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UAE PERMANENT RESIDENCY

Win-win situation for allABU DHABI: The UAE’s decision to grant perma-nent residency to investors will attract long-term resi-dents, investors and world’s best talent in diverse fields, hence increasing the size of the UAE’s economy and stabilising it, analysts, busi-nessmen and entrepreneurs have opined.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had announced permanent residency scheme “Golden Card”, which will be granted to qualifying investors, en-trepreneurs, professional talents, researchers in vari-ous fields of science and knowledge and outstanding students. It is believed that the first beneficiary of this

game-changing initiative will be existing business-men, entrepreneurs and highly-skilled and qualified professionals and students who will convert their status and obtain the Golden Card.

Osama Al Rahma, CEO of Al Fardan Exchange and vice-chairman of Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group (FERG), said the per-manent residency scheme would be very encouraging for the expat community and will reinforce their confi-dence in the country’s gov-ernance and economy. “The announcement is great news for investors in the UAE, especially those who have been here for a long time, as they are now able to benefit from greater security and stability. Investors will be able to plan long-term strate-

UAE launches Gold CardDUBAI: Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His High-ness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has launched a permanent residency scheme for select expatriates.

“We have launched a permanent residence sys-tem (Gold Card) in the UAE for investors and exceptional competencies in the fields of medicine, engineering, sci-ence and arts. The first batch of permanent residence will be given to 6800 investors whose total investments are Dh100 billion,” Sheikh Mohammed said in a tweet. “The permanent residence Gold Card will be given to distinguished individu-als, exceptional talents and anyone who contributes positively to UAE’s success story. We want them to be

permanent partners with us in our journey. All residents of the UAE are our brothers and part of our big family,” a second tweet said.

Gen Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA), said that the new system of

permanent resi-dency --Golden

Card -- is a step that strength-ens UAE’s position on the international economy map. He said that UAE was always a step ahead in announcing decisions that strengthen the country’s economy, empha-sising that issuing permanent residencies for investors and individuals with exceptional talents in fields of medicine, engineering, science and arts comes as appreciation for the role they play in improving the country.

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gies for their businesses and invest more in existing busi-nesses, thus allowing capital to remain within the UAE,” Al Rahma said.

Dr Azad Moopen, founder chairman, Aster DM Health-care, said this initiative had been a long-felt desire of the expat community to stay here permanently as many of them consider UAE as home.

“The ability to get a permanent residency will prompt people from many countries to come to the UAE and establish business. This will in turn improve the economy and increase employment opportunity,” said Moopen.

Praising the UAE’s deci-sion of permanent residency, Taher Shams, managing di-rector, Zulekha Healthcare Group, said this initiative

would enable the group to plan long-term and look forward to greater success. Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group, noted that the UAE is one of the world’s top destinations for expatriates looking to embark upon or further their careers because of the fantastic possibilities offered in terms of finance, trade and commerce, plus that famous “can do” attitude and the low-tax environment. “The Golden Card will ensure the UAE becomes even more at-tractive for overseas talent as it provides permanency and, therefore, more certainty and stability. It will inevitably make recruiting more top talent easier for UAE-based firms and this can be expect-ed to add real value to the country (Contd. on page 2)

MUMBAI: The decision by the Emirates Driving Institute (EDI) to set up centres in India, offering driving lessons to workers seeking employment in the UAE, will have far-reaching advantages for Indians — particularly because India is not on the UAE’s list of exempted countries whose citizens can directly ex-change their driving licenc-es for UAE driving permits.

The collaboration be-tween EDI, along with the Youth Chamber of Com-merce (YCC), UAE, and In-dia’s National Skill Develop-ment Corporation (NSDC), to set up driving centres along migratory areas in

UAE driving classes in India a pragmatic step

India will render invalu-able initiation to millions of Indian workers who arrive in the UAE and for whom a driving licence is key to en-hancing their job prospects.

As one of the top coun-tries in the world providing migrant workers, India has a significant number of its people living in the UAE: 3.3 million in 2017 as compared with 0.3 million in 2000, according to the UN Interna-tional Migration Report 2017. This new initiative is set to mark itself as a new chapter in UAE-India partnership.

