– NEW YORK The American India Foundation raised over $1.35 million at its annual Spring Awards Gala at the Sheraton New York on May 10. Chanda Kochhar, the managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank from India, and John B. Veihmeyer, chairman and CEO of KPMG LLP from the United States, were honored at the gala for their service to the community, a press release from the foundation said.

Eight Indian-Americans who were among this year’s Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients were felicitated May 12 at a ceremony on the island in New York. Peter Bheddah, Ravishankar Bhooplapur, Dr. Sanjiv Chopra, Dr. Leena N. Doshi, Dr. Surendra V. Jain, Hasu P. Shah, Rajendra Singh and Dr. John P.

A funeral was held May 4 for a college student from New York drowned in the Pacific Ocean off Costa Rica last month. Ravi Thackurdeen, who studied at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, had been reported missing on April 29 after being pulled out to sea while swimming off Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, according to midhudsonnews.com. His body was found May 1. Family and friends attended the funeral in San Jose, Costa Rica.

President Obama enjoyed a Himalayan-inspired meal prepared by renowned Indian American chef Vikas Khanna at a high-profile fundraiser held May 14, at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City. Some of the city’s hoi polloi paid more than $35,000 for the multicourse meal that Khanna told Desi Talk, was inspired by the values the President espouses.

– NEW YORK Jhumpa Lahiri, Padma Lakshmi, Lisa Ray as well as Drs. Sanjay Gupta and Atul Gawande are among the nominees for the second annual Light of India Awards presented by Remit2India, a money transfer service of the Times Group. The list of nominees was announced May1 at The Pierre here. According to a press release from Remit2India, the awards honor Indians living abroad for their significant contributions.

An Indian-American couple who own several construction companies, agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a labor dispute with New York state. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced May 2 that the New York-based construction companies owned by husband and wife Jitendra and Sarita Hirani, agreed to settle the investigation into their labor practices. The Hiranis own Hirani Construction Management, located in Jericho, N.Y.

– NEW YORK A 23-year-old student was killed May 5 when his minivan was hit by a BMW on a Brooklyn Highway. Jamal Iqbal, who was born in Pakistan, was pronounced dead at the Coney Island Hospital, news reports said. He loved with his parents in Sheepshead Bay. “His mom is in shock. She keeps saying, ‘My son! My son!’ “ Azeem Ullah, a longtime friend of Iqbal’s, told the Daily News. “I’m shocked,” he said. “He was always there for everybody.