Kickstarter
campaign says
Deep Singh is a
"skillful, smart
and very well-
trained British
Special Air
Service agent".
That sounds a bit
like James Bond. But Deep
Singh's creators promise a new
kind of hero - "a modern hero in
a turban who loves Elvis and
hates bad guys" and "will uphold
his Sikh values even while he is
living in a modern world with all
of its complexities". It is hoped
that the comic will shed light on
this 15th-century religion, per-
haps one of the most misunder-
stood groups on the planet.Machanda said he was bullied
when he was a child, and that
was one of the reasons he co-cre-
ated this comic.
SuperSikh will be printed in
English. A digital version in
Punjabi, Spanish and Mandarin
will come later.
Sureshbhai Patel’s attorney
Hank Sherrod said as
reported by Hindustan
Times: As of now, “the lawsuit
deprives the defendants of any basis for filing motions to dismiss
and seeking a stay of discovery”.
Including too many parties and
claims, Sherrod maintained, “at
this point would likely cause a
loss of momentum in our pursuit
of justice for Mr. Patel."
Therein lies the problem: A
lawyer who doesn't want to fight
for his client to get a full measure
of justice is as bad as the warrior
who doesn't want to fight to win
on the battlefield.
Neither litigation nor war is for
the chicken-hearted. The revised
lawsuit has abandoned a claim, as
of right, for supervisory liability
of the Madison Police Department
for its policy and practice of
depriving Federal civil rights of its
citizens, to walk legally on the
sidewalk or do other lawful and
innocuous things that human
beings do.
A lawyer's job in every case is to
be their client's zealous advocate.
That fiduciary burden is enhanced
in cases that catches the imagina-
tion of the media and pulls on the
heartstrings of humanity across
the globe. In such a case, to wit-
ness a lawyer play out a character
in the Wizard of Oz, the fearful
lion, is quite depressing profes-
sionally, but worse, undermines
public respect for, and confidencein, the third branch of govern-
ment, the bench and bar, as it
falsely appears to be weak, impo-
tent and incapable to fashion a full
measure of merit-based justice -
because one lawyer was unwilling
to stand tall and fight hard for
their client. A true warrior, like a
true lawyer, seeks out, not run
away from, the most difficult bat-
tles, and is prepared to lose in
order to win that which is nearly
impossible to win.That is why what has occurred
to Sureshbhai on the sidewalk in
the city of Madison is not as bad
as what is happening, in slow
motion, to Sureshbhai in a court of
law where no compensation or
other equitable relief is sought for
sureshbhai's loss of his federal
civil rights by the apparent policy
and practice for such foul depriva-
tion.
He will be confined to the paltry
pa in an d su ffer in g of a me re
$100,000 imposed by Alabama for
state law violations. Alabama,
however, is unable to limit the
compensation for federal civil
rights violations. Suing only a
police officer, who is not a billion-
aire, means you collect nothing
from the police officer. However,
no bad person should assume that
every victim, Indian-American or
not, will be so weekly represented
in court, as we are all witnessing
right now.
3Feb 28-March 6, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Washington: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal
Thursday criticized President Obama for
failing to properly combat ISIS and said the
United States needs to “hunt down and kill”
members of the terror organization.
Jindal spoke about the emerging threat of the so-called Islamic State at the
Conservative Political Action Conference
held outside Washington, D.C. in Maryland.
“We don’t need a war on international
poverty, we need a war on the evil radical
Islamic terrorism,” said Jinaal, hping to
become the first Indian American President
of the US of A.
Jindal criticized President Obama for fail-
ing to deliver a comprehensive plan for
“degrading and destroying ISIS” and
ridiculed State Department spokeswoman
Marie Harf for saying the war against ISIS
can be won with more jobs.
“President Obama has disqualified himself
and has shown himself incapable of being
our commander in chief,” Jindal said.
Jindal also called on Congress to “give the
President the war he’s asked for” and remove
limitations to allow the country to fight back
against ISIS. “They need to … tell the politi-cal left we want our military leaders to do
whatever it takes, not to degrade, contain or
expel, but to hunt down and kill these radical
Islamic terrorists,” he said.
Jindal also said it’s important for Muslim
leaders around the world to publicly con-
demn the actions of the radical Islamic ter-
rorists.
“Islam has a problem,” Jindal said.
“Individual Muslim leaders and clerics need
to say specifically by name, ‘These barbar-
ians, these terrorists, they’re not martyrs
going to enjoy a reward in the afterlife.
These individuals are going to go straight to
hell exactly where they belong’.”
Jindal wants ISIS fighters to be ‘hunted down and killed’
First American Sikh superherowho fights the Taliban
Introductory issue of ‘Super Sikh’ developed by
a duo in California.
Sean Hannity of Fox News interviewing Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal during theConservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.
Comment by Attorney Ravi Batra
Sureshbhai's revised
weaker lawsuit's effect
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4 Feb 28-March 6, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TURN PAGE
Spouses of some skilled H1B...
Continued from page 1
also provides more economic stability and better quality of
life for the affected families.”
Eligible individuals include certain H-4 dependent spous-
es of H-1B non-immigrants who:
Are the principal beneficiaries of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker; or
Have been granted H-1B status under sections 106(a)and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first
Century Act of 2000 as amended by the 21st CenturyDepartment of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act.
The Act permits H-1B nonimmigrants seeking lawful per-
manent residence to work and remain in the United States
beyond the six-year limit on their H-1B status.
Rodríguez’s announcement ended months of speculation
as to how long the H4 visa holders have to wait to get the
EAD cards. Once the USCIS begins accepting the applica-
tions on May 26, the cards will be issued within 90 days, so
in all likelihood those who qualify will be able to get it by
August 26, 2015.
Under the rule, eligible H-4 dependent spouses must file
Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization)
with supporting evidence and the $380 fee in order to obtain
employment authorization and receive a Form I-766 (EAD).
Then he or she may begin working in the United States.
According to USCIS estimates, the number of individuals
eligible to apply for employment authorization under thisrule could be as high as 179,600 in the first year and 55,000
annually in subsequent years.
Sureshbhai assault case stands ...
Continued from page 1
of right, for supervisory liability of the Madison Police
Department for its policy and practice of depriving Federal
civil rights of its citizens, to walk legally on the sidewalk or
do other lawful and innocuous things that human beings
do.”
Batra goes on to contend that what has occurred to
Sureshbhai on the sidewalk in the city of Madison is not as
bad as what is happening, in slow motion, to Sureshbhai in
a court of law “where no compensation or other equitable
relief is sought for Sureshbhai's loss of his federal civil
rights by the apparent policy and practice for such foul dep-
rivation…. He will be confined to the paltry pain and suf-
fering of a mere $100,000 imposed by Alabama for state
law violations.”
Indian rail budget: Improved...
Continued from page 1
improving passenger amenities, including cleanliness,"
Railway Minister Prabhu said in a 66-minute speech in the
Lok Sabha, watched keenly by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi who had handpicked him for the job.
Business center for New Americans celebrates theexpansion of new Queens office
New York: In recognition of the
growing vibrant role of Queens as
a center for immigrant entrepre-
neurship and its significance to theeconomy of New York City, the
Business Center for New
Americans will be celebrating the
expansion of its new office in
Jackson Heights, Queens, with an
Open House on Friday, March 6th,
from 9:00 -10:30 AM.
Council Member Daniel Dromm,
Assembly Member Daniel
Dendekker, and Mirna Velasquez,
Director of Immigration Affairs for
the Office of Congressman
Crowley, and Eileen Auld, Citi’s
Community Development Director
for the Tri-State Area, will be inattendance, as well as other promi-
nent Queens community leaders,
funders, and business owners. Also
attending will be Queens-based
small business owners and entre-
preneurs that BCNA has suppor t-
ed.