For thousands in this segment, the matter of ob-taining a UAE driving per-mit is a particularly inter-

locked issue. First, there is the cost. Depending on how many lessons the learner requires, and the number of tests he or she has to take, it can range from a minimum of Dh4,500 to Dh7,000 to an open-ended sum — a factor that plays a large role in determining how many of them decide to stay the course. Then, there is the psychology of the experience, which is driven by a complex blend of anxiety, fear and hope as the hopefuls strive to detach from their native idioms of driving and adjust to the norms in the UAE. There is also the bracket of NRIs who have never been be-

hind the wheel in India and for whom the first learning experience in the UAE can be daunting. For all these groups, a head-start to get-ting acquainted with what they are expected to learn in the UAE will be a great money and time saver as they will arrive here in a state of preparedness.

The new collaboration has an impressively wide arc of objectives: Training the trainers for their stints in In-dia, educating Indian learners on UAE’s cultural sensitivi-ties and aiding by them in the acquisition of soft skills such as speaking English, that are a higher stepping stone to improved job prospects.

Job creation up at 8.14 lakh in March: EPFONEW DELHI: Net employ-ment generation in the formal sector was higher at 8.14 lakh in March 2019 against 7.88 lakh in Feb this year, accord-ing to the latest Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) payroll data.

Around 67.59 lakh jobs were generated in the entire 2018-19 fiscal, the payroll data based on members joining the schemes of EPFO showed. Total net new en-rolments were at 15.52 lakh during the seven-month period from Sept 2017 to March 2018. The retirement fund body has been releas-ing payroll data from April 2018, covering the period starting from Sept 2017.

The EPFO in its payroll data did not provide month-ly net new enrolments for March 2018. During March 2019, the highest number of

2.25 lakh jobs were created in the 22-25 years age group, followed by 2.14 lakh in the 18-21 years age bracket. In 2018-19, the highest job creation was recorded in Jan 2019 at 8.31 lakh against the provisional estimate of 8.94 lakh released last month. The payroll data released in April 2019 had shown a sharp revision in net job additions for March 2018, recording a contraction or exit of 55,934 members from the EPFO subscriptions. On the contraction, the EPFO had said: “March 2018 fig-ure is negative due to a large number of exits reported in March, in view of it being the closing month of the financial year.” The EPFO said the data is provisional as updating of employee records is a continuous process and gets updated in

subsequent months.This is age-band wise

data of new members regis-tered under the EPFO where the first non-zero contri-bution received during a particular month. For each age-wise band, the estimates are net of the members newly enrolled, exited and rejoined during the month as per records of the EPFO, it added. The estimates may include temporary employ-ees whose contributions may not be continuous for the entire year. Members’ data are linked to unique Aadhaar identity, it added. The EPFO manages social security funds of workers in the organised or semi-organ-ised sector in India and has more than six crore active members (with at least one-month contribution during the year).

MODI ROMPS HOMENEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA is all set to return to power at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, making it the first time since 1971 that India voted a serving PM back to power with such a majority for a second consecutive term.

According to trends by the Election Commission of India, the BJP is set to gain major-ity on its own and is currently ahead on 291 seats. The NDA is leading on 331 seats. The Congress, on the other hand, has failed to impress once again with the UPA leading on 101 seats. As per current trends, the BJP looks set to repeat its performance of 2014 Lok Sabha elections in states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, HP and Uttarakhand. In Madhya Pradesh as well, the BJP is leading on 28 out of 29 seats. In Karnataka, the BJP is leading on 24 out of 28 while in Jharkhand, the saffron party is maintaining a comfortable lead on 11 of the 14 seats. In Uttar Pradesh, the Mahagathbandhan of the BSP and SP has failed to inflict the kind of damage it had hoped for. The BJP has performed reasonably well, leading on 54 seats. The major news for the BJP, however, comes from West Bengal where the party has made significant strides in Mamata Banerjee’s bastion. As per current trends of the Election Commission, the BJP is leading on 19 seats and is set to make a massive gain in terms of vote share.

