Indian Americans from across the US have raised more than USD 300,000 for earthquake victims in Turkiye and Syria.

A fundraiser organised by several eminent Indian Americans led by Dr Hemant Patel, the former president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the community raised more than USD 230,000.

The fund raised over the weekend in New Jersey was attended by Turkish Ambassador to the US Murat Mercan, along with Turkish Consul General in New York Reyhan Özgür, wherein they profusely thanked the Indian American community for the generous support for the earthquake-hit people of their country.

“They (the ambassador and the consul general) spoke very highly of what is being done and what the Indian community is doing for the Turkish people,” Patel, a recipient of the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honour, told PTI.

Sewa International Houston’s AmeriCorps team recently organised a donation drive in support of the victims of the earthquake in Syria and Turkiye. People from different communities all over Houston came together to donate hundreds of items, including food, clothes, winter coats, hygiene items, outdoor supplies, tents, hand warmers, shoes and baby necessities.

More than 200 boxes were taken to the warehouse, filling over three pickup trucks, a trailer, an SUV and a big U-Haul truck.

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville, New Jersey organised a special prayer assembly this week for those affected by the humanitarian crisis. The community members at BAPS offered support for the people of Türkiye through prayer and a generous donation of USD 25,000 through its humanitarian relief arm, BAPS Charities, to the Embrace Relief Foundation.

Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has said that Pakistan is home to at least a dozen terrorist organisations and it should not receive any aid from the US, ramping up her attack on America’s adversaries.

The 51-year-old two-term Governor of South Carolina and the former US Ambassador to the United Nations formally launched her 2024 presidential bid last month.

“Pakistan is home to at least a dozen terrorist organisations. #CutEveryCent,” Haley tweeted Wednesday.

Over the past few days, Haley has been speaking on US foreign policy and asserting that the US should not give any financial assistance to countries that are friends and allies of China and Russia.

On Sunday, Haley in an op-ed in the New York Post wrote that if voted to power, she will cut foreign aid to countries like China and Pakistan which hate America. In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, she repeated her pledge to cut US foreign aid to countries that are friends and followers of Russia and China, the two adversaries of the US.

Haley, who announced her candidacy on February 14 is all set to appear at Conservative Political Action Conference as a star speaker along with her former boss and former president Donald Trump.

As per the schedule, she will speak on Friday morning and another presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is scheduled for Friday afternoon.

According to Haley, the Biden administration resumes military aid to Pakistan, though it’s home to at least a dozen terrorist organisations and its government is deeply in hock to China.

She said that as the US ambassador to the UN, she strongly supported then-president Donald Trump’s decision to cut nearly USD 2 billion of military aid to Pakistan because that country supported terrorists who kill American troops.

“It was a major victory for our troops, our taxpayers and our vital interests, but it didn’t go nearly far enough. We’ve still given them way too much in other aid. As president, I will block every penny,” she added.

Born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa to immigrant Punjabi Sikh parents, Haley is the third Indian-American to run for the US presidency in three consecutive election cycles. Bobby Jindal ran in 2016 and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020.

Days after Haley announced her White House bid, Indian-American tech entrepreneur Ramaswamy, another Republican, also launched his 2024 presidential bid.

Before entering the presidential ballot, Haley has to win the Republican Party’s presidential primary which will start in January next year.

The next US presidential election is scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024.

US President Joe Biden has announced his intent to appoint two Indian Americans to his powerful Export Council which is the principal national advisory committee on international trade. The president on Tuesday announced a list of members he intends to appoint to the the council, according to a White House press release.

Punit Renjen, the former CEO of Deloitte Consulting and Rajesh Subramaniam, CEO and president of FedEx, have their names on the list of members the president intends to appoint as members of the influential President’s Export Council.

The council will be headed by Mark Edin, chairman of Kastle Systems.

More than two dozen leaders from the corporate sector, labour, real estate, national security and law, have been tapped into the President’s Export Council.

Prominent among them are Karen S. Lynch, president and CEO of CVS Health; John Lawler, the chief financial officer of Ford; Gareth Joyce, CEO at Proterra; Brett Hart, president of United Airlines; Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes; and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano R. Amon.

“The Council advises the President on government policies and programmes that affect US trade performance; promotes export expansion; and provides a forum for discussing and resolving trade-related problems among the business, industrial, agricultural, labour, and government sectors,” the White House said.

On December 31 last, Renjen retired as Deloitte Global CEO after having served in the role since June 2015.

He now serves as Deloitte Global CEO Emeritus. Under his leadership, Deloitte launched WorldClass – a global effort to prepare 100 million underprivileged people for a world of opportunity – based on the belief that business thrives when society thrives, the White House said.

Recently, Deloitte made a commitment to be net zero by 2030 under its WorldClimate initiative and joined the First Movers Coalition.

Renjen is deeply committed to advancing diversity and inclusion at Deloitte through measurable actions toward gender balance.