Based in the Financial District in
downtown Manhattan, BCNA
opened the Jackson Heights office
in 2012. Since then, that office has
more than doubled in size, and has
served over 250 Queens-based
entrepreneurs and small business
owners.BCNA is an award-winning
Community Development
Financial Institution and Small
Business Administration
Microlender. It has disbursed over
$12.9 million in loans and assisted
over 5,000 NYC immigrant and
refugee entrepreneurs since 1998.
For more information: Meredith
Lee mlee@n ybcna.org 212 -898-
7815
Tipped workers in New York
to get a raiseNew York: The New York State said Tuesday that it will
hike the minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers to
$7.50 from $5 an hour on Dec.
31. In New York, workers earn
this minimum wage in addition
to any tips left by customers.
This is the first state-mandated
raise they've had since 2011.
They've been without a raise
"for far too long," wrote Acting
Labor Commissioner Mario
Musolino. He issued the policy
change after four months of
study and analysis by the state's
Hospitality Wage Board.
Minimum wage will also go up to $7.50 for tipped hotelworkers, who currently earn $4.90 an hour. Starting in
December, the minimum wage will be the same for all tipped
workers in New York no matter what industry they're in.
The federal tipped wage is $2.13, and is in place in 17
states. Some restaurant owners have said they will have to
change the way they do business, to reduce the number of
servers on the floor, said Melissa Fleischut, president of the
New York State Restaurant Association.
Broadcaster Gita Bajaj is no more
Gita Bajaj, one of the leading Indian broadcast
journalists in the US, died after a prolonged battle
with breast cancer on
Feb. 25 in New Jersey. She
was 56 and is survived by her
mother, brother, two sisters
and several nieces and
nephews. For the past
decade, Bajaj worked as a
press secretary for the New
Jersey State Legislative
Assembly Majority Office.
She grew up in Mumbai and
moved to the US to pursue
her post-graduation at the University of Georgia. She
interned for Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia and also
worked with CNN and other mainstream broadcast net-
works. She eventually moved to New York and landed a
job as an on air talent for Bombay Broadcasting Inc. In1987 her entrepreneurial spirit led her to start her own tel-
evision show “Eye On Asia” which focused on South
Asians living in the United States.
Her tenaciousness on behalf of the South Asian com-
munity and especially Indian-Americans made “Eye on
Asia” one of the most watched programs and a leading
voice for the growing Asian population in the tristate area
and nationwide.
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5Feb 28-March 6, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Ashok Ojha/SA Times New Jersey: Hosting a variety of
literary and academic activities,
Rutgers, United States’ eighth old-
est and New Jersey’s largest uni-
versity, seems eager to establishclose ties with the local Indian-
American community. New Jersey
is home of a large Indian popula-
tion concentrated in state’s Mid-
dlesex county where the universi-
ty’s main campus is located.
Last week the Students’ Center
of University’s Piscataway cam-
pus was the venue for lively poet-
ry recitals by Gauri Shankar Gup-
ta, High Commissioner of
Trinidad and Tobago. Reciting
well-known verses written by
Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh
Dinkar, Gupta took the audience
of mainly students into a realm of
classical Indian traditions of story
telling in verses as he described a
few scenes of Mahabharata,
wherein Kaurava prince Duryod-
han rejected the request of Lord
Krishna for kingdom sharing with
the Pandavas. Speaking on “Tradi-tion of Indian Poetry”, Gupta
demonstrated strong connection
between Hindi and Urdu lyricists,
including the poets of Sufi tradi-
tion. “Modern day’s Hindi poetry
carries the legacy of great tradi-tions of ancient scriptures written
in Sanskrit verses,” he pointed out.
“Poetry reflects the thoughts,
emotions and imaginations of the
composer.”
“Rutgers University’s South
Asian Studies Program, hosts an
ambitious program intended to in-
crease the profile of India at Rut-gers and to forge collaborations
with Indian educational and re-
search institutions, as well as busi-
ness, community and non-profit
organizations in the US,” said Dr.
Shaheen Parveen, Hindi lecturer
and coordinator of forthcoming
International Hindi Conference in
April. The conference will be a fo-
rum for scholars, educators and
community leaders to share ideas
on education and promotion of
Hindi in the United States.
The poetry session was organ-
ized by Asher Ghertner, Director
of South Asian Studies Program
(SASP) at Rutgers and supported
by African Middle Eastern and
South Asian languages and Litera-
tures (AMESALL). Rutgers Uni-
versity students, faculty members
and guests from community and
other academic and community
members attended the program.
SASP’s ongoing programs in-
cluded collaborations with busi-ness, community and non-profit
organizations in the US. Aimed at
increasing the profile of India at
Rutgers through the University-
wide India Initiative SASP reach-
es out to the Indian-American
community as a part of a new pro-
gram launched by the Centers for
Global Advancement and Interna-
tional Affairs (GAIA).
Rutgers is one of four U.S. insti-
tutions to have established the In-
dian Council for Cultural Rela-
tions Chair of Cotemporary Indian
Studies under a grant of approxi-
mately $250,000 from President
Barack Obama and former IndianPrime Minister Manmohan
Singh’s 21st Century Knowledge
Initiative.
New York: Srikanth
Jagabathula, an
assistant professor in
the Information,
Operations, &
M a n a g e m e n tSciences department
at the New York
University Stern
School of Business
was recently recog-
nized by the
Nati on al Sc ie nc e
Foundation (NSF)
with its Faculty
Early Career Development Award
(CAREER). As part of this award,
Jagabathula will receive a total of
$500,000 over the next five years to
further his research in developing
data-driven modeling and learning
techniques with the goal of improving
the accuracy of operational decision
making.“We are proud of professor
Jagabathula’s research and the recog-
nition it has received from the
National Science Foundation,” Peter
Henry, dean of NYU Stern was quoted
saying in a university press release.
Jagabathula’s research is expected to
lead to easy-to-use
techniques for a
wide range of mana-
gerial decisions: the
right products to
design, the right products and prices
to offer to cus-
tomers, and the right
quantity of each
product to carry.
T r a d i t i o n a l
approaches have
focused either on
selecting an appro-
priate model and fitting it to the data
or on efficiently solving a decision
problem when given the model, leav-
ing the model selection itself to an
expert. Neither approach scales to cur-
rent retail applications, which are
characterized by diverse demand pat-
terns, products, and types of data.
Jagabathula’s research will instead blend techniques from machine learn-
ing, statistics, and operations to design
an approach that starts with a type of
data (purchase transactions, click-
streams, marketing studies, choice of
insurance policies, etc.) and ends with
an operational decision.
New York: Involvement
in cyberbullying increas-
es risk of depression in
female college students -
for both bullies and vic-tims, says a study led by
an Indian-origin
researcher.
What is worse is that
the bullies are also likely
to report problem alcohol
use, the researchers
noted.
"Participants with any
involvement in cyberbul-
lying had increased odds
of depression and those
involved in cyberbully-
ing as bullies had
increased odds of both
depression and problem alcohol
use," said Rajitha Kota from the
University of Wisconsin Schoolof Medicine.
Cyberbullying and its effects
have been studied largely in mid-
dle and high school students, but
less is known about cyberbully-
ing in college students.
This cross-sectional study
investigated the relationship
between involvemen t in cyber-
bullying and depression or prob-
lem alcohol use among collegefemales.
For the study, two hundred and
sixty-five female students from
four colleges completed online
surveys assessing involvement in
cyberbullying behaviours.