Sensex crosses 40,000-markMUMBAI: The BSE Sensex hit the 40,000-mark on Thurs-day, after trends showed Mo-di-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) sweeping to power in the Lok Sabha elec-tions. While most experts had predicted Modi-led NDA to come back to power for the second consecutive term, markets, they said, had been discounting this. By 10.35 am on Thursday, the benchmark had inched past the historic 40,000-mark to hit a high of 40,124.96.

The recent rally has been led by financial stocks. On Thursday, the Nifty Bank index (up 1.9pc) has been

one of the top gainers with IndusInd Bank, Bank of Baro-da, SBI, YES Bank and ICICI Bank among the key gainers.

NRI tycoons hail Modi’s victoryDUBAI: NRI businessmen in the Gulf have welcomed the victory of Narendra Modi in the LS elections.

“This is good news for NRIs as Modi has done much to put India on the global map. Indians today have become more visible. We know that someone is looking after us and we as Indians can look at invest-ment opportunities any-where in the world with the confidence that we are rec-ognised. Modi is a business minded and I believe he will help bring in foreing invest-ments into the country and this will be great”, remarked Ram Buxani, chairman of ITL Cosmos Group.

“The new government will lead the country to the highest level. Black market will be completely wiped out. People who have looted our country will be eradicat-ed and punished severely. We have (Contd. on page 2)

Rahul leads in Wayanad, trails at AmethiNEW DELHI: While Congress president Rahul Gandhi is likely to lose Amethi to rival Smriti Irani of BJP, he is leading from Wayanad in Kerala with nearly three lakh votes margin. Rahul, a three-time MP from Amethi, is trailing by nearly 20,000 votes. A loss in Amethi would mean moral defeat for Rahul, who still feels he will re-emerge and regain over Irani in later rounds. In Wayanad, Rahul has got 7,37,173 votes against PP Suneer of CPI who has garnered 4.6 lakh votes.

2 EMIGRATION Friday, May 24, 2019

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LIPSYNCH “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.

— Colin Powell.

UAE’s Gold Card

Citizenship norms and residency rules are undergo-ing a massive change in the Gulf. Recently, Saudi Arabia introduced Green Card for expatriates under

which no sponsorship is necessary for expatriates. Rules are simplified and rationalised to make it easier and practical. Rigidity is a thing of the past.

The UAE’s Gold Card scheme that offers permanent residency to investors and experts in the fields of medicine, engineering, science and arts, will go a long way in attracting and retaining the best talent and enterprise from across the world. It would mean that these businessmen and specialists do not have to renew their residence visas every two-three years. They can take a futuristic view by simply staying put in the country while wisely creating new wealth in this fertile ground for start-ups and emerging large businesses. The plan is to stem the flow of investments from the UAE. Cash outflows to their home countries would also be reduced under the scheme which is part of larger visa reforms rolled out by the government some months ago.

UAE Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced that 6,800 people from 70 nationalities have been already chosen under the plan for permanent residency. Their investments in the country top Dh100 billion, Sheikh Mohammed revealed. These reforms show the UAE has evolved as a country that welcomes tal-ent and investment. It wants people to stay and script their success stories that would create more jobs and add to a vibrant economy. Investments may be welcome but what the UAE needs is the right kind of entrepreneurs and specialists.

Labour reforms are already underway and expatriate workers in the country enjoy benefits like no other in the Middle East. It has been a transparent process with the gov-ernment acting as a regulator and protecting the interests of the workforce. The Gold Scheme, however, has a clear focus on the knowledge economy of an enterprising nation that is keen on innovative investment. It needs scientific leaders and smart minds as it moves away from the oil economy. This scheme is borne out of a long-term vision of UAE that views itself as a future global knowledge powerhouse. These visa reforms are the first in the series of steps that allows expats to make the UAE their permanent home. It offers them stability while they expand their horizons and ventures.

