The recent Pakistan Conference at Harvard University "Rising Above the Tide" brought together noted diplomatic, economic and business experts to discuss Pakistan's relationship with India, as well as the United States.
Active Storage Inc. has hired seasoned storage engineering expert Venkat Ramakrishnan as vice president of engineering. Ramakrishnan has a long history in the technology industry, having worked for such companies as Cisco, IBM, and most recently, Promise Technology Inc., where he has served as their director of engineering since 2009.
Adayana Inc., an organization performance improvement provider, has named Raymond R. Richie its new Industry Group president. Richie became Adayana’s CFO in April 2011 and served as Adayana’s vice president of strategic business development since 2009.
Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao spoke to the Atlantic Council on May 30 in Washington, D.C. She discussed the United States and India's strategic dialogue and ways to expand the bilateral partnership.
Aryaka, a cloud-based WAN optimization and application acceleration company, and Amazon Web Services, a cloud computing business, have launched a services for accessing global cloud and enterprise resources. Aryaka provides a network that ensures IT application instances running on Amazon Web Services behave as if they were on the local network with any-to-any connectivity, regardless of where end-users are located around the world, the company said.
The Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance is honoring distinguished leaders of diverse background whose achievements have contributed to the advancement of the food and hospitality industry. In May, during the Asian Pacific American Heritage month, MFHA is celebrating successful leaders of Asian descent by releasing its 2nd Annual Tribute to Asian Pacific American Leadership in Hospitality media campaign
Total Defense Inc., a provider of solutions to combat the growing threat of cybercrime, has appointed Saran Gopalakrishnan vice president of product management. In this role, Gopalakrishnan will lead Total Defense in aggressively growing and expanding the company’s world-class consumer and enterprise product portfolio, the company said.
Indra Sen has been named a 2012 Soros Fellow. Sen will use the fellowship toward graduating with a degree in public policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Meritor Inc. has appointed Chris Villavarayan to the position of vice president of global manufacturing and supply chain management for its commercial truck division. Villavarayan will begin his new role on June 1.
Microchip Technology Inc., a provider of microcontroller, analog and Flash-IP products, has acquired Standard Microsystems Corp. for $939 million. Microchip will pay $37 for each share of the publicly traded Standard Microsystems. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2012.
The Dover, N.H.-based, iWorx Systems Inc., has launched iWorx Systems India Pvt. Ltd. to develop and market data acquisition hardware, software and systems for the Indian physiology and pharmacology educational and research markets.
Honorable Judge Elizabeth Pessala is the first Indian American judge honored by the Nassau County Bar Association having served as an associate justice for the village of Westbury. Pessala received the Nassau Bar Association President’s Award for keeping members informed of pending local, state and national legislation.
Accel Frontline, an IT infrastructure services company based in India, has selected Nimsoft Unified Manager to provide proactive monitoring, incident ticketing and reporting to customers while utilizing minimal on-site resources.
RiseSmart, an outplacement solutions company based in San Jose, Calif., has been named one of five companies in the industry to be named a 2012 Cool Vendor by Gartner Inc., an information technology research and advisory company.
The server market among Bangladesh medium businesses is expected to show a rise in shipments of over 10 percent in 2012, according to a recent study by New York-based Access Markets International Partners Inc. Focusing on ICT usage, AMI has comprehensively surveyed Bangladesh medium and large businesses during the last quarter of 2011 within the cities of Dhaka, Khulna, Chittagong and Rajshahi.
WNS Ltd., a Mumbai-based provider of business process outsourcing services, has opened a new center in Columbia, S.C., the company’s first in North America. The center, with a capacity of 300 seats, is expected to provide WNS’s U.S.-based clients with services, including finance and accounting, research and analytics and industry-specific offerings.
When talking to E Ink Corp. Chief Marketing Officer Sriram Peruvemba, like any good marketing whiz, he conveys an excitement for his company’s products. However, when it comes to electronic paper, it is clear that Peruvemba believes the innovations of his company are changing the world as we know it.
