NEW DELHI: With US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell quitting, one of the names being considered as her replacement is Rajiv Shah, head of USAID. Rajiv Shah was Obama's pick for the job, the highest ranking Indian American in his cabinet and a Gujarati to boot.Shah, who is 41 years of age, was born in Ann Arbor Michigan to immigrant parents from India.Shah was sworn in on December 31, 2009. Shah is the 16th Administrator of USAID. According to the USAID website, "Shah managed the US government's response to the devastating 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; co-chaired the State Department's first review of American diplomacy and development operations; and now spearheads President Barack Obama's landmark Feed the Future food security initiative."Before becoming USAID's administrator, Shah served as undersecretary for research, education and economics, and as chief scientist at the US Department of Agriculture. At USDA, he launched the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which significantly elevated the status and funding of agricultural research, says the USAID website.Prior to joining the Obama administration, Shah served for seven years with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, including as director of agricultural development in the Global Development Program, and as director of strategic opportunities.Originally from Detroit, Shah earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and his master's in health economics from the Wharton School of Business. He attended the London School of Economics and is a graduate of the University of Michigan.In a sudden development, US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell on Monday resigned in the midst of general elections in India in which Narendra Modi is perceived to be a front runner for the post of Prime Minister.The announcement of her resignation to her colleagues in the US mission came a week after media reports here that she may be shipped out by the Obama Administration to "clean the state" with India. Powell has been in India for less than three years.