“The Golden Card is our way to welcome all those seeking to be a part of the UAE’s success story and making it a second home,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted. Typically, foreign resi-dents have renewable visas that are valid for two or three years and often tied to their employment. But last year the govern-ment announced plans to reform its visa policies. It pledged to allow five and 10-year visas for sought-after professionals and academics and for long-term investors. The permanent resi-dency programme set out on Tuesday goes a step beyond this.

Editorial

Another bank merger soon

MUMBAI: The government is planning to merge Punjab National Bank with two other PSU banks -- Oriental Bank of Commerce and Andhra Bank-- after the new adminis-tration is in place following the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

This is in a bid to keep five or six larger banks in the country, which the ruling Modi government has been advocating for some time. Notably, this would be a significant merger after the state-run with Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank merged with Bank of Baroda. The BoB merger became effective April 1.

PNB could begin the process of merger with OBC, Allahabad Bank and Andhra Bank in the next three months. Besides BoB merger, Life Insurance Corporation also took over IDBI Bank by acquiring more than 51pc in the lender in January this year. In 2017, India’s largest lender State Bank of India was merged with its five associate banks along with Bharatiya Mahila Bank.

Notably, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has promoted the idea of consolidation in the public sector banks to make them glob-ally competitive and better players in the banking space. “I think India needs fewer and mega banks which are strong because in every sense, from borrowing rates to optimum utilisation, the economies of scale as far as the banking sector is concerned are of great help,” Arun Jaitley had said in February.

After the announcement of Bank of Baroda- Vijaya and Dena Bank merger , the government had serious plans to go ahead with another merger but it was shelved after the BJP got defeat in the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Ra-jasthan. The finance ministry sources had then said the government didn’t want to risk their chances of winning in the Lok Sabha elections. RBI in its research paper in April had also pitched for further consolidation in the banking sphere as the larger banks are more labour cost efficient.

Philippines may ban sending maids to KuwaitMANALIA: The Department of La-bour and Employment (DOLE) is looking to reimpose a ban on the deployment of household service workers (HSWs) to Kuwait, fol-lowing the death of another over-seas Filipino worker (OFW) in the host country early this week.

“It’s an option,” Labour Sec-retary Silvestre Bello said in a text message when asked if the government would reimpose the deployment ban on Kuwait after the death of 47-year-old Constan-cia Lago Dayag, an OFW from Agadanan, Isabela. Bello said he received a report that the HSW was brought to the Al Sabah Hos-pital this week but was declared dead on arrival. Her body bore signs of abuse and sexual assault.

In a separate text message, Philip-pine Overseas Employment Ad-ministration (POEA) administra-tor, Bernard Olalia, noted that the body’s Governing Board (GB) may include the possible deployment ban in the agenda of its regular meeting. The GB issues policies, such as deployment bans, which are related to the work of OFWs.

The POEA chief added that at the moment, there is no deploy-ment ban on Kuwait. Meanwhile, Overseas Workers Welfare Admin-istration (OWWA) administrator, Hans Leo Cacdac, said they are ready to provide financial assis-tance to Dayag’s family. “We will provide death and burial benefits, as well as livelihood and scholar-ship support. One of her children

is still studying in school,” he said in a text message. On Thursday, Bello condemned the death of the OFW. “The horrible fate of Dayag is deeply saddening and utterly condemnable.”

Last year, the government had imposed a ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait after the discovery of the remains of 29-year-old Joanna Demafelis inside a freezer in an abandoned house in Kuwait City in February 2018. The suspects in the case were the employers of the OFW, who were both arrested. The ban was eventu-ally lifted after the Philippine and Kuwaiti governments signed a MoU intensifying the welfare protection of Filipino workers, particularly HSWs, in the host country.

Anamika Singh, the widow of police officer Ronil Singh, who was murdered by an illegal alien thug the day after Christmas, with President Trump at the National Peace Officers’ Memorial in Washington.