Doctor ventures into film industry, brings home Academy Award
When the film "Undefeated" won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature earlier this year it likely marked the first time an Oscar winner could trace part of its roots back to the urogynecology community. And it also gave the Indian American community its own holder of a golden statuette in Neeraj Kohli.
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association elected new board members for the 2012-2013 board term at its 2012 AAHOA Annual Convention & Trade Show. The members elected Jay R. “Jimmy” Patel, as the association’s newest secretary, as well as a number of regional directors and directors at large.
Have you ever wished you were more connected to your roots, either to familiarize your kids to your culture, or make your visiting family feel home or longed for better ways to conjoin to the wider South Asian populace across America? The Massachusetts-based Aunty Namaste is hoping to fill this void with its new Web site: AuntyNamaste.com.
Brainybrawn Inc. subsidiary Sanvi Infotech Pvt. Ltd. has launched Sanvi Medical College Information Management Solution, a Web-based application for comprehensive information management in medical colleges in India. The company also said that Sanvi Infotech has received an order for automating up to 10 restaurants from a North India-based restaurant chain with it Restaurant Information Management Solution for Managing Chain of Restaurants.
Broadcom Corp., a maker of semiconductor products for wired and wireless communications, has released BCM7014, a single chip, standard definition, MPEG2 cable set-top box, system-on-a-chip product. Broadcom’s new platform is designed to accelerate India’s cable TV digitization initiative by providing a cost-efficient system capable of rapid, wide-scale deployment, the company said.
The Lemelson-MIT Program has named Ashok Gadgil as the recipient of the 2012 $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Global Innovation in recognition of his steady pursuit to blend research, invention and humanitarianism for broad social impact. Gadgil is a chair professor of Safe Water and Sanitation at the University of California, Berkeley, and director of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, whose diverse inventions and sustainable innovations are helping those in the developing world to live healthier, safer lives.
CommVault has opened a new product development center in Bangalore, which the company said adds to the company's existing presence in Hyderabad, India, and accelerates ongoing product development efforts worldwide. The new development center will help raise awareness of CommVault's Simpana software brand while attracting top software developers from the region, the company added.
Surgical oncologist Rajiv Datta, M.D., has been selected for inclusion “Top Doctors: New York Metro Area.” This is the sixth consecutive year that Datta will be included in the acclaimed guide from Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., which spotlights the top 10 percent of primary care and specialty care physicians in the tri-state New York area.
According to reports from Fox News, a franchisee is suing the Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Brands for racial discrimination described as against “Asian Indian American women of color.” The suit alleges the chain has a poor track record with people of color, though Dunkin’ Donuts has long been popular with Indian American small business entrepreneurs.
Earlier this week, Dunkin’ Donuts opened its first two restaurants in India — both in New Delhi. In 2011, Dunkin’ Donuts signed a franchise agreement with Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. to develop 500 restaurants across the country over the next 15 years. The agreement marked the largest international store development commitment in Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Donuts’ history.
I believe innovation arises from ideas. Ideas are revealed when one applies a process of being creative. Creativity in one’s job is shaped by an individual’s engagement and commitment to one’s work, which is directly influenced by one’s personal values and the company’s organizational values. That being said, in my 25 plus years of experience, I have concluded that the single biggest deterrent, and at the same time the single biggest enabler of organizational innovation, is the propensity for risk-taking.
Freshdesk, an online help desk company, has started phase one of its Freshdesk Future Fund to provide customer support services to new companies. The fund will provide 501 startups and incubations with $10 million worth of Freshdesk’s cloud based support service for one year.
Freshdesk, an online help desk software service, has raised $5 million in financing led by Tiger Global Management. Previous investor, Accel Partners, also participated in the round.
