Preeta Bansal, senior policy adviser and general counsel to President Obama, is leaving the administration. She is among several Indian Americans who are departing the administration after two years and more of grueling schedules in what is considered a natural turnover.

Recently, Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra announced his departure, and other high-profile appointees are likely to follow suit. Principal Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal, is scheduled to leave at the end of this Supreme Court sitting, The Legal Times said. Sonal Shah, head of the White House Domestic Policy Council's Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, is also expected to announce her departure in the near future, News India Times learnt.

Bansal told News India Times it has been a "great privilege" serving President Obama, leading the Obama-Biden legal transition team for the six months prior to inauguration, and being a part of the president's campaign team of outside advisers since the start of 2007.

The last few years have seen a period of unprecedented challenges for the country's economy and national security, she noted.

"I have been honored to be in the White House complex at OMB (Office of Management and Budget) – often called the 'eye of the storm' or 'the engine room' in any administration – where we have helped oversee formulation and implementation of presidential policies government-wide," she said.

Bansal has tackled a variety of issues from regulatory reforms and the economic stimulus to budget formulation and execution, as well as management reforms designed to make government more efficient, effective, transparent and accountable.

"I look forward to some rest and intellectual space before pushing off to new exciting challenges in the private sector," Bansal, who is expected to leave in August, told News India Times via email.

According to a June 21 memo from Jack Lew, director of OMB, Bansal was the kind of strong general counsel critical for the smooth and effective functioning of the office. From executive orders to constitutional questions to significant policy matters and appropriations language, it's crucial that the administration have the support of "insightful and experienced counsel" to work with counterparts across government.

"OMB has had that in the leadership of Preeta Bansal, who has served both as general counsel and as senior policy adviser," Lew said. She expects to return to a senior corporate role, after a brief transition at a think tank, News India Times learnt.

Bansal, who was the head of the appellate practice at the leading firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York, and served as solicitor general of New York state.

Charlie P. Rose, general counsel at the Department of Education, told News India Times that Bansal's greatest achievements which set her apart were her outreach to counsels in various departments and facilitating the implementation of President Obama's Recovery Act.

"Preeta's outreach to, and collaboration with, agency general counsels created a remarkably positive and helpful environment as we adjusted to our new roles and responded to the challenges of implementing the President's policies," Rose said.

She fostered a spirit of collegiality among the agency general counsels, he said. He also said the administration's ability to establish a regulatory framework for the distribution of funds under the Recovery Act was a testament to Bansal's leadership.

"This is a tremendous legacy," he added, calling her "one of this nation's finest lawyers."