Trump hosts family of slain police offi cer Ronil SinghWASHINGTON: Presi-dent Trump invited the family of slain police of-ficer Indian origin Ronil Singh to the White House for a visit and spent con-siderable time with them, taking pictures in the Oval Office and showing them the Lincoln bedroom. And, later during his re-marks at the 38th Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service on the West Lawn of the Capitol, much to their surprise, he called them up on to the dais and gave them pride of place to deliver some remarks themselves.

Singh (33) of New-man, California, was shot to death during a routine traffic stop on Christmas night last year by an un-documented immigrant. During his speech, Trump in calling out the names of fallen police officers, killed in the line of duty and acknowledging their families present at the memorial, veering off the script on the teleprompter and ad-libbing as he often does, just after he had dwelled on the Singh’s life and career and praised the late officer for his dedica-

tion and courage, in an im-promptu moment, called on all of the members of Singh’s family to come up on stage

and say a few words.“Here with us today is the

family of California Police Officer Ronil Singh,” the president said to sustained applause from the audience, adding: “And I’ve gotten to know his family-- they’re an incredible family. Trump said that “they just left the Oval Office. We took pic-tures. And it’s not an easy

situation, what they’re going through. Frankly, they’re go-ing through hell.”

Reading from his pre-

pared script, he said: “Ronil came to this country legally in 2003 with the dream of earning the badge of an American police officer. That was always his dream. And that’s exactly what Ronil did-- he devoted his life to defending the laws of our country.” Trump re-called: “On Christmas night, he took a picture in front of

the family Christmas tree with his beautiful wife, their beloved son and Sam, their loyal police

dog. It’s a picture that all of us saw. I remember it so vividly. I’ll never forget it.”

“I didn’t know I’d get to know the family and greet the family and show the family the Lincoln bed-room at the White House. I didn’t know that. But it’s an extraordinary family. But I’ll never forget the picture,” he said.

MELBOURNE: Dave Sharma, the Liberal candidate and former Australian ambas-sador to Israel, has scripted history by becoming the first Indian-origin lawmaker in the country’s Parliament after winning a seat in Syd-ney suburb in the federal election. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is close to securing a major-ity government as the elec-tion’s final results are being counted.

His conservative coali-

Niraj Shah’s Wayfair hits Fortune 500 statusBOSTON: Wayfair, the online home furnishings and de-cor business that also has Joss & Main and Birch Lane in its portfolio of brands, was among the newcomers to the list coming in at No. 465. Last year, Wayfair was ranked 545. They have $6.8 billion in revenues, up 43.6pc from last year’s ranking. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the Shah-led company has over 12,000 employees. It is their first year on the Fortune 500 list. Companies are ranked by total revenues for their respective fiscal years. Included in the survey are companies that are incorporated in the US and operate in the US and file financial statements with a government agency. This includes private companies and co-operatives that file a 10-K or a comparable financial statement with a government agency and mutual insurance companies that file with state regulators. It also includes companies that file with a government agency but are owned by private companies, domestic or foreign, that do not file such fi-nancial statements.

Excluded are private companies not filing with a govern-ment agency, companies incorporated outside the US and US companies consolidated by other companies, domestic or foreign, that file with a government agency. Also excluded are companies that failed to report full financial statements for at least three-quarters of the current fiscal year. Percent change calculations for revenue, net income, and earnings per share are based on data as originally reported. They are not restated for mergers, acquisitions, or accounting changes. The only changes to the prior years’ data are for significant restatement due to reporting errors that require a company to file an amended 10-K, Fortune said.

Indian-origin Dave Sharma wins Wentworthin seat in Australiation has defied polls and is leading with 77 seats, the Australian Elec-toral Commission says. Only 76 seats are needed for a majority.

Sharma (43) de-feated independent candidate Kerryn Phelps for the east-ern suburb seat of Wentworthin dis-trict. Sharma, who had lost to Phelps in a by-election six months ago, claimed the seat

of Wentworth with 51.16pc of the vote. “Very humbled by

the trust placed in me by the people of Wentworth. Look forward to being a voice for them in Parliament and the party room,” Sharma said in a tweet.