Participants also completed the
Patient Health Questionnaire-9
(PHQ-9) to assess
depressive symptoms
and the Alcohol Use
Disorder Identification
Test (AUDIT) to assess problem drinking.
The researchers found
that more than one in
four females experi-
enced cyberbullying in
college, increasing their
risk for depression.
Among the partici-
pant s who had expe ri-
enced cyberbullying, the
most common behav-
iours reported were
hacking into another
pe rs on 's acco un t,
receiving unwanted
sexual advances, being harassed
by text message, and posting of
degrading comments.Those who had experienced
unwanted sexual advances online
or via text message had six-fold
increase in odds of depression,
the findings showed.
The study appeared in the jour-
nal Cyberpsychology, Behavior,
and Social Networking.
Gauri Shankar Gupta, High Commissioner, Trinidad & Tobago
Rajitha Kota
Srikanth Jagabathula
NYU professor receives NationalScience Foundation award
Indian origin researcher: Cyberbullying putsfemale students at depression risk
Rutgers University holds Hindi sessions, displays love for India
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6 Feb 28-March 6, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Washington, D.C. : The National Academy
of Engineering (NAE) has named 10 Indian
Americans among the 67 new elected mem-
bers announced Feb. 5 by NAE president
C.D. Mote, Jr., who noted that election to the
NAE is among the highest professional dis-tinctions accorded to an engineer.
Academy membership honors those who
have made outstanding contributions to "en-
gineering research, practice, or education, in-
cluding, where appropriate, significant con-
tributions to the engineering literature," and
to the "pioneering of new and developing
fields of technology, making major advance-
ments in traditional fields of engineering, or
developing/implementing innovative ap-
proaches to engineering education."
The Indian Americans, and their specific
contributions, include:
Hari Balakrishnan, professor of comput-er science, Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology, Cambridge, for contributions to wired
and wireless networks and distributed sys-
tems.
Sangeeta Bhatia, investigator, HowardHughes Medical Institute; John J. and
Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences
and Technology and Electrical Engineeringand Computer Science, Massachusetts Insti-
tute of Technology; and director, Laboratory
for Multiscale Regenerative Technologies,
Cambridge, Mass., for tissue engineering and
tissue regeneration technologies, stem cell dif-
ferentiation, and preclinical drug evaluation.
Anantha Chandrakasan, Joseph F. and Nancy P. Keithley Professor of Electrical En-
gineering and head, department of electrical
engineering and computer science, Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
for development of low-power circuit and
system design methods.
Santosh K. Das, retired vice president,Polymer Technologies Inc., Randolph, N.J.,
for understanding of the composition, struc-
ture, property, and processing interrelation-
ships of rapidly solidified amorphous and mi-
crocrystalline alloys.
Deepakraj M. Divan, president, chief technical officer, and co-founder, Varentec
Inc., San Jose, Calif., for design and commer-cialization of advanced power conversion
technologies for improved quality and con-
trollability of the power grid.
Supratik Guha, director of physical sci-ences, Thomas J. Watson Research Center,
IBM Corp., Yorktown Heights, N.Y., for con-
tributions to field effect transistor technology
that allow continued scaling of silicon micro-
electronics.
Samir Mitragotri, director, Center for Bioengineering, and professor of chemical
engineering, University of California, Sana
Barbara, for development, clinical translation,
and commercialization of transdermal drug
delivery systems.
Guruswami Ravichandran, John E.
Goode Jr. Professor of Aerospace, professor
of mechanical engineering, and director,
Graduate Aerospace Laboratories, California
Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for contri-
butions to mechanics of dynamic deforma-
tion, damage, and failure of engineering ma-terials.
Junuthula N. Reddy, distinguished pro-fessor, Regents’ Professor, and inaugural
holder of the Oscar S. Wyatt Jr. Endowed
Chair in Mechanical Engineering, Texas
A&M University, College Station, for contri-
butions to composite s tructures and to engi-
neering education and practice.
Ajit P. Yoganathan, Regents’ Professor,Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty
Chair in Biomedical Engineering, and direc-
tor, Center for Innovative Cardiovascular
Technologies, Georgia Institute of Technolo-
gy, Atlanta, for improvements in the biome-
chanics of prosthetic heart valves and the de-
velopment of heart repair devices.
10 Indian Americans elected to National Academy of Engineering
New York: An 18-year-old student from In-
dia has been arrested on charges of rape af-
ter he was accused of entering the room of
another student and sexually assaulting her.
Abhay Pant, who hails from New Delhi, is a
student at The State University of New York
in Oswego.
According to campus newspaper The Os-
wegonian, Pant was arrested for first-degree
rape last week by the university police. Ac-
cording to a statement from Julie Blissert,
the director of public affairs, Pant allegedly
entered the room of another resident and
sexually assaulted her in the early morning
hours.
Pant was arraigned in Oswego town court
and remanded to Oswego county correction-
al facilities on $50,000 cash bail or
$100,000 bond and is scheduled to reappear
in court later. According to the 2014-2015
Oswego state student handbook, students
accused of criminal violations, including
sexual assaults, are subject to disciplinary
action by the varsity.
Chicago: A Chicago based Indian-American
physician whose medical license was sus-
pended has been sentenced to 18 months in
prison for health care fraud and illegally pre-
scribing controlled substance medications.
Sathish Narayanappa Babu, who owned
Anik Life Sciences Medical Corp., pleaded
guilty in September 2014 to illegally pre-
scribing oxycodone and other controlledsubstances, and fraudulently billing
Medicare about $500,000.
Babu, 48, who operated the home-visiting
physician's office, in Darien and, previously,
in Arlington Heights also fraudulently col-
lected about $216,000 for services he did not
provide, according to a Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation release.
US District Court Judge John J. Tharp also
imposed a term of three years of supervised
release and a restitution amount of $221,012.
Babu agreed to forfeit about $126,000,
which was seized at the time of his arrest,
and will be credited towards the restitution
ordered.
Also forfeited were three automobiles - a
2013 BMW, a 2001 BMW, and a 2010Lexus. Babu was ordered to begin serving
his sentence May 13, 2015.
"This crime wasn't an isolated act, it was a
calculated, systematic effort to milk
Medicare," commented Judge Tharp.
"The defendant was stealing money from
those in need... putting many in need at risk."
Babu admitted that he engaged in a scheme
to defraud Medicare from November 2011
through February 2014.
In addition, Babu admitted that between
November 2012 and December 2013, he is-
sued multiple prescriptions for controlled
substances to a patient, who was actually an
undercover agent, despite never having seen
or examined the patient.
Babu also permitted unlicensed personnel
associated with Anik Life Sciences to issue
prescriptions to the patient.
During the same period, Babu submittedfalse claims to Medicare for services provid-
ed to the patient that were not rendered by
Babu or another licensed medical profes-
sional.
Indian student held in NY on rape charges
Westbury, NY: Domestic
Harmony Foundation (DHF)
is a one of a kind community
based not-for-profit organiza-
tion in Long Island, working
to empower victims of do-
mestic violence through sup-
port services such as advoca-
cy, counseling, legal consul-
tations, support groups, crisis
intervention, financial assis-tance and leadership develop-
ment initiatives.
On International Women’s
Day, March 8th, DHF will be
screening Dukhtar at Jeanne
Rimsky Theater, 232 Main Street, Port Wash-
ington, NY. Film will start at 5:30 pm fol-
lowed by a Q & A session with the director of
the film, Afia Nathaniel. Dukhtar is based on
a true story, and has won ‘Best Director’ and
‘Best Feature’ awards at 2014 South Asian
International Film Festival. This film sheds
light and raises awareness about a very sen-
sitive topic that some communities have been
struggling for a long time. Forced marriage
occurs when their family or other persons in
authority, to marry, without any regard for
their consent, coerce a man or woman. A
forced marriage may involve many forms of
oppression and abuse such as threats, emo-
tional blackmail, fraud, and even bribes.
