Obama names Indians in key roles

United States President Barack Obama has named has named three Indians to key roles as  his fledgling administration battles a lingering recession.

Rajiv J Shah, an Indian American scientist managing a programme at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help the world's poor lead healthy and productive lives, is expected to secure a key role in the US government.

Obama intends to nominate Shah as under secretary for research, education and economics in the Department of Agriculture, the White House announced Friday.          

Shah is currently the director of agricultural development in the global development programme for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where he manages the foundation's agricultural development programme with the goal of helping the world's poor lead healthy and productive lives. 

His work includes grant-making portfolios in science and technology, farmer productivity, market access, and policy and statistics.          

Shah is the co-founder of Health Systems Analytics and Project IMPACT for South Asian Americans. In addition, he has served as a policy aide in the British parliament and worked at the World Health Organization (WHO). 

In 2007, he was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Also, Obama has formed a three-man team, including two Indian Americans, to help break Washington's "bad habits" of wasteful spending and move recession-hit America from recovery to prosperity.

"If we're to going to rebuild our economy on a solid foundation, we need to change the way we do business in Washington," Obama said in his weekly address Saturday.               

"We need to restore the American people's confidence in their government - that it is on their side, spending their money wisely, to meet their families' needs."               

Announcing the appointment of Indian American Aneesh Chopra, currently Virginia's secretary of technology, to serve as the chief technology officer, Obama said: "Aneesh will promote technological innovation to help achieve our most urgent priorities - from creating jobs and reducing health care costs to keeping our nation secure."                  

Chopra presently leads Virginia's strategy to effectively leverage technology in government reform, to promote the state's innovation agenda, and to foster technology-related economic development.                

Previously, he worked as managing director with the Advisory Board Company, leading the firm's Financial Leadership Council and the Working Council for Health Plan Executives.              

Chopra and Jeffrey Zients, a CEO, management consultant and entrepreneur, who was named as the chief performance officer, will work with another Indian American, Vivek Kundra, to help give "Americans a government that is effective, efficient and transparent".                    

"Aneesh and Jeffrey will work closely with our Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, who is responsible for setting technology policy across the government, and using technology to improve security, ensure transparency and lower costs," he said.           

Announcing plans to eliminate dozens of government programmes shown to be wasteful or ineffective, the president said: "In this effort, there will be no sacred cows and no pet projects. All across America, families are making hard choices and it's time their government did the same.                 

"That is why I have assembled a team of management, technology, and budget experts to guide us in this work - leaders who will help us revamp government operations from top to bottom and ensure that the federal government is truly working for the American people."