Freshdesk closed its first round of funding in October last year. Since then, the company said it has tripled its customer base in just the last quarter. Freshdesk already boasts of a wide array of industry-first capabilities in the help desk space.
Dr. Sanjiv Chopra is a man who appears to be able to do it all, and does it on a continual basis, so it is no surprise that he recently received one of the highest honors bestowed upon immigrants to the United States — The Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Harman has agreed to a multi-year relationship with Tata Motors to develop and supply branded audio, navigation and multimedia products for vehicles across Tata’s model lines. According to Harman, agreement marks the first time an Indian automaker will bring premium branded audio and infotainment systems to the domestic market.
Hilton Worldwide has entered a three-year partnership with Room to Read, a nonprofit organization focused on improving literacy and gender equality in education. The partnership supports Room to Read’s holistic approach to literacy and girls’ education in South and Southeast Asia — aiming to reach more than 2,000 young people in the first phase of the program. Hilton Worldwide will also support Room to Read’s annual spring fundraising campaign promoting the Girls’ Education program by matching donations up to $150,000.
Hyatt Hotels Corp. has entered into an agreement, through a Hyatt affiliate, with Piccadily Hotels Pvt. Ltd. for two new Hyatt Regency hotels in India. Hyatt Regency Gurgaon and Hyatt Regency Ludhiana will be located in major information technology and manufacturing hubs in northern India. The addition of these two hotel agreements brings the total number of Hyatt-branded hotels under development in India to 55.
Dutta blends technology expertise into classroom of the future
The last time academic, author and tech expert Soumitra Dutta spoke to the IndUS Business Journal it was almost exactly three years ago and he was on a book tour for "Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom: How Online Social Networking Will Transform Your Life, Work and World." Now, Dutta caught up with the newspaper to talk about the continual social media revolution and how an Ivy League business school has tapped him to lead it into a new age of technology, e-learning and innovation.
In this piece, we will look at the state of the U.S. housing market, and its outlook for the remainder of the year. A self-sustaining economic recovery is reliant on a recovery in housing, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategists believe that after seven years since its peak, the dynamics of the housing market may be headed in the right direction once again.
Kaman Aerospace Group Inc., which is part of the Bloomfield, Conn.-based Kaman Corp., has signed a deal with Kineco Pvt. Ltd. to form a manufacturing company in India. The venture will be based in Goa and will manufacture advanced composite structures for aerospace, medical and other industries.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is adding two India companies to its Green Portfolio Program, which is designed to identify and unlock new opportunities that improve both financial and environmental performance in the firm’s portfolio companies. Bharti Infratel and Dalmia Bharat Cement will join about 20 other Green Portfolio companies.
Leader Bank marked its 10th anniversary on May 8. The bank first opened for business on May 8, 2002 at its East Arlington branch. At the time, the bank had seven employees and $6.5 million in assets. A decade later, Leader Bank has grown exponentially, operating five branches and two loan production offices, with over 170 employees in Massachusetts and $535 million in assets.
The Massachusetts chapter of the Indian American Forum for Political Education celebrated Asian Heritage Month with an event on May 21 at the Burlington Marriott hotel in Burlington, Mass., with guest of honor Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick praising the India American community and promising to visit India during the remaining two-and-a-half years of his term.
The IndUS Business Journal spoke to Dr. Sucheta Doshi, who is currently the medical director of occupational health and a women's health staff physician at the VA Boston Healthcare System. She is double board certified in family medicine and general preventive medicine/public health. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin School of Medicine she has an extensive background in global health, vaccination policy and infectious disease prevention.
Legend Advisory Corp. has appointed Shashi Mehrotra as president. Mehrotra will continue to serve as the chief investment officer for the company. In his expanded role, Mehrotra will oversee all aspects of the company’s operations and business development.
Dr. Sagar Nigwekar was one of three doctors named an American Kidney Fund 2012 Clinical Scientist in Nephrology Fellow. Nigwekar, who was specifically awarded the American Kidney Fund-Sanofi Clinical Scientist in Nephrology Fellowship, is a clinical and research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital.