For more information about Domestic Har-
mony Foundation (DHF) and the film screen-
ing or to get involved in helping; visit
www.dhfny.org or call (516) 385-8292.
DHF to screen ‘Dukhtar’ – a film onforced marriages on March 8th
Sathish Narayanappa Babu,who owned Anik Life SciencesMedical Corp., pleaded guiltyin September 2014 to illegallyprescribing oxycodone andother controlled substances,
and fraudulently billingMedicare about $500,000.
Chicago physician jailed forhealth care fraud
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7Feb 28-March 6, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
New York: Purnendu
Dasgupta, a Jenkins Garrett
professor of chemistry at The
University of Texas at
Arlington, has been awarded
the 2015 American Chemical
Society Division of
Analytical Chemistry J.
Calvin Giddings Award for
Excellence in Education.
The national award recog-
nizes a scientist, who has
enhanced the professional
development of analytical
chemistry students, devel-
oped and published innova-
tive experiments, designed
and improved equipment or teaching labs and
published influential textbooks or significant arti-
cles on teaching analytical chemistry.
"I am especially honored by this award. I have been recognized for some research accomplish-
ments or other in the past but this one recognizes
for the first time my commitment to and love for
teaching and that is why it is so gratifying,"
Dasgupta said.
"I am a third generation university teacher. So,
much of this honor I can credit to my father and
grandfather, I am merely carrying on that tradi-
tion," he added.
As the recipient of the
award, Dasgupta will receive a
plaque and cash prize. He will
also attend the ACS national
conference in August in
Boston, where he will address
and participate in an awards
symposium on education in
analytical chemistry.
UT Arlington President
Vistasp M. Karbhari said
Dasgupta's newest honour
demonstrates the high quality
of university faculty as
exceptional models for
advanced research and educa-
tional excellence. "Dr. Dasgupta is remarkably
accomplished, and his work in analytical chem-
istry addresses some of the most critical issues in
our world," President Karbhari said.Dasgupta's research area includes methods for
environmentally-friendly analysis of arsenic in
drinking water, rapid analysis of trace heavy met-
als in the atmosphere, iodine nutrition in women
and infants and the role of the chemical perchlo-
rate, and the development of a NASA-funded ion
chromatograph for testing extraterrestrial soil,
such as on a trip to Mars.
Washington, DC: IndianAmerican middle schooler
Vanya Shivashankar has won
the Lifetime channel’s com-
petition series Child Genius.
The 13-year-old from
Olathe, Kansas, claimed
$100,000 grand prize, which
will go toward her college
scholarship.
Yeji (11) of Rolling Hills
Estates, California, came
second and won a $10,000
scholarship. Ten-year-old
Graham Curtsinger, of Verdigris,
Oklahoma, finished third, winning
a $5,000 scholarship.
In the second and final round,
each contestant had to answer a
staggering 50 questions in only 10
minutes. Shivashankar scored an
impressive 30 out of 50. Yeji, the
second-place winner, scored 24
out of 50. Curtsinger scored 18 in
the final round.
Shivashankar was the winner of
the seventh episode as well, the
first time she won first place since
the show began. Daughter of
Indian American couple Sandy
and Mirle Shivashankar, both IT
pr of es si on al s, she is al so an
speller, having been to the finals
of the Scripps National Spelling
Bee three times. Her other
Interests include acting, singing,
piano , bike ridin g, swi mmi ng,
brain games and playing with her
dog, according to the show’s
website.
Washington, DC: The White
House has named Dhanurjay 'DJ'
Patil as its first chief data scientist
to help shape policies and practices
to help the US remain a leader intechnology and innovation.
In a memo to the American peo-
ple Thursday, Patil, 45, noted that
"the Obama administration has
embraced the use of data to improve
the operation of the US government
and the interactions that people
have with it."
Patil said his role "will be to
responsibly source, process, and
leverage data in a timely fashion to
enable transparency, provide securi-
ty, and foster innovation for the
benefit of the American public, in
order to maximize the nation's
return on its investment in data."
Patil said he planned to focus onfour activities: Providing vision on
how to provide maximum social
return on federal data; Creating
nationwide data policies that enable
shared services and forward-leaning
prac tices to advance our nation's
leadership in the data age; Working
with agencies to establish best prac-
tices for data management and
ensure long-term sustainability of
databases; Recruiting and retaining
the best minds in data science for
public service to address these data
science objectives and act as con-
duits among the government, acade-
mia, and industry. President Barack
Obama "has prioritized bringing top
technical talent like DJ into the fed-eral government to harness the
power of technology and innovation
to help government better serve the
American people," said chief tech-
nology officer Megan Smith.
"DJ joins the White House fol-
lowing an incredible career as a
data scientist - a term he helped
coin - in the public and private sec-
tors, and in academia," she said.
Most recently, Patil served as the
Vice President of Product at
RelateIQ, which was acquired bySalesforce.
He also previously held positions
at LinkedIn, Greylock Partners,
Skype, PayPal, and eBay.
Prior to his work in the private
sector, Patil worked at the
Department of Defence, where he
directed new efforts to bridge com-
puta tion al and soci al scie nces in
fields like social network analysis to
help anticipate emerging threats to
the United States.
As a doctoral student and faculty
member at the University of
Maryland, DJ used open data sets
published by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) to make major improve-
ments in numerical weather fore-
casting. He holds a bachelor's
degree in mathematics from the
University of California, San
Diego, and a PhD in applied mathe-
matics from the University of
Maryland College Park.
Washington, DC: An
Indian American has been
appointed to a key position
in the Federal AviationAdministration (FAA). Ravi
Chaudhary has been made in
charge of oversight and exe-
cution of aviation operations
in nine different regions. A
former Air Force officer,
Chaudhary in his capacity as
Executive Director for Regions and
Center Operations at FAA is also respon-
sible for executing a $288 million oper-
ating budget and leads over 2,100
Federal Employees in nine nationwide
regions. As second in command to the
Deputy Assistant Administrator for ARC,
he is also responsible for providing
Department of Transportation and FAA-
wide services in the areas of operations,safety, policy, corporate and congres-
sional outreach, emergency readiness,
facilities management, besides central-
ized support for the National Aerospace
System, a media release said.
Earlier, Chaudhary completed 21 years
of service at the Air Force District of
Washington, Andrews Air Force Base.
He is a C-17 Pilot and has
completed a variety of com-
mand, operational, engineer-
ing, and senior staff assign-ments in the Air Force. He
has also served at the
Pentagon as a Speechwriter
and Strategic Planner in the
Secretary of the Air Force
Executive Action Group and
Deputy Chief of Staff for
Air Force Strategic Plans and
Programs.On May 6, 2014, Chaudhary
was appointed by US President Barack
Obama as a member of the President’s
Advisory Commission on Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders. In this
role, he advises the President on execu-
tive branch efforts to improve economic
and community development, public and
private sector collaboration, health, edu-cation and veterans support for the AAPI
community. Chaudhary holds a BS in
Aeronautical Engineering from the Air
Force Academy, MA in Operational Arts
and Science from Air University, and an
MS in Industrial Engineering from St
Mary’s University as a NASA graduate
fellow.
