Sunday, February 1, 2026
ADVT 
International

Indian-American Ajit Pai May Head U.S. Communication Commission

Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Jan, 2017 11:41 AM
    Ajit Pai, a commissioner in the US communications regulatory agency, has met President-elect Donald Trump amid speculation that he could head the body that deals with cellphone spectrum and broadcasting.
     
    Trump's spokesperson Sean Spicer said on Tuesday that the meeting with Pai, who is the Republican nominee on the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), took place on Monday.
     
    Currently the FCC is headed by Tom Wheeler, a nominee of the Democratic Party, and a change in leadership is due with the election of Trump.
     
    The position of FCC chairman has to be approved by the Senate.
     
    The FCC is the federal authority regulating radio, television, phone, cellphone spectrum and services, internet and satellite and cable.
     
    Pai, whose parents are doctors who immigrated from India, is a lawyer and has served with the government, Congress and the private sector.
     
    A free enterprise advocate in the Republican mould, he has been a critic of the functioning of the FCC and has clashed with its leadership. 
     
    Recently, he took issue with an FCC report that questioned the legality of offerings that are used by people to access online music, videos, and other content free of charge.
     
     
    Trump has nominated two Indian-Americans to high-level positions: Nikki Haley as the Cabinet-level Ambassador to the United Nations, and Seema Verma as the head of the agency for government health insurance programmes.
     
    In addition, Trump has appointed Raj Shah as his deputy assistant and research director on the White House staff.
     
    Another Indian American, Balaji Srinivasan, met Trump last week and Spicer said that he was under consideration for a role at the the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).
     
    Srinivasan is a technology entrepreneur who has founded a biotech company and has been critical of the links between large pharmaceutical companies and the FDA and the agency's reach that he asserted stifles tech innovations.
     
    He currently heads a start-up that deals with bitcoin, the internet-based currency.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Italian Woman Commits Suicide After Her Leaked Sex Tape Became A Meme

    Italian Woman Commits Suicide After Her Leaked Sex Tape Became A Meme
    In death she received some of the sympathy denied her while she was alive.

    Italian Woman Commits Suicide After Her Leaked Sex Tape Became A Meme

    Barack Obama's Dog Bites White House Guest In The Face: Report

    Barack Obama's Dog Bites White House Guest In The Face: Report
    An 18-year-old girl, visiting the White House as a guest of President Barack Obama's family, suffered a cut below her eye after she was bitten by the first family's dog, Sunny, according to a media report. 

    Barack Obama's Dog Bites White House Guest In The Face: Report

    Man Allegedly Tries To Rip Off Muslim Woman's Hijab At Eatery In UK: Report

    Man Allegedly Tries To Rip Off Muslim Woman's Hijab At Eatery In UK: Report
    A hijab-clad British woman eating at a London fish and chips shop was attacked by a fellow diner who tried to rip off her headscarf and accused her of "killing people", according to a report.

    Man Allegedly Tries To Rip Off Muslim Woman's Hijab At Eatery In UK: Report

    Obamas Donate Daughters' Swing Set To Washington Shelter

    Obamas Donate Daughters' Swing Set To Washington Shelter
    WASHINGTON — The swing set that President Barack Obama installed on the South Lawn for his young daughters eight years ago has a new home.

    Obamas Donate Daughters' Swing Set To Washington Shelter

    Donald Trump Raises Millions To Cover Inauguration's Steep Costs

    Donald Trump Raises Millions To Cover Inauguration's Steep Costs
     The inauguration of a new president requires the recitation of a 35-word oath. That's it. Dress it up with some hoopla and glitz, though, and pretty soon you're talking real money.

    Donald Trump Raises Millions To Cover Inauguration's Steep Costs

    Indian-American Sexual Assault Survivor Amita Swadhin Urges Senate To Reject Jeff Sessions

    Indian-American Sexual Assault Survivor Amita Swadhin Urges Senate To Reject Jeff Sessions
    Indian-American activist and sexual-abuse survivor Amita Swadhin urged the US Senate Judiciary Committee to reject President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Jeff Sessions for Attorney-General, saying the prospect of him in the role is "incredibly worrisome".

    Indian-American Sexual Assault Survivor Amita Swadhin Urges Senate To Reject Jeff Sessions