The U.S. ambassador to India has resigned and will leave her post in May.
The move comes following a row between the United States and India over the arrest and brief jailing of an Indian diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, in New York on a visa fraud charge.
According to the BBC, Khobragade, an official in the New York consulate, was accused of underpaying her housekeeper and lying about it on immigration forms. She has left the US.
However, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf has denied Powell's resignation was related to ongoing tensions.
In a news conference on Monday, Harf said the move was 'in no way related to any tension, any recent situations, there is not any big behind-the-scenes story here'.
Harf said any rumours and speculation to the contrary were 'totally false'.