When Gautam Prakash wanted to start his own investment firm it made sense — both in his heritage and professional background — to target India. However, to survive the financial crisis of 2008, he had to take an innovative approach to fund investing, particularly in India — and his moves have paid off greatly. Not only has his firm Monsoon Capital weathered the financial storm, its India hedge fund — by all accounts — is the top performing hedge fund in India.
Founded in 2004, Monsoon Capital is a minority owned alternative asset manager focused on emerging markets, primarily Asia and India. The firm manages absolute return, long-only, and real estate investment strategies. Monsoon Capital, together with its India-based advisory team (Suyash Advisors), maintains offices in Washington, D.C., Mumbai, Bangalore and Singapore.
MosChip Semiconductor Technology, a design service and fabless semiconductor company, has added G. Venkatesh as a board member and Shiri Kadambi as president of MosChip USA. They have been part of well known and successful semiconductor companies in United States and each has over 20 years of experience in Silicon Valley, the company said.
India-based NIIT Technologies, an IT services organization, has selected Black Watch Data, a provider of expert methodologies and technologies in data governance and data management, as its strategic partner for NIIT Technologies’ banking industry division and business intelligence practice.
Tushar B. Patel was appointed as the chief of quality management for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C. In this role, he will be responsible for quality and risk management programs for the Federal Bureau of Prisons Health Care System in 117 facilities, which includes six medical centers.
Chester’s Chicken, a fried chicken foodservice offering in the convenience store category, has announced its latest opening in Bowling Green, Ky. Chester’s Chicken “On the Fly” opened at the BG Food Mart, owned by Kenny Patel.
Pitney Bowes Inc. is opening another R&D center in Pune, India, which will be the second center for the company in the country, and will focus on research and development for its global portfolio, including Volly – a digital mailbox product.
Following an IndUS Business Journal political poll of Asian Indians earlier this year, the Asian American Justice Center and APIAVote have recently released a poll of Asian American and Pacific Islanders that similarly found that President Barack Obama is in high favor compared to other candidates for the 2012 Presidential Election.
Red Hat Inc., a provider of open source products, is launching two engineering centers in Bangalore and Pune, India. The Pune center is Red Hat’s largest engineering facility outside of North America at 50,000 square feet.
Sify Technologies Ltd., and Indian IT-services company, and Vidyo, Inc., a video conferencing company, have launched Sify videomeet, a video conferencing-as-a-service product for business. This service, powered by Vidyo, allows users to initiate and experience high-definition, multi-point video collaboration beyond conventional conference rooms, without dedicated networks and on multiple devices – mobile phones, tablets, desktops, laptops and room systems, according to Sify.
National currencies on a long-term basis tend to fluctuate about a "mean value" over time, as long as cross-border capital flows are managed prudently and monetary policy follows strict and accepted guidelines. For the past three years, the Indian Rupee has traded within a tight range of from 44 to 53 per the U.S. Dollar, but recent activity has threatened the weak end of this spectrum and caused concern amongst government officials and foreign investors, as well.
The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., is set to open its newest hotel in India, the ITC Grand Chola in Chennai, India. The hotel is scheduled for its debut in August.
The U.S.-India Business Council, in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, hosted its first U.S.-India Business West Coast Summit on April 26 to April 27 at the Rosewood Sand Hill in the Silicon Valley.
Vu TelePresence Inc., a video conferencing services provider for small and midsized businesses, is launching a new multi-vendor video conferencing capability through Vidtel, a cloud any-to-any video conferencing service company. With Vidtel's MeetMe multi-party video conferencing service, Vu customers can cost-effectively conference with up to twelve participants across H.323, SIP, Skype and Google GTalk systems, the company said.
Online auction king eBay Inc. says it plans to open a new development center in Bangalore, India, and expects to hire up to 1,000 technologists over the next three years. According to the company, the new center will house employees working for both eBay and PayPal.