He sa id the three main issues

he wanted to focus on were national security, female workforce participation and

making sure Australia re-mains at the high end of the value chain. “It’s been a long continuous campaign for seven months for me,” he told reporters in Sydney. I was helped by the tailwind of a strong national campaign,” he said.

“I’ll be concentrating my time over the next weeks, months and years to being a good local representative,” he was quoted as saying. “I’ll be helping to protect open spaces and parklands, fight

for better local infrastructure and transport, helping pre-serve the wonderful quality of life we have here in Wen-tworth,” he said.

Born to a father of Indian heritage and an Austra-lian mother, Dave’s family settled in Sydney in the 1970s. Over 10 Indian-or-igin candidates contested this year’s federal elections in Australia where the In-dian diaspora continues to grow and has touched more than seven lakh.

Dave Sharma

NRI tycoons...(Contd. from page 1)seen that in the last term of BJP and I am sure it will be the case next term. I foresee India will be the leading nation in the world. The country will grow beyond expectations. There will be no selfish motive from poli-ticians anymore”, said Vasu Shroff, chairman of the Regal Group of Companies

“This is good news for NRIs as Modi has done much to put India on the global map. Indians today have become more visible. We know that someone is looking after us and we as Indians can look at in-vestment opportunities anywhere in the world with the confidence that we are recognised. Modi is a business minded and I believe he will help bring in foreing investments into the country and this will be great”, remarked Ram Buxani, chairman of ITL Cosmos Group.

Win-win...(Contd. from page 1)

and its economy. The initia-tive will further fuel con-fidence that the UAE is a place for international com-panies to do business and invest. Its business pow-erhouse reputation will be galvanised by this proactive and forward-thinking new development,” Green said.

3GULF JOBS & OPPORTUNITIESFriday, May 24, 2019

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An IPEPCIL initiative to help Gulf job-seekers

Indian Personnel Export Promotion Council (IPEPCIL)

is a 39-year-old professional body devoted to resolving the grievances of overseas placement community. This council

consists of only registered recruiting agencies who are legally and professionally engaged in sending manpower to overseas,

particularly to the Gulf nations.

IPEPCIL Publications (P) Ltd.IPEPCIL Publications is publishing NEWS AND NRI CONNECT,

which is the “Gateway to Global Opportunities”. Published from In-dia’s business capital Mumbai, this bi-weekly (Tuesday and Friday) newspaper is circulated pan-India. This English newspaper carries Gulf and national placement advertisements and provides authentic and useful information of Indian and overseas recruitment, critical news packets of job opportunities and crucial changes in policies that affects the industry.

Coming from the stable of highly experienced professionals in the placement business, NEWS AND NRI CONNECT will uphold the highest standard of ethics and professionalism. We will publish only authentic advertisements to protect our job aspirants. A newspaper runs on its credibility and we are committed to this trust.

IPEPCIL Publications (P) Ltd.Offi ce No. 1001, 10th Floor,Navjivan Commercial Premises Co-op. Society Ltd.,Lamington Road, (Dr.D.B.Marg), Mumbai Central, Mumbai - 400 008.

4 GULF JOBS & OPPORTUNITIES Friday, May 24, 2019

NEW DELHI: Admissions to law courses in Delhi government’s Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha Univer-sity (GGSIPU) for the 2019-20 academic session will be only through national level Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), the Supreme Court said.

A vacation bench com-prising Justices Arun Mishra and M R Shah said this while hearing a petition filed by the GGSIPU challenging the Delhi High Court order which had stayed the opera-tion of an order and circular issued in February mandating the varsity to take admission in law courses through CLAT.

“Let the admissions (in law courses) be made on the basis of CLAT,” the bench

Admissions to law courses in GGSIPU will be through CLAT: SCsaid.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for GG-SIPU, said that as per the high court order, the varsity would have to conduct com-mon entrance test for taking admissions in law courses as it cannot take admissions through CLAT.

The counsel appearing for self-financing educational institutions association said students will have to suffer if admissions to law courses were made only through CLAT as the last date for applying for CLAT was al-ready over.