UT Arlington Prof Purnendu Dasgupta
Vanya celebrates with her friends at the watch party of the final episodeof the show in Olathe. (Photo: The
Kansas City Star)
Dhanurjay 'DJ' Patil (Photo: fastcompany.com)
Ravi Chaudhary appointed Exe Directorin Federal Aviation Administration
Prof Dasgupta conferredtop chemistry award
Dhanurjay 'DJ' Patil named as first US chief data scientistVanya Shivashankar winsLifetime’s ‘Child Genius’
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8 Feb 28-March 6, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Washington, DC: President Barack
Obama, with the largest number of
Indian Americans in his administra-
tion, keeps dipping into the expand-
ing talent pool of the three million-
strong Indian American community,to take care of issues ranging from
combating terrorist propaganda
abroad to nation's health at home.
Last week, after an international
conference on terrorism, Obama
named Rashad Hussain, a Muslim of
Indian heritage, as US Special Envoy
and Coordinator for Strategic Count-
er-Terrorism Communications. Son
of immigrant parents from India,
Hussain had since 2010 served as US
Special Envoy to the 57-member Or-
ganisation for Islamic Cooperation
(OIC), to build partnerships with
Muslim communities around the
world.
Also last week, the White House
named Dhanurjay 'DJ' Patil as its first
chief data scientist to help shape poli-
cies and practices to help the US re-
main a leader in technology and in-
novation.
Rajiv Shah, another son of immi-
grant Indian parents, Friday left the
US Agency for International Devel-
opment (USAID) after five years at
the helm of the agency engaged in a
mission of ending extreme poverty
and promoting resilient, democratic
societies.
At a little over three million, Amer-
icans of Indian ancestry make up
about one percent of the US popula-
tion, the country's third largest Asian
ancestry group after Chinese Ameri-
cans and Filipino Americans. But
they are America's best educated and
the richest lot gaining prominence in
every field from academia to scienceand technology.
They run various businesses, own
about 80,000 convenience stores and
manage over 20,000 motels -- or Po-
tels as they have come to be known
as most of these are run by the Patel
community from Gujarat.
Over 100,000 physicians of Indian
origin take care of the nation's health.
Many head America's top education-
al institutions, including the presti-
gious Harvard Business School. Now
they are gaining a foothold in gov-
ernment and politics too.
With over a score direct Obama ap-
pointees in high places, two gover-
nors, a House member, a state attor-
ney general and eight state legisla-
tors, Indian Americans have over the
years gained power and influence far
beyond their numbers. And their
power keeps growing.
Among the recent Obama nomi-
nees was Arun Majumdar, an Indian
Institute of Technology (Bombay)
alumnus who began serving as one of
four US science envoys Last month.
Earlier in December, Vivek Murthy
created history as the youngest US
Surgeon General and the first of In-
dian descent after cooling his heels
for more than a year for Senate con-
firmation as 'America's doctor' in the
face of strong opposition by the pow-
erful gun lobby.
But unlike Murthy, Richard Rahul
Verma sailed through the Senate to
take up his position as Washington's
first Indian American envoy in NewDelhi ahead of Obama's historic vis-
it to become the first US president to
be the guest of honor at India's Re-
public Day.
With Verma in New Delhi and
Nisha Desai Biswal heading the State
Department's South Asia bureau, In-
dian Americans are now watching
US interests in both capitals.
Biswal is assisted by Atul Keshap,
another Indian American, while
Puneet Talwar as assistant secretary
for political-military affairs serves as
a bridge between the State and De-
fence departments. And Arun Mad-
havan Kumar as assistant secretary
of commerce and director general of
the US and Foreign Commercial
Service is charged with boosting US
trade.
Amid growing protests over the
treatment of blacks, Obama chose
Vanita Gupta to lead the US justice
department's civil rights division
charged with enforcing laws that pre-
vent discrimination.
Another Indian American Anita M.
Singh was picked up for a key job in
the Justice Department's National
Security Division (NSD) to counter
state-sponsored economic espionage
and proliferation, including through
cyberspace. Indira Talwani and Man-
ish Shah became the first Asian
American federal judges in Massa-
chusetts and Obama's home state of
Illinois, respectively.
To clean up the Wall Street, Obama
picked up Preet Bharara as NewYork's US attorney. Known in India
for his dogged prosecution of Indian
diplomat Devyani Khobragade,
Bharara tasted his first defeat in July
after winning 85 insider trading cas-
es.
Earlier in his first term, Obama
chose Aneesh Paul Chopra as Amer-
ica's first chief technology officer
and Vivek Kundra as the first US
chief information officer.
Rohit "Ro" Khanna served as
deputy assistant secretary in the US
Commerce department before mak-ing an unsuccessful bid for the US
House seat last November.
And Neel Tushar Kashkari, who
made a failed run for California gov-
ernor in November, earned the nick-
name of "700 billion-dollar man" for
leading the federal bank bailout plan
from October 2008 to May 2009.
Washington, DC: Researchers in
the US, led by an India-born physi-
cian scientist, have said they have
developed a new blood test that has
the potential to detect cancers in their
earliest stages.
In a proof-of-principle study, re-
searchers from Stanford University,
with Sanjiv Gambhir as the lead au-
thor, administered a drug called
DNA minicircles to mice and found
mice with tumors produced a sub-
stance that tumor-free mice did not
make and was easily detected 48
hours later in the blood.The technique "represents an alter-
native paradigm for improved cancer
detection", said the paper published
in the US journal Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences Mon-
day. "If proven safe and effective, (it)
eventually may have potential as a
powerful cancer-screening tool for
the general population," Xinhuanews agency quoted the paper as
stating. The hunt for cancer "bio-
markers" in the blood, or substances
that indicate a probable tumor, is
nothing new, but various tumor types
naturally secrete characteristic sub-
stances with each requiring its own
separate test, said Gambhir, chair of
radiology and director of the Canary
Center at Stanford for Cancer Early
Detection.
Complicating matters, these sub-
stances are also quite often made in
healthy tissues, so a positive test re-
sult did not absolutely mean a person
actually has cancer. In addition, a tu-
mor, especially a small one, simply
may not secrete enough of the trade-
mark substance to be detectable.
Gambhir's team found a way to
force any of numerous tumor types
to produce a biomarker whose pres-
ence in the blood of mice unambigu-ously signifies cancer, because none
of the rodents' tissues would normal-
ly be making it.
"This biomarker is a protein called
secreted embryonic alkaline phos-
phatase (SEAP)," they said in a state-
ment. "SEAP is naturally produced
in human embryos as they form and
develop, but it's not present in
adults." To trick mice's cancer cells
into making SEAP and squirting it
into the bloodstream, Gambhir and
his colleagues used a DNA minicir-
cle, which is a tiny, artificial, single-
stranded DNA ring about 4,000 nu-
cleotides in circumference, or rough-
ly one-millionth as long as the DNA
strand that would result from stretch-
ing all 23 chromosomes of the hu-
man genome end to end.
They engineered the DNA minicir-
cle so that it can be activated by a
particular promoter, a short DNA se-quence that only works in cancer
cells. When activated, a reporter
gene on the minicircle will produce
the protein called SEAP, which can
be detected in the bloodstream.
Then the researchers injected the
minicircles intravenously into mice
bearing human melanoma metas-
tases and tumor-free mice and meas-
ured SEAP levels in the animals'
blood one, three, seven, 11 and 14
days later.
Within 48 hours, SEAP was pres-
ent in the blood of mice with tumors,
but not in that of the tumor-free ani-
mals. That signal began declining in
strength as early as 72 hours post-in-
jection, fading to insignificance
within the next two weeks or so.
"Its maximum strength varied with
the total tumor volume in a mouse's
lungs, suggesting that the test may be
sensitive not only to the presence of cancer but also to its extent," they
said. Although the minicircles were
injected intravenously to the mice in
this study, it should eventually prove
possible to deliver them orally via a
pill, Gambhir, born in Ambala, India,
and a recipient of numerous awards
and honors, said.
