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NRI US Ambassador to India, Richard R Verma became emotional when he visited to his maternal grandmother’s house in Jalandhar, Punjab

Amritsar, May 21, 2015
NRIpress-Club/Chandigarh-A.Gupta

NRI Richard R Verma, US Ambassador to India, visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar and paid obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum and walked around Langar Kitchen, took part in it where free food served to 100,000 people everyday. At the Langar, no one goes hungry and everybody gets a hot meal regardless of caste, creed and religion.

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US ambassador Verma walks down memory lane in Punjab

Jalandhar, May 21, 2015:

It was a trip down memory lane for US Ambassador Richard R. Verma, whose visit to his maternal grandmother’s house in Punjab turned emotional on Thursday.

As he stepped in the house in the narrow lane of Basti Sheikh in old Jalandhar, now owned by couple Rakesh Gupta and Priya Gupta, his immediate response was: “Wow.”

Later, he met the occupants of the house, where Verma’s grandmother Maya Devi grew up. It was purchased by the Guptas three decades ago.

“We were really excited when we met the dignitary. He was quite polite and seemed down to earth. He stayed with us for almost 20 minutes,” Priya Gupta, house owner, told reporters.

The ambassador interacted with the grocery shop owner Shri Ram, 82, who had helped him in locating his grandmother’s house.

Verma had visited the locality once in his childhood also.

Celebrations were evident through drums and the ambassador was accorded a lively reception by the locals on the second day of his Punjab visit.

The ambassador later visited Apara village, some 50 km from the district headquarters, where his father K.D. Verma hails. ….

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Indian-origin envoys of US, Canada take charge in New Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 16, 2015:

 Four new envoys Friday presented their credentials to President Pranab Mukherjee and of them, two were persons of Indian-origin – the US ambassador and the Canadian high commissioner.

Richard Rahul Verma is the first American of Indian-origin to occupy the post, while Nadir Patel is the first Canadian of Indian-origin to do so.

Both have impressive credentials and come with considerable diplomatic and administrative experience, an indication of the importance the India posting has become in world capitals........Read More

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Obama appointed NRI Richard Rahul Verma as next US ambassador to India:

On Sep. 18, 2014,

US President Barack Obama appointed  Richard Rahul Verma, NRI (non-resident Indian, as the next US ambassador to India.

  • Mr. Verma currently serves as senior counselor at Steptoe & Johnson and the Albright Stonebridge Group, founded and run by Bill Clinton administration officials including Madeline Albright.
  • Verma is also a senior national security fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Washington DC think tank.
  • He was senior national security advisor, counsel and foreign policy advisor to senate majority leader Harry Reid from 2002 to 2007. Verma also served with the US air force.

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Barack Obama nominates NRI Richard Rahul Verma to be US envoy to India

Richard Rahul VermaNominee for Ambassador to the Republic of India, Department of State

Richard Rahul Verma currently serves as Senior Counselor at Steptoe & Johnson LLP and the Albright Stonebridge Group.  Mr. Verma is also a Senior National Security Fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Previously, he was Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the Department of State from 2009 to 2011 and Partner at Steptoe and Johnson LLP from 2007 to 2009.  He was Senior National Security Advisor, Counsel and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from 2002 to 2007, and an Associate at Steptoe & Johnson from 1998 to 2002.

Mr. Verma served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force from 1994 to 1998 and received, among other decorations, the Meritorious Service Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Verma was a Field Representative for the National Democratic Institute in Eastern Europe and worked in the House of Representatives for Congressman John P. Murtha.

Mr. Verma served on the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism in 2008 and has been a member of the Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board.  He currently serves on the boards of Human Rights First, the Clinton Foundation, and the National Democratic Institute.

Mr. Verma received a B.S. from Lehigh University, a J.D. from American University, and an L.L.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.

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India envoy nominee Richard Verma faces Senate panel

Washington, Dec 2

Indian American Richard Rahul Verma, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be the new US Ambassador to India, is set to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations committee Tuesday for his confirmation hearing.

Verma, 45, a former key aide to then secretary of state Hillary Clinton, was named as the US envoy to India just ahead of Modi’s visit to the US last September.

The scheduling of his confirmation hearing immediately after the Thanksgiving holidays is seen as an effort to see him in place before Obama’s second visit to India.

Obama has been invited by Modi to be the chief guest at the annual Republic Day parade, the first US President to have the honour. He would also be the first US chief executive to visit India twice while in office.

If Verma, a Senior National Security Fellow at the Centre for American Progress, is confirmed by the full Senate, two Indian Americans will be dealing with matters relating to India in both Washington and New Delhi.

Current Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Desai Biswal, hailing from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, became the first Indian American to head the South Asia bureau last November.

The New Delhi post has been vacant since the previous ambassador Nancy Powell quit in May after India-US ties hit a low after a major diplomatic spat over the December arrest and strip search of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York.

Kathleen Stephens, a career foreign service official has served as chargé d’affaires in New Delhi since July.

Currently, Verma is a senior counsellor at the Steptoe & Johnson law firm and the Albright Stonebridge Group, a business advisory company led by former secretary of state Madeleine Albright.

He also serves on the boards of Human Rights First, the Clinton Foundation and the National Democratic Institute.

A Lehigh University graduate who received a JD from American University, and an LL.M from Georgetown University Law Centre, Verma served as assistant secretary for legislative affairs at the State Department from 2009 to 2011 under Hillary Clinton.

He was also senior national security advisor, counsel and foreign policy advisor to the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from 2002 to 2007, and an associate at Steptoe & Johnson from 1998 to 2002.

Verma served on active duty in the US Air Force from 1994 to 1998 and received, among other decorations, the Meritorious Service Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.

Verma also served on the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism in 2008 and has been a member of the Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board.........IANS