Tuesday, July 7, 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

    Isolated, Nawaz Sharif Wants Action Against Jaish, Lashkar

    Isolated, Nawaz Sharif Wants Action Against Jaish, Lashkar
      Sharif's blunt demand came at a high-level meeting of civilian officials with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, Gen. Rizwan Akhtar, the influential Dawn newspaper reported on Thursday.

    Isolated, Nawaz Sharif Wants Action Against Jaish, Lashkar

    I Don't Love Or Hate Putin, Says US Presidential Candidate Donald Trump

    I Don't Love Or Hate Putin, Says US Presidential Candidate Donald Trump
    US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has shrugged off allegations that he would be too close to Vladimir Putin if elected, saying he was unsure of his relationship with the Russian President.

    I Don't Love Or Hate Putin, Says US Presidential Candidate Donald Trump

    Pakistan Politician's Son Dies Due To 'Excessive Use Of Steroids'

    Pakistan Politician's Son Dies Due To 'Excessive Use Of Steroids'
      Ali, 26, the son of Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Chairman and Pakistan Mulsim League-Nawaz leader Siddiqul Farooq, died on tuesday at his home.

    Pakistan Politician's Son Dies Due To 'Excessive Use Of Steroids'

    Ghana To Relocate Gandhi's Statue From Legon University Campus

    Ghana To Relocate Gandhi's Statue From Legon University Campus
    The Ghanaian government has decided to relocate a statue of Mahatma Gandhi from the University of Ghana near Accra, following a move by a group of lecturers to have the statue pulled down over alleged 'racist' views expressed by Gandhi.

    Ghana To Relocate Gandhi's Statue From Legon University Campus

    Christy Clark Names Surrey Lawyer Puneet Sandhar As 2017 Candidate For Surrey-Panorama

    Christy Clark Names Surrey Lawyer Puneet Sandhar As 2017 Candidate For Surrey-Panorama
    Surrey, B.C – Premier Christy Clark and Today’s BC Liberals have named local lawyer and community leader Puneet Sandhar as the 2017 candidate for Surrey-Panorama.

    Christy Clark Names Surrey Lawyer Puneet Sandhar As 2017 Candidate For Surrey-Panorama

    Bangladesh Court Clears Canadian Man Tahmid Hasib Khan Of Terror Attack Charges

    Bangladesh Court Clears Canadian Man Tahmid Hasib Khan Of Terror Attack Charges
    A Bangladesh court has cleared a Canadian university student of all allegations related to a restaurant siege three months ago in which 20 hostages and five attackers were killed.

    Bangladesh Court Clears Canadian Man Tahmid Hasib Khan Of Terror Attack Charges