Sanjiv Gambhir, chair of radi- ology and director of the
Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection
India-born scientist's team develops blood test for early cancer detection
Obama taps Indian Americans to fix things at home and abroad
Some from a host of America'sdesi power players:
Dr. Vivek Hallegere Murthy, US Surgeon General
Arun Madhavan Kumar, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for
Global Markets and Director General of the US and Foreign Com-mercial Service
Atul Keshap, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Vinai Thummalapally, Executive Director, SelectUSA, Interna-
tional Trade Administration, US Department of Commerce (former-
ly US ambassador to Belize, first Indian American ambassador in US
history)
Sri Srinivasan, Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the district
of Columbia Circuit
Sunil Sabharwal, nominee Alternate Executive Director of the In-
ternational Monetary Fund
Indira Talwani, federal judge, Massachusetts
Manish Shah, federal judge, Illinois
Deven J. Parekh, Member Board of Directors, Overseas Private
Investment Corporation
Gargee Ghosh, Member, President's Global Development Council
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9Feb 28-March 6, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
By Jinal Shah
New York : Last week it was announced that
about 11.4 million people signed up for health
coverage during Obamacare’s second enroll-
ment period, exceeding its modest enrollment
goal with a final-day rush.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly
known as Obamacare, was passed by
Congress despite stiff opposition by
Republicans, and signed into law by
President Obama in 2010. Under the ACA,
states can set up a health insurance exchange,
or marketplace, where people can shop and
compare plans. People with existing health
conditions can no longer be denied health care
coverage. All of the insurance plans in the
exchange had to fulfill certain requirements.
The US Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) recognized the coverage gap
among ethnic minorities. According to a
March 2014 press statement issued by HHS,
eight in every 10 Asian Americans are eligible
for health care under Obamacare.
Although the final tally will come only
after the end of tax season, as that will give
extra time to last minute shoppers - an overall
response from South Asian organizations that
worked tirelessly to enroll mostly document-ed immigrants was a positive one.
This year in selling Obamacare to those
uninsured in the community, many of whom
were unsure about how to apply for and use
Obamacare, ethnic organizations had to
change their strategies. “Last year since it
was the first round, people were easy to reach
with mass media campaigns detailing benefits
of ACA. However, this year in addition to the
media campaign – which seemed less effec-
tive -- we initiated a huge grassroots move-
ment involving community leaders, small
busines s leaders and gave talking points to
religious leaders like Imams, priests and other
religious gurus and it paid off as people paid
attention to them, someone they know and
can trust,” said Ranjana Paintal, ProgramManager, Asian Health Coalition (AHC).
The Coalition teamed up with the
Compassionate Care Network, Hamdard
Health and Human Services, and
Metropolitan Asian Family Services trained
bilingual Arabic, Hindi, Gujarati and Urdu-
speaking navigators to conduct education,
outreach and enrollment activities targeting
Muslim immigrant populations from Asia, the
Middle East and Africa in Chicago area.
A 40-year-old cab driver, Jagan Niroula,
from downtown Chicago, was one of the ben-
eficiaries of the awareness program. “Last
year I heard about Obamacare but was not
quite sure what it did. This year, however, the
Chicagoland Nepali Friendship Society along
with AHC organized a seminar and I learnt
about Obamacare and its benefits. They
helped me shop around and I picked a health
insurance plan for me and my wife and four
year old daughter based on my income. I
enrolled with $107 premium and am paying
additional $10 because I am a smoker.” It was
the first time Nirula and her family were
insured in the US.
But not all came forward readily to sign up
like Niroula. Paintal pointed out, “As we went
deeper into the community we realized that
they needed to be educated about Obamacare.
We made over 100 presentations and reached
over 6,000 people since the start of enroll-
ment. Even though it was the second year,
people needed more details."
Confusing media reports also scared off
prospec tiv e healt h insur anc e consu mer s.
News reports on how expensive ACA could be or ACA could be suspended (GOP is still
pushing against it) could shake a client’s con-
fidence in the federally designed program.
“Some of the propaganda against Obamacare
in the media has led to some unnecessary con-
cerns about the program,” said Manjusha
Kulkarni, executive director of South Asian
Network.
But Sudha Acharya, executive director of
South Asian Council of Social Service, an
organization actively working in the New
York region, said the response was better than
last year, “Based on the feedback we got from
our navigators, there is a positive response in
the community second time in a row. People
were more accepting, made appointments and
came with all the required documents.”
And the experts monitoring the program
attribute the relative acceptance of
Obamacare by Asian Americans to their
familiarity with using government services
and the strategic outreach by ethnic communi-
ty groups and organizations.
Henry Liem, a philosophy professor at San
Jose City College, told the Contra Costa
Times that “Asians in America have learned
to embrace government programs that they
view as nondiscriminatory, low-cost and reli-
able. The younger generation of Asians -- who
tend to be well-educated, Americanized and
connected online -- "are encouraging and
pressuring other family members to enroll."
Paintal and her team of navigators focused
on these second generation English speakers
to communicate message to their familymembers, especially those who may be reluc-
tant to come forward due to mixed immigra-
tion status.
A lot of South Asian immigrants are either
self-employed or working in small businesses
that are not likely to offer health benefits.
Many of them work in cash based industries
for low pay. These immigrants are reluctant to
buy insurance because it is expensive and do
not see the appeal of the health care law.
“Now that the onus is on the individual to
apply and enroll, many decide, for various
reasons, to not enroll for the insurance and be
ready to pay penalty. Many do the cost benefit
analysis in terms of money spent on premi-
ums as compared to penalty they have to pay.
Many make the cost benefit analysis in terms
of their health. We have had people come to
us and say ‘I am not going to get sick tomor-
row or meet with an accident, why should I
buy insurance’,” said Kulkarni.
“If I fall sick, I’ll just go to the pharmacy
and get over-the-counter medication,” said
30-year-old Sejal Shah who works in a salon
in New York. When asked what would happen
if she were to fall gravely ill, she said I am
generally healthy and I don’t see a need to
apply for health insurance at my age.”
And those who have already bought insur-
ance are worried about the monthly cost. “It is
a great scheme but plans are expensive for us.
It may not seem to be a big amount but every
month keeping aside a certain amount is a big
deal especially with meager wages. I will
reevaluate my plan next year,” said Niroula.
Faith-based approach pushed droves of South Asiansto sign up for Obamacare
Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385
718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.Com
As the second enrollment period to get insurance under the Affordable Care Actcame to end last week, a report on the response of the community and changed
strategies by ethnic organizations in health and social services to get the job done.
From anevent
organizedby Chicago
basedAsianHealth
Coalition.
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8/9/2019 Vol 7 Issue 43 Feb 21-27, 2015
10/32
10 Feb 28-March 6, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info US AFFAIRS
Washington: Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell has
essentially thrown in the towel by
saying he's ready to consider a
"clean" DHS (Department of
Homeland Security) bill -- that is,without the riders rolling back
President Obama's executive
actions. But Senate Minority
Leader Harry Reid is trying to
make things difficult for
Republicans, explaining that
before they support the clean DHS
bill, House Speaker John Boehner
must promise this same vote on
the House floor.
Meanwhile, House Republicans
are divided on how to proceed. Do
they want to put legislation on the
floor that would certainly pass and
save the agency from a shutdown,
but would surely be car ried by
Democrats and likely fall well
short of the so-called 'Hastert
Rule,' where the majority of the
majority party secures a bill's suc-
cess? Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.,
said he thinks Boehner could not
survive such a move politically…
On the flip side, some House
Republicans are questioning if the
Republican Party as a whole could
weather the political storm of
opposing a "clean" DHS spending
bill. “I don't see how it's helpful
for us to risk a shutdown of the
Department of Homeland
Security,” said Rep. Tom Cole of
Oklahoma."
