Indian business gurus come under fire

WASHINGTON: The speculated departure of beleaguered Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit might just be a sign of things to come. The Economist said Pandit had not ������ grabbed the as firmly as many had hoped������ . It added, ������ Unless more is done quickly to tackle Citi���s current problems, not to mention its structural ones, heads may roll at the top in Citi, not just at the bottom.������

Pandit is not the only Indian-origin financial guru ��� being celebrated not too long ago ��� facing the gun. Also under fire in Washington DC is Neel Kashkari, the Bush administration���s head of the Office of Financial Stability, which includes the ������ Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP),������ to oversee the $700-billion bailout aimed at arresting the US economy���s precipitous slide arising from the mortgage crisis. Last week, Kashkari faced a blistering attack from lawmakers ��� one of whom suggested he was a ������ chump��� ��� ��� for giving government handouts to companies like AIG whose executives were feasting on bonuses and taking exotic vacation on taxpayer money.

Also in the hot seat is Karthik Ramanathan, the Bush administration���s acting assistant secretary of treasury who oversees issues involving treasury financing, public debt management, and federal regulation of financial markets among other subjects. He too was roasted at a Congressional hearing last week as US lawmakers come under increasing pressure from constituents getting the short end of the economic meltdown.

Earlier in the year. Citigroup���s Pandit revived the slogan ������ The Citi never sleeps��� ��� to restore confidence in the financial giant. But with the behemoth seemingly heading into a coma, what began as a dream run for Indian financial whizzes is turning into a nightmare.