Over his career, Renjen has been recognised by numerous organisations for his leadership, business acumen and commitment to societal impact.

In 2022, Renjen was recognised by the Economic Times as “Global Indian of the Year” and the Carnegie Corporation of America as one of 34 “Great Immigrants. Great Americans.”

In 2021, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum recognised Renjen with its Global Achievement Award. In 2020, Renjen was awarded the Oregon History Makers Medal.

Raj Subramaniam, as President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Corporation, is responsible for providing strategic direction for all FedEx operating companies.

Subramaniam is chair of the five-person Executive Committee, which plans and executes the corporation’s strategic business activities.

He is also chair of the FedEx Strategic Management Committee, a select group of the company’s top leadership, which sets the strategic direction for the enterprise.

Before being named President and CEO-elect in March 2022, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of FedEx Corporation. Previously, Subramaniam held various leadership roles in operations and marketing across the FedEx portfolio of operating companies.

Subramaniam serves on the board of directors of FedEx Corporation, the Procter & Gamble Company, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s China Center Advisory Board, FIRST, U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and the US-China Business Council, and a member of the US-India CEO Forum.

Subramaniam is also a proud 2023 recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, the highest civilian award presented by the President of India to the Indian diaspora in recognition of outstanding achievement achievements in India and abroad, the White House said.

In a first, Indian-American Democrat Shama Hakim Mesiwala has been unanimously confirmed as associate justice of the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento, California.

Mesiwala, 48, was administered the oath of office this month by Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, chair of the Commission on Judicial Appointments.

She was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the three-member commission, which included Chief Justice Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Acting Presiding Justice Ronald B. Robie.

Judge Mesiwala, who would now be the first South Asian American woman and the first Muslim American woman on any appellate court in the country, would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Coleman A. Blease.

She has served as a Sacramento County Superior Court judge since 2017 and was a commissioner there in 2017.

Mesiwala is the co-founder of the South Asian Bar Association of Sacramento and the president of the Schwartz/Levi Inn of Court.

She served as the Americans with Disabilities judge for the Sacramento County Superior Court Hall of Justice and created the first Indian Child Welfare Act courtroom in Northern California.

Armed with a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law, Mesiwala also teaches appellate advocacy as an adjunct professor in the same university.

US President Joe Biden has announced his intent to appoint two prominent Indian-American corporate leaders, Punit Renjen and Rajesh Subramaniam, to his powerful Export Council which is the principal national advisory committee on international trade. The president on Tuesday announced a list of members he intends to appoint to the council, according to a statement from White House.

Renjen, the former CEO of Deloitte Consulting and Subramaniam, CEO and president of FedEx, have their names on the list of members the president intends to appoint as members of the influential President’s Export Council. The council will be headed by Mark Edin, Chairman of Kastle Systems. More than two dozen leaders from the corporate sector, labour, real estate, national security and law, have been tapped into the President’s Export Council.

Brief Profile of Punit Renjen
On December 31 last, 62-year-old Punit Renjen retired as Deloitte Global CEO after having served in the role since June 2015. He now serves as Deloitte Global CEO Emeritus. Under his leadership, Deloitte launched WorldClass a global effort to prepare 100 million underprivileged people for a world of opportunity based on the belief that business thrives when society thrives, the White House said. Recently, Deloitte made a commitment to be net zero by 2030 under its World Climate initiative and joined the First Movers Coalition. Renjen is deeply committed to advancing diversity and inclusion at Deloitte through measurable actions toward gender balance. Over his career, Renjen has been recognised by numerous organisations for his leadership, business acumen and commitment to societal impact. In 2022, Renjen was recognised by the Economic Times as “Global Indian of the Year” and the Carnegie Corporation of America as one of 34 “Great Immigrants. Great Americans.” In 2021, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum recognised Renjen with its Global Achievement Award. In 2020, Renjen was awarded the Oregon History Makers Medal. Renjen is being considered to be the next chairman of SAP SE, a Germany-based European multinational software company.

Brief profile of Rajesh Subramaniam
“Subramaniam, as President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Corporation, is responsible for providing strategic direction for all FedEx operating companies. Subramaniam is chair of the five-person Executive Committee, which plans and executes the corporation’s strategic business activities. He is also the chair of the FedEx Strategic Management Committee, a select group of the company’s top leadership, which sets the strategic direction for the enterprise. Before being named President and CEO-elect in March 2022, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of FedEx Corporation. Previously, Subramaniam held various leadership roles in operations and marketing across the FedEx portfolio of operating companies. Subramaniam serves on the board of directors of FedEx Corporation, the Procter & Gamble Company, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s China Center Advisory Board, FIRST, U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and the US-China Business Council, and a member of the US-India CEO Forum. Subramaniam is also a proud recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award 2023, the highest civilian award presented by the President of India to the Indian diaspora in recognition of outstanding achievements in India and abroad,” the White House said.