On his part, President Obama
held an immigration-themed town
hall Wednesday in Miami to exact
a political price from Republicans
for their opposition to his immi-
gration policy and to consolidate
gains he has made with Hispanics
since announcing executive
actions to shield millions of unau-
thorized immigrants from
deportation.
Stephenville, Texas: Eddie Ray
Routh was sentenced to life in
prison withou t the possib ility of
parole on Tuesday after a Texas
jury found him guilty of murdering
Chris Kyle, the former U.S. NavySEAL whose autobiography was
turned into the hit movie
"American Sniper."
Routh, 27, a former U.S. Marine,
was found guilty of shooting Kyle
and Kyle's friend, Chad Littlefield,
multiple times at a gun range about
70 miles (110 km) southwest of
Fort Worth in February 2013.
Prosecutors said he ambushed the
two from the rear, waiting for Kyle
to completely unload his weapon at
the range before he attacked with a
barrage of gunshots.
Kyle, a former SEAL credited
with the most confirmed kills of
any U.S. military sniper, has been
lionized in his home state of Texas.
He became entrenched in U.S. pop-
ular culture in large part due to his
best-selling book and the Academy
Award nominated movie directed
by Cli nt Eas two od and sta rri ng
Bradley Cooper.
After leaving military service,
Kyle, who battled his own mental
demons, helped counsel troubled
veterans with trips for shooting
and talks. He had driven Routh to
the range with Kyle's neighbor,
Littlefield. "You took the lives of
two heroes, men that tried to be a
friend to you. You became anAmerican disgrace," Littlefield's
brother-in-law, Jerry Richardson,
said of Routh at a county court in
the rural Texas city of
Stephenville after the sentence
was handed down.
The jury deliberated for a little
more than two hours before reach-
ing a verdict. Prosecutors chose not
to go for the death penalty and had
been seeking a life sentence with-
out parole.
Defense lawyers argued that
Routh was a paranoid schizo-
phrenic and should be dec lar ed
innocent by reason of insanity.
New York: The FBI Wednesday
arrested three New York residents
who allegedly were planning to join
the Islamic State (IS) and commit
terrorist acts in the US, officials
with the agency and the Justice
Department said.
Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev
and Abror Habibov, both citizens of
Uzbekistan, and Akhror
Saidakhmetov, a citizen of
Kazakhstan, were facing charges of
conspiracy for supporting that ter-
rorist group.
The arrests of the three men, all
residents of the New York borough
of Brooklyn and who had been
under observation by law enforce-
ment for several months, were made
in New York and Florida.
The FBI investigation revealed
that Juraboev, 24, and
Saidakhmetov, 19, were planning to
travel to Syria via Turkey to join the
IS, while Habibov, 30, helped
finance Saidakhmetov in his efforts
but had no plans to leave the coun-
try. Saidakhmetov was arrested
Wednesday morning at JFK airport
as he was getting ready to board a
flight to Istanbul, while Juraboev
had bought a ticket for next month
to travel to the same destination and
was arrested in Brooklyn.
According to local media,
Habibov was arrested in Florida.
In the indictment, prosecutors said
Juraboev first came to the attention
of law enforcement authorities last
August when he posted a message
on an Uzbek-language website that
propagates the IS ideology saying
he and his companions wanted to
"pledge our allegiance" to the IS
"and commit ourselves."
In the same post, he offered to
assassinate President Obama if the
terrorist group ordered him to do so.
He also threatened to plant a bomb
on New York's Coney Island.
Meanwhile, Saidakhmetov intend-
ed to carry out an attack on US soil
if he was unable to travel to Syria to
jo in th e IS , and rece nt ly he
expressed his intention to buy a pis-
tol to shoot police officers and FBI
agents if they learned of his plans.
Chicago : Chicago Mayor Rahm
Emanuel, for whom Presdint had
canvassed, is headed into a
runoff to hold onto his seat after
failing to snag more than half the
vote in the first round Tuesday.
Emanuel, a former
Congressman who served as
President Obama's first chief of
staff, took 45% of the vote as hisfour major opponents took
enough votes to keep Emanuel
ju st fi ve po in ts sh or t of th e
threshold to avoid a runoff.
Emanuel will now face Jesus
"Chuy" Garcia, a county com-
missioner who has come to
embody populist and liberal
Democrats' frustrations with the
Chicago incumbent.
Garcia took just under 34% of
the vote, according to the
Chicago Board of Elections.
Emanuel's defeat came despite
a last-minute campaign stop
from Obama just five days
be fo re vo te rs he ad ed to th e polls. And Obama also voiced a
radio ad for Emanuel that began
airing last month. But Garcia --
with the help of the other con-
tenders -- was able to chomp off
enough support to win a one-on-
one race against Emanuel, which
will come to a head in early
April when Chicago voters again
head to the polls.
Emanuel has faced stiff oppo-
sition from the teachers’ union,
who endorsed Emanuel's oppo-
nent. Emanuel had to shutdowndozens of Chicago schools and
faced off with teachers during a
2012 strike in a manner reminis-
cent of his days as a pitbull on
Capitol Hill.
And Emanuel's campaign
efforts come against a backdrop
of continued violent crime in
Chicago, which Emanuel has
struggled to stamp out.
"We have come a long way
and we have a little bit further to
go. This is the first step in a real
important journey in our city,"
Emanuel told a crowd of sup-
porte rs as projections came in
Tuesday night."For those who voted for
someone else, I hope to earn
your confidence and your sup-
port in the weeks to come."
Rahm Emanuel faces runoffto stay Chicago mayor
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker JohnBoehner: divergent stands
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, left, and the challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia at a debate last month.
Eddie Ray Routh (left) convicted inthe killing of Chris Kyle
McConnell throws in the towel on DHS Fight, ball in Boehner court
FBI arrests 3 NY residents planning to join IS
Obama vetoes Keystone bill. But he
could still approve the pipelineWashington: President Obama yesterday issued the third veto of his
pre sid enc y, sti ff- arm ing the Keyst one pip eli ne leg isl ati on tha t
Congress passed earlier this year. It's unlikely that Congress has the
two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override Obama's veto. Yet
largely lost in yesterday's back-and-forth over Obama's veto is this
important point: In his veto message, the president didn't take issue
with the merits of the Keystone pipeline; instead, he maintained that
the matter is for the executive branch to decide, not the legislative
branch. And it bears repeating: There's the real possibility that the
Obama administration could still approve the Keystone pipeline. After
all, there are supporters inside the administration that believe the U.S.
should throw Canada -- a stalwart ally -- a bone here.
Killer of 'American Sniper' Kylesentenced to life in prison
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11Feb 28-March 6, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
Mumbai: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu's
maiden budget on Thursday failed to muster
investor confidence in the stocks of railway-
related firms.
A majority of stocks associated with the
railways plunged in the late afternoon trade
session Thursday, after Prabhu outlined in
the Lok Sabha the 2015-16 development and
financial plans for one of the world's largest
railroad networks.
Stocks of companies like Texmaco Rail
and Engineering, Container Corporation of
India, Kalindee Rail Nirman (Engineers),
Stone India, Titagarh Wagons and Cimmco
were trading in the red.
However, the stocks of Hind Rectifiers,
Kernex Microsystems and Transformers and
Rectifiers (India) made gains during the peri-
od.