Poonam Ahluwalia’s YouthTrade has secured a distribution agreement with Whole Foods Market that will see all 28 stores in the North Atlantic region carrying a selection of products from 20 young business owners who are certified YouthTrade entrepreneurs.
The recent Pakistan Conference at Harvard University "Rising Above the Tide" brought together noted diplomatic, economic and business experts to discuss Pakistan's relationship with India, as well as the United States. 
Doctor ventures into film industry, brings home Academy Award
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association elected new board members for the 2012-2013 board term at its 2012 AAHOA Annual Convention & Trade Show. The members elected Jay R. “Jimmy” Patel, as the association’s newest secretary, as well as a number of regional directors and directors at large. 
Have you ever wished you were more connected to your roots, either to familiarize your kids to your culture, or make your visiting family feel home or longed for better ways to conjoin to the wider South Asian populace across America? The Massachusetts-based Aunty Namaste is hoping to fill this void with its new Web site: AuntyNamaste.com. 
Brainybrawn Inc. subsidiary Sanvi Infotech Pvt. Ltd. has launched Sanvi Medical College Information Management Solution, a Web-based application for comprehensive information management in medical colleges in India. The company also said that Sanvi Infotech has received an order for automating up to 10 restaurants from a North India-based restaurant chain with it Restaurant Information Management Solution for Managing Chain of Restaurants. 
Broadcom Corp., a maker of semiconductor products for wired and wireless communications, has released BCM7014, a single chip, standard definition, MPEG2 cable set-top box, system-on-a-chip product. Broadcom’s new platform is designed to accelerate India’s cable TV digitization initiative by providing a cost-efficient system capable of rapid, wide-scale deployment, the company said. 
The Lemelson-MIT Program has named Ashok Gadgil as the recipient of the 2012 $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Global Innovation in recognition of his steady pursuit to blend research, invention and humanitarianism for broad social impact. Gadgil is a chair professor of Safe Water and Sanitation at the University of California, Berkeley, and director of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, whose diverse inventions and sustainable innovations are helping those in the developing world to live healthier, safer lives. 
CommVault has opened a new product development center in Bangalore, which the company said adds to the company's existing presence in Hyderabad, India, and accelerates ongoing product development efforts worldwide. The new development center will help raise awareness of CommVault's Simpana software brand while attracting top software developers from the region, the company added. 
Surgical oncologist Rajiv Datta, M.D., has been selected for inclusion “Top Doctors: New York Metro Area.” This is the sixth consecutive year that Datta will be included in the acclaimed guide from Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., which spotlights the top 10 percent of primary care and specialty care physicians in the tri-state New York area. 
According to reports from Fox News, a franchisee is suing the Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Brands for racial discrimination described as against “Asian Indian American women of color.” The suit alleges the chain has a poor track record with people of color, though Dunkin’ Donuts has long been popular with Indian American small business entrepreneurs. 
Earlier this week, Dunkin’ Donuts opened its first two restaurants in India — both in New Delhi. In 2011, Dunkin’ Donuts signed a franchise agreement with Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. to develop 500 restaurants across the country over the next 15 years. The agreement marked the largest international store development commitment in Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Donuts’ history. 
I believe innovation arises from ideas. Ideas are revealed when one applies a process of being creative. Creativity in one’s job is shaped by an individual’s engagement and commitment to one’s work, which is directly influenced by one’s personal values and the company’s organizational values. That being said, in my 25 plus years of experience, I have concluded that the single biggest deterrent, and at the same time the single biggest enabler of organizational innovation, is the propensity for risk-taking. 
Freshdesk, an online help desk company, has started phase one of its Freshdesk Future Fund to provide customer support services to new companies. The fund will provide 501 startups and incubations with $10 million worth of Freshdesk’s cloud based support service for one year. 
