OBAMA'S COSTILIEST DINNER TO MANMOHAN

US President Barack Obama has spent a whopping USD 1.55 million on five of his state dinner since 2009, with the most expensive of them being the first one hosted in honour of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Records from the State Department Office of Protocol, whose budget covers state dinners, show they can cost taxpayers in excess of half a million dollars per event, CBS News reported.
In response to a Freedom of Information request to which it took the State Department 13 months to respond, CBS News has obtained the Office of Protocol's expense calculations for the first five state dinners of the Obama presidency.
The Obama administration spent USD 572,187.36 for the State Dinner for Singh at the White House on November 24, 2009.
Obama hosted Mexican President Felipe Calderon on May 19, 2010 at a cost of USD 563,479.92.
He held his third State Dinner on January 19, 2011 for Chinese President Hu Jintao at a cost of USD 412,329.73.
Obama held the fourth State Dinner on June 7, 2011 for German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the cost was USD 215,883.36.
The fifth State Dinner was held on October 13, 2011 for South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at a cost of USD 203,053.34, the CBS report said.
It said the State Department has not yet responded to another Freedom of Information request filed seven months ago for its rundown of the expenses for the sixth State Dinner honoring British Prime Minister David Cameron on March 14, 2012.
Obama hosted French President Francois Hollande during his seventh State Dinner last night.
The US Congress has been waiting for similar information from the State Department even longer, it said.
In a letter to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dated November 1, 2012, Darrell Issa, a Republican lawmaker from California, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, had expressed concern about the costs of state dinners and asked for an accounting.
"Please provide," wrote Issa, "an itemised list of costs and expenses for each of the last six state dinners, including, but not limited to, amounts paid, including reimbursements, for non-government event planners, entertainers and chefs."
Issa gave Clinton two weeks, until November 15, 2012, to respond to his request. The CBS, quoting a staffer says the Committee never received a response from Clinton or the State Department, the report said.

2 INDIANS GOT PRESTIGIOUS CHANCE ]

US President Barack Obama invited two of his top Indian-American fundraisers to a select group of guests for a State Dinner hosted in honour of his French counterpart Francois Hollande. Shefali Razdan Duggal and Azita Raji, both from California, were invited last night to the first State Dinner of Obama's second presidential term. While Duggal is a member of the Democratic National Committee's National Finance Committee and is a Co-Chair for the DNC Women's Leadership Forum, Raji is a member of President's Commission on White House Fellowships. Duggal is on the White House Council of Women & Girls (chaired by President Obama's Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett) and is currently a Co-Chair for the Ready for Hillary PAC (Political Action Committee). At the State Dinner, Karen Narasaki, an American civil rights leader and human rights activist, was accompanied by Indian-American Vivek Malhotra, director, Civil and Human Rights, Ford Foundation, as per the list of guests released by the White House. The dinner was attended by who's who of America along with members of the Obama's Cabinet, top officials, lawmakers and members of the French delegation led by Hollande. "Viva la France, God bless America, and long live the alliance between our great nations," Obama said delivering a delivered a light-hearted toast. "We love the United States and you love the French, although you're sometimes too shy to say so," Hollande said to laughs, according to his translator. Both the presidents were wearing tuxedos. First Lady Michelle Obama was wearing a black and liberty blue Carolina Herrera gown, according to a White House official. The State Dinner was held in a tent on the South Lawn of the White House. White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford and White House Executive Pastry Chef William Yosses created a select menu featuring delicacies from across the US for the occasion. The theme of the decor for the French State Dinner was inspired by the shared history and long-standing friendship between the United States and France, the White House said.