RAGHU MENON TAKES CHARGE OF AIR INDIA

Raghu Menon was recently appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL). He succeeded Mr. V Thulasidas. Mr. Menon an IAS officer of the Assam-Nagaland cadre was previously a Special Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Ministry of Civil Aviation. He brings to Air India extensive experience in the field of aviation, with notable accomplishments that include the liberalization of India’s air services agreements with countries around the world, such as U.S. and Canada, the UK, France and Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Canada and other nations. Soon after taking over the top job, he said, "Customers are our main focus. We have to ensure that we not only attract customers but give them a great travelling experience and develop a loyal clientele.

ELLIS ISLAND MEDAL OF HONOR

  Bobby Jindal-Louisiana Governor, Shampat Shivangi- An eminent Indian American community leader and Dr. Dhiraj H Shah-A retired radiologist have been selected for the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the highest civilian award given to the immigrant community in the United States. Established in 1986, the prestigious award is given every year by National Ethnic Coalition of Organization to US citizens for their outstanding contributions to their communities, their nation and the world. Last year as many as seven Indian Americans were selected for the award – Dr. Jacob Eapen, Daniel JU Thomas, Smita Shah, Kenny Desai, Dr. Akshay Desai, Dr. Kiran Patel and Dr. Mammen Zachariah. A year before in 2006 five Indian Americans received the award.

AIIS bags "TARAKNATH DAS AWARD"

 One of the most important annual awards in South Asian America "TARAKNATH DAS AWARD" was recently announced. The American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) has been chosen to receive the Award. The annual award honors AIIS for its contributions to Indo-American understanding and will be given in May 2008. Founded in 1962 is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about India and to the promotion of intellectual engagement with India in American colleges and universities.

AIIS offers fellowships for research in India to 50-60 people annually, either Ph.D. candidates or post-doctoral scholars, most of them faculty members at U.S. universities. About 150 students study Indian languages in India each year under AIIS programs.

More than 2,000 American academic people have done research in India with support from the AIIS and they have produced many thousands of books and articles about Indian literature, art, music, politics, society, culture, history, geography, religions, and languages. The annual award, given since 1982, numbers among its awardees Anita Desai, Merchant, Ivory and Jhabvala, Abraham Verghese, Amar Bose, the World Music Institute, R.K. Narayan and Myron Weiner. In 2006, the award was given to Gopal Raju, founder, India Abroad.

5 NRIS AMONG GUGGENHEIM FELLOWS FOR 2008

Tony D'Souza

Tony D'Souza, a writer, Ashutosh Varshney, a distinguished professor of political science, Chandrasekhar B. Khare, Professor of Mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, Sumit Guha, Professor of History, Rutgers University, and Meena Alexander, Poet, and Distinguished Professor of English, Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center, New York, are among five India-origin Guggenheim fellows for 2008 in Canada and America. Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of stellar achievement and exceptional promise for continued accomplishment. One of the hallmarks of the Guggenheim Fellowship program is the diversity of its Fellows, not only in their fields of endeavor but in their geographic location and ages.

BANSAL MAKES TO "OBAMA'S INNER CIRCLE"

New York based attorney Preeta Bansal, who was also named to the NYC Campaign Finance Board by New York Mayor Bloomberg, has been described by National Journal as one of the 22 people of Senator Obama's top advisors, considered as "Obama's Inner Circle". The influential Bansal advises the senator on international human rights, legal issues, foreign policy, women's issues, and outreach to Asian- Americans. She became familiar with Obama's foreign-policy work through her service on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. She shares the candidate's emphasis on expanding legal immigration, especially jobsbased immigration, although Obama has also fought for placing a continued priority on family reunification. Obama "is able to advance progressive principles, but he's not one of these starryeyed liberals," she says. "With him, two plus two equals five, not four. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts."

VINDU GOEL APPOINTED DEPUTY TECHNOLOGY EDITOR OF NY TIMES

Vindu Goel, one of the senior most South Asian business journalists working in America, has been appointed as the deputy technology editor by The New York Times. Until recently, he was a columnist and blogger (Vindu's View from the Valley) for the San Jose Mercury News, where he had been business editor, assistant business editor and a member of the editorial board. In its Memo New York Times says "It's a job that Vindu is particularly well suited to do, given his range of experience in overseeing business and tech coverage, and his passion and vision for Web journalism.

3 SOUTH ASIANS AMONG NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY FELLOWS

Deborah Baker, Akeel Bilgrami and Hari Kunzru, are the three South Asian Americans among the 15 exceptional creative writers, independent scholars, and academics, chosen for the tenth class of Fellows by The New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. The Fellows, appointments were announced by Library President Dr. Paul LeClerc and Jean Strouse.