Freshdesk, an online help desk software service, has raised $5 million in financing led by Tiger Global Management. Previous investor, Accel Partners, also participated in the round. 
Dr. Sanjiv Chopra is a man who appears to be able to do it all, and does it on a continual basis, so it is no surprise that he recently received one of the highest honors bestowed upon immigrants to the United States — The Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Harman has agreed to a multi-year relationship with Tata Motors to develop and supply branded audio, navigation and multimedia products for vehicles across Tata’s model lines. According to Harman, agreement marks the first time an Indian automaker will bring premium branded audio and infotainment systems to the domestic market. 
Hilton Worldwide has entered a three-year partnership with Room to Read, a nonprofit organization focused on improving literacy and gender equality in education. The partnership supports Room to Read’s holistic approach to literacy and girls’ education in South and Southeast Asia — aiming to reach more than 2,000 young people in the first phase of the program. Hilton Worldwide will also support Room to Read’s annual spring fundraising campaign promoting the Girls’ Education program by matching donations up to $150,000. 
Hyatt Hotels Corp. has entered into an agreement, through a Hyatt affiliate, with Piccadily Hotels Pvt. Ltd. for two new Hyatt Regency hotels in India. Hyatt Regency Gurgaon and Hyatt Regency Ludhiana will be located in major information technology and manufacturing hubs in northern India. The addition of these two hotel agreements brings the total number of Hyatt-branded hotels under development in India to 55. 
The last time academic, author and tech expert Soumitra Dutta spoke to the IndUS Business Journal it was almost exactly three years ago and he was on a book tour for "Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom: How Online Social Networking Will Transform Your Life, Work and World." Now, Dutta caught up with the newspaper to talk about the continual social media revolution and how an Ivy League business school has tapped him to lead it into a new age of technology, e-learning and innovation.
In this piece, we will look at the state of the U.S. housing market, and its outlook for the remainder of the year. A self-sustaining economic recovery is reliant on a recovery in housing, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategists believe that after seven years since its peak, the dynamics of the housing market may be headed in the right direction once again. 
Kaman Aerospace Group Inc., which is part of the Bloomfield, Conn.-based Kaman Corp., has signed a deal with Kineco Pvt. Ltd. to form a manufacturing company in India. The venture will be based in Goa and will manufacture advanced composite structures for aerospace, medical and other industries. 
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is adding two India companies to its Green Portfolio Program, which is designed to identify and unlock new opportunities that improve both financial and environmental performance in the firm’s portfolio companies. Bharti Infratel and Dalmia Bharat Cement will join about 20 other Green Portfolio companies. 
Leader Bank marked its 10th anniversary on May 8. The bank first opened for business on May 8, 2002 at its East Arlington branch. At the time, the bank had seven employees and $6.5 million in assets. A decade later, Leader Bank has grown exponentially, operating five branches and two loan production offices, with over 170 employees in Massachusetts and $535 million in assets. 
The Massachusetts chapter of the Indian American Forum for Political Education celebrated Asian Heritage Month with an event on May 21 at the Burlington Marriott hotel in Burlington, Mass., with guest of honor Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick praising the India American community and promising to visit India during the remaining two-and-a-half years of his term. 
The IndUS Business Journal spoke to Dr. Sucheta Doshi, who is currently the medical director of occupational health and a women's health staff physician at the VA Boston Healthcare System. She is double board certified in family medicine and general preventive medicine/public health. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin School of Medicine she has an extensive background in global health, vaccination policy and infectious disease prevention. 
Legend Advisory Corp. has appointed Shashi Mehrotra as president. Mehrotra will continue to serve as the chief investment officer for the company. In his expanded role, Mehrotra will oversee all aspects of the company’s operations and business development.
Dr. Sagar Nigwekar was one of three doctors named an American Kidney Fund 2012 Clinical Scientist in Nephrology Fellow. Nigwekar, who was specifically awarded the American Kidney Fund-Sanofi Clinical Scientist in Nephrology Fellowship, is a clinical and research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital. 
