AZIZ HANIFFA
The farewell for Kiran Pasricha, the face of
the Confederation of Indian Industry in
Washington, DC for the past 16 years,
reflectd the impression she is leaving behind
in terms of promoting United States-India
tradewhile extending her outreach efforts far
beyond the corporate sector.
On hand to bid her adieu were business
and industry captains, senior Obama
administration officials, heads of major
think tanks, Congressional staffers and
members of both the mainstream and
South Asian media based here.
The event was co-hosted by Meera
Shankar, India’s ambassador to the US;
Sam Pitroda, adviser to the Indian prime
minister and godfather of the CII; CII chief
mentor Tarun Das; erstwhile Indian ambas-
sador to the US Ronen Sen, ex-CII presi-
dent Jamshyd Godrej; and CII director gen-
eral Chandrajit Banerjee, among others.
The senior administration officials in
attendance included Jim Steinberg, deputy
secretary of state; Demetrios Marantis,
deputy US trade representative; Francisco
Sanchez, US undersecretary of commerce
for international trade; and Alyssa Ayres,
deputy assistant secretary of state for South
Asian Affairs.
Another conspicuous presence was Ron
Somers, president, US-India Business
Council, who hosted a separate farewell
reception for Pasricha a few days later.
Pasricha, who was deputy director general and also the executive director and chief
executive officer, Aspen Institute India,
took over the responsibility of the North
America Desk in 1993 and moved to DC in
1995 to establish the CII US office.
Das said, ‘Sixteen years ago, when CII set
up shop in DC with a young woman, Kiran
Pasricha, I was told then she was not up to
the job — no way. She could not do this.
Sixteen years later today — she is still a
young woman, I believe — we have enor-
mous respect and appreciation and affec-
tion for what she has done here and for
serving as a bridge, supplementing the
work of our government, our embassy, in
bringing together Indians and Americans.’
Shankar said, ‘This is a celebration of
Kiran’s work here in Washington DC and
the many connections and friends that she
has made.’
‘I was here 16 years ago in the embassy as
minister, commerce, when Kiran first came
to Washington and was trying to find her
way around. And, I have to say that she
picked up the threads very fast and drove
the business agenda,’ the envoy recalled. ‘At
a recent meeting, somebody talked about
her as being the ‘bad cop’ who kept every-
body in line and made sure the work got
done. Kiran, you’ve done a great job and we
see that here in terms of the people who
have come to say goodbye to you. But we
see it also reflected in the growth in
trade and business between the two coun-
tries.’
‘In 2010, trade touched $48.75 billion in
goods and $38 billion in services,’ he added.
‘So, we are looking at a portfolio of proba-
bly $80 billion. Investment flows are now
in both directions. Indian companies are
investing very heavily in the United States.
They are active in over 42 states here and
A39 BUSINESS
From left, Sam Pitroda, Meera Shankar, Kiran Pasricha, Tarun Das, Ronen Sen, S K Gupta (Pasricha’s brother), Jamshyd Godrej and Chandrajit Banerjee
A hero’s farewell for Kiran Pasricha
Kiran Pasricha, right, with Demetrios Marantis
all of this reflects to some extent not just
the fact that it is of mutual interest, but also
the fact that there have been catalysts like
Kiran, the CII and our chambers of com-
merce as well as the embassy.’
Sen said Pasricha had been associated
with many of the India-US developments
in the past few years, ranging from the US-
India nuclear deal to the defense coopera-
tion agreement between both countries
‘and a large number of other things.’
‘Kiran’s been involved in all of this, and
not only in getting corporate America on
board, working on the Hill, and a number
of other areas—major cultural events,’ he
said. ‘So, it’s bittersweet in a way, in the
sense that one chapter is coming to an end,
but sweet in a way also because she’s com-
ing home and we look forward to success in
her new endeavors.’
Pitroda, who had specially flown in from
Chicago for the function, said, ‘I tried to get
out of it, but couldn’t do it emotionally,
mainly because I’ve known Kiran for over
25 years.’
He recalled the first time he met her was
in Delhi at the time he was telecommunica-
tions adviser to then prime minister Rajiv
Gandhi. ‘The first time I met her, I saw in
her a lot of energy. (She was) positive,
always willing, open to new ideas, and will-
ing to try all kinds of different things,’ he
said. ‘We bonded then and we worked on
and off for several years. Finally, we recon-
nected again in the US. I’m delighted that
she is going back for there is a lot of work
out there, We are trying to create 50 inno-
vation clusters and I am sure we can use
some more help from Kiran.’
Godrej, during whose tenure as president
the CII USA office was established in DC,
said, ‘All the things that have happened
over the years have happened thanks to
Kiran’s enormous energy and enthusiasm
and willingness to do things anytime of day
or night. And, Tarun also is quite a slave-
driver as all of you know, and he made sure
that this happened and it was his personal
interest in ensuring that the most impor-
tant relationship that we have here with the
USA really prospered.’
Pasricha seemed overwhelmed. ‘I am so
touched and humbled by having all of you
here,’ she said. ‘It’s a long way from when I
first came here.’
She spoke of the times when she could
not get her calls returned from even mid-
level State Department officials and the
first time she finally got her call answered
was when a senior official though she was
‘Karen from CIA.’
‘This is where we were then and this is
where we are today,’ she said.
