Nancy Powell,US Ambassador for India Resigns Monday March 31,2014

US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell resigned on Monday March 31,2014 paving the way for a political appointee to repair bilateral ties ruptured by the handcuffing and strip search of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York in December 2013

Nancy Powell "announced in a US Mission Town Hall meeting that she has submitted her resignation to [US] President [Barack] Obama and, as planned for some time, will retire to her home in Delaware before the end of May 2014

Nancy Powell’s removal had been in the works so far after senior US and Indian officials felt compartmental thinking by US State Department officials failed to account for the broader political implications of moving against Dr. Khobragade in a dogged manner