At the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE),
shares of wagon-maker Texmaco Rail and
Engineering were trading down 6.03 percent
(2.10 p.m.) at Rs.130.80 from the previousclose of Rs.139.20.
The scrip of Container Corporation of
India slipped by 2.77 percent at Rs.1,530
from the previous close of Rs.1,573.60.
Stocks of Kalindee Rail Nirman
(Engineers) decreased 5.33 percent at
Rs.133.30, moving down from its previous
close of Rs.140.80.
The scrip of another company associated
with the railways, Stone India, was trading
lower by 6.48 percent at Rs.79.35 from its
previous day's close of Rs.84.85 per equity
share.
Selling pressure was also observed in
stocks of wagon manufacturer Titagarh
Wagons. The company's scrip declined by
4.06 percent at Rs.555.70 from its previous
close of Rs.579.20.
Shares of Cimmco were down 7.19 percent
at Rs.71 from its previous close of Rs.76.50.
However, healthy gains were made by
Hind Rectifiers, Kernex Microsystems and
Transformers and Rectifiers (India).
The stocks of Hind Rectifiers were up 1.73
percent at Rs.79.20 from the previous close
of Rs.77.85. Kernex Microsystems's stocks
fell by 2.26 percent at Rs.47.60 from its pre-
vious close of Rs.46.55 per equity share.
The scrip of Transformers and Rectifiers
(India) at the BSE was up 2.14 percent at
Rs.190.50 from its previous day's close of
Rs.186.50 per equity share.
Investor sentiments were subdued after
Prabhu outlined various proposals to bring
the public transporter's finances in order and
usher in investments for sustained develop-
ment. Various proposals related to increase
in investments, erecting new rail infrastruc-
ture, rationing of energy consumption and
sprucing of passenger amenities were
announced by the minister.
Indian Railways, one of the largest railroad
networks in the world, is suffering from lack
of investments and upgradation of infrastruc-
ture to cater to the ever-growing demand of
passenger and freight movement.
The minister sought to correct the invest-
ment deficit position of the railways by pro- posing new initiatives for generating finan-
cial resources like tying-up with pension
funds and other debt-related instruments.
The markets expected the budget to bring-
in fiscal stability to the railways and fund
inflows for modernisation, in line with the
government's proposal for infrastructure
development through the public-private part-
nership (PPP) model.
Prabhu's budget fails to muster investor confidence
Rail budget forward looking,futuristic: PM Modi
Government to go ahead with2G spectrum auction: SC
Porters watch the railway budget 2015-16 at New Delhi Railway Station.
New Delhi: Keeping passenger
fares unchanged, union Railways
Minister Suresh Prabhu presented
his maiden budget for Indian
Railways on February 26, promis-
ing to balance passenger needs and
long-term interests of the organiza-
tion to benchmark it globally on
quality, safety and reach.
Nin e mor e hig h-s pee d tra ins ,
faster speed of existing trains, Wi-
Fi in 400 stations, user-friendly
ladders to mount upper berths, eas-
ier norms for unreserved tickets,
17,000 bio-toilets in trains, better
connectivity in north-east, andcameras for safety of women trav-
elers are among the other high-
lights of the budget.
"There will be no hike in passen-
ger fares. We will focus on improv-
ing passenger amenities, including
cleanliness," Railway Minister
Prabhu said in a 66-minute speech
in the Lok Sabha, watched keenly
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
who had handpicked him for the
job. He made no mention of any
revision in freight tariff, as has
been the norm in the past.
The minister also promised all
this with a vastly improved operat-
ing ratio, which spells out howmuch money is spent on day-to-
day operations to earn revenues --
an indication of the funds left for
safety and expansion. He targeted
to bring this down to
88.5 percent, or the
lowest in nine years,
from an unsustain-
able level of 93.6
per cen t in 2013-1 4
and 91.8 percent for
this fiscal. This is
better than what the
pri me min ist er had
asked the railways a
few days ago.
Globally, a 75-80 per-
cent or lower is seen
as a healthy bench-
mark. Prabhu alsoseemed to have ruled out the sale
of surplus land and other assets of
Indian Railways. "We will mone-
tize our resources than sell them
for finances," he said, adding:
"Business as usual of asking for
budgetary support from finance
ministry is neither sustainable nor
necessary." The minister began
with what ails Indian Railways.
"Facilities have not improved sub-
stantially for the past few decades
which is the result of under-invest-
ment that affects capacity, leading
to poor morale. This fed into
vicious cycle of chronic under-
investment for a long time."Emphasizing that safety, quality
of service, standards and efficiency
all suffered due to poor financial
resources available with the Indian
Railways in recent decades, the
minister said adding all this further
fed into the cycle of poor invest-
ment.
"This must be put to an end,"
said the chartered accountant-
turned-politician, while presenting
the budget for one of the largest
railway network in the world. "We
have to make our Indian Railways
a benchmark organization in safety,
security and infrastructure," he said
in a speech peppered with several
Hindi couplets.
Playing with words, he invoked
God (Prabhu) and said: "One of the
first things I asked, 'hey prabhu'
how will all this be possible."
Then, he went on to say that he
took it upon the mortal 'Prabhu' to
accomplish the task ahead.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described the
2015 rail budget as a “watershed”
moment for Indian Railways and
called it "forward looking, futuris-
tic and passenger-centric budget".
“Rail budget 2015 is a forward
looking, futuristic and passenger
centric budget, combining a clear
vision and a definite plan to
achieve it,” Modi said in a tweet
after Railway Minister Suresh
Prabhu presented his maiden budg-
et here.
“Rail budget 2015 is a watershed
moment for Railways, marking a
paradigm shif t from discussing
coaches and trains to comprehen-sive railway reform,” he added.
The rail budget promises nine
more high-speed trains, faster
speed of existing trains, Wi-Fi in
400 stations, user-friendly ladders
to mount upper berths, easier norms for unreserved tickets,
17,000 bio-toilets in trains, better
connectivity in north-east, and
cameras for safety of women trav-
ellers. Modi appreciated that the
rail budget focused on the needs of
common man, as Prabhu also kept
passenger fares unchanged.
“I am particularly delighted that
for the first time there is a concrete
vision for technology upgradation
and modernisation of the rail-
ways,” he said.
“It (rail budget) stands out for its
focus on the common man, putting
speed, scale, service and safety, all
on one track,” he added.Modi also said that the rail budg-
et lays out a clear roadmap to make
the railways the key driver of
India's economic growth and play-
ing a key role in India's progress.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court
said the government will go ahead
with the auction of 2G spectrum
scheduled to commence March 4,
but its outcome will not be final-ized without the court's permis-
sion.
While staying the Feb 12, 2015
interim order of Tripura High
Court, the apex court bench of
Justice Dipak Misra and Justice
Adarsh Kumar Goel said no bid-
der, if successful, shall claim any
equity in the bidding process.The apex court order would be
applicable to all the 17 circles for
which Notice Inviting Applications
was issued Jan 9 last.
Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu and Union Minister of State for
Railways Manoj Sinha arrive at theParliament to present Railway Budget.
Rail Budget: No fare hike, plan
to infuse Rs 850,000 cr
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12 Feb 28-March 6, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi is likely
to step down as India's main opposi-
tion Congress party chief next
month, local TV channels reported
this week.
Sonia Gandhi, who has been head-
ing the party since 1998, will be
replaced by for her son and Nehru-
Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi at the
next month's meeting of All India
Congress Committee, the " NDTV"
news channel reported, quoting
party sources.
However, there has been no offi-
cial confirmation from the Congress
party.
Her 44-year-old son Rahul, who is
the party's vice president, is current-
ly facing severe criticism for taking
a sabbatical from politics at a time
when the budget session is going on
in the Indian Parliame