When Gautam Prakash wanted to start his own investment firm it made sense — both in his heritage and professional background — to target India. However, to survive the financial crisis of 2008, he had to take an innovative approach to fund investing, particularly in India — and his moves have paid off greatly. Not only has his firm Monsoon Capital weathered the financial storm, its India hedge fund — by all accounts — is the top performing hedge fund in India.
MosChip Semiconductor Technology, a design service and fabless semiconductor company, has added G. Venkatesh as a board member and Shiri Kadambi as president of MosChip USA. They have been part of well known and successful semiconductor companies in United States and each has over 20 years of experience in Silicon Valley, the company said. 
India-based NIIT Technologies, an IT services organization, has selected Black Watch Data, a provider of expert methodologies and technologies in data governance and data management, as its strategic partner for NIIT Technologies’ banking industry division and business intelligence practice. 
Tushar B. Patel was appointed as the chief of quality management for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C. In this role, he will be responsible for quality and risk management programs for the Federal Bureau of Prisons Health Care System in 117 facilities, which includes six medical centers. 
Chester’s Chicken, a fried chicken foodservice offering in the convenience store category, has announced its latest opening in Bowling Green, Ky. Chester’s Chicken “On the Fly” opened at the BG Food Mart, owned by Kenny Patel.
Pitney Bowes Inc. is opening another R&D center in Pune, India, which will be the second center for the company in the country, and will focus on research and development for its global portfolio, including Volly – a digital mailbox product. 
Following an IndUS Business Journal political poll of Asian Indians earlier this year, the Asian American Justice Center and APIAVote have recently released a poll of Asian American and Pacific Islanders that similarly found that President Barack Obama is in high favor compared to other candidates for the 2012 Presidential Election.
Red Hat Inc., a provider of open source products, is launching two engineering centers in Bangalore and Pune, India. The Pune center is Red Hat’s largest engineering facility outside of North America at 50,000 square feet. 
Sify Technologies Ltd., and Indian IT-services company, and Vidyo, Inc., a video conferencing company, have launched Sify videomeet, a video conferencing-as-a-service product for business. This service, powered by Vidyo, allows users to initiate and experience high-definition, multi-point video collaboration beyond conventional conference rooms, without dedicated networks and on multiple devices – mobile phones, tablets, desktops, laptops and room systems, according to Sify. 
National currencies on a long-term basis tend to fluctuate about a "mean value" over time, as long as cross-border capital flows are managed prudently and monetary policy follows strict and accepted guidelines. For the past three years, the Indian Rupee has traded within a tight range of from 44 to 53 per the U.S. Dollar, but recent activity has threatened the weak end of this spectrum and caused concern amongst government officials and foreign investors, as well. 
The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., is set to open its newest hotel in India, the ITC Grand Chola in Chennai, India. The hotel is scheduled for its debut in August.
The U.S.-India Business Council, in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, hosted its first U.S.-India Business West Coast Summit on April 26 to April 27 at the Rosewood Sand Hill in the Silicon Valley. 
Vu TelePresence Inc., a video conferencing services provider for small and midsized businesses, is launching a new multi-vendor video conferencing capability through Vidtel, a cloud any-to-any video conferencing service company. With Vidtel's MeetMe multi-party video conferencing service, Vu customers can cost-effectively conference with up to twelve participants across H.323, SIP, Skype and Google GTalk systems, the company said.
Online auction king eBay Inc. says it plans to open a new development center in Bangalore, India, and expects to hire up to 1,000 technologists over the next three years. According to the company, the new center will house employees working for both eBay and PayPal. 
Poonam Ahluwalia’s YouthTrade has secured a distribution agreement with Whole Foods Market that will see all 28 stores in the North Atlantic region carrying a selection of products from 20 young business owners who are certified YouthTrade entrepreneurs. 