“Nobody will suffer. CLAT means CLAT,” the bench observed.

During the hearing, the bench took umbrage at one

of the junior lawyers, assist-ing a senior advocate arguing in the matter, when he tried to interject.

“Ask you junior to behave properly in the court,” the bench said, adding, “What is this happening? We will initiate contempt... Is this a ‘Sabzi Mandi’ (vegetable

market)? A senior counsel is arguing and he (junior lawyer) is shouting from behind”.

However, the senior law-yer apologised to the bench on behalf of his junior col-league.

When the counsel ap-pearing for the association

told the court that students will suffer since last date for applying for CLAT was over, the bench said, “Your apprehension does not seem to be correct. Today, students are more smart. They must have applied for CLAT. Do not under estimate students”.

The Directorate of Higher Education of Delhi govern-ment had issued an order on February 11 permitting the GGSIPU to adopt National Level Tests for admission to several courses, including LLB and LLM, for 2019-20.

Subsequently, the univer-sity issued a circular on Feb-ruary 26 saying it was likely to admit students in the law programs for the academic session 2019-20, through CLAT-UG and CLAT-PG.

PATNA: TM Bhagalpur University (TMBU) have finally decided to discon-tinue the new session for postgraduate course in

Angika, a regional dialect spoken by people in nearly two dozen districts of Bi-har and Jharkhand, since no student had turned up for enrolment even after extending the admission

With no takers, Bhagalpur varsity drops PG course in Angikadeadline.

Leela Chand Saha, the in-charge vice-chancellor, said the Angika depart-ment had drawn a blank

in fresh enrolment. “In the absence of students, there is no alternative than to discontinue the current session. However, classes would continue for stu-dents enrolled in previous

sessions,” he said.The postgraduate course

in Angika was started by the TMBU in 2002.

Saha said the univer-sity would explore the possibility of introduc-ing the sub-ject at un-dergraduate level from t h e n e x t session to encourage s t u d e n t s to enrol at the masters

level.Saha said Angika, an

allied subject of Hindi, was currently being taught by teachers of Hindi depart-ment.

Though admissions

have remained restricted to a single digit number in some other subjects, including Maithili, the university has decided to continue new sessions despite the low enrolment of students, the V-C said.

A teacher, who did not want to be named, said that initially, there was enrol-ment against all 75 seats in Angika department, but it started dropping in subse-quent sessions. The num-ber of students admitted in the department was less than 10 in last few sessions, he said. Teachers at the university are of the view that the government’s rec-ognition of the subject in competitive examinations was still awaited and the subject had gradually lost popularity among students.

AHMEDABAD: Indian Insti-tute of Management (IIM) Jammu has wrapped up its final placement process -- with the highest domestic package offered being Rs 20 lakh.

The placement process for IIM Jammu’s second batch of flagship post gradu-ate programme (PGP) 2017-19 witnessed a 10.3 per cent rise in average packages. The average domestic cost-to-company (CTC) at IIM Jammu now stands at Rs 11.20 lakh, while the me-dian CTC was Rs 9.50 lakh.

Moreover, the average CTC of the top 20 per cent of the batch was Rs 18.12 lakh, while that of the top 50 per cent stood at Rs 13.15 lakh.

The second batch of IIM Jammu also saw a record 77 companies including big names like Deloitte, HCL, Kantar, Motilal Oswal, Schindler, Tata Power, JSPL,

IIM Jammu sees 10pc rise in pay packagesGartner, TresVista, OYO, and FIS Global.

Roles offered by recruit-

ers also saw an improve-ment for the new IIM with profiles such as equity analyst, consultant, product manager, cluster head, AGM marketing, supply chain analyst, as well as execu-tive assistant to CEO being extended to IIM Jammu students.

The B-school’s summer placement process for the 2018-20 batch saw a whop-ping 99.3 per cent increase

in the average stipend. The highest stipend offered for a summer internship stood

at Rs 2,00,000, while the average and median sti-pends were Rs 52,000 and Rs 50,000, respectively.

The recruiters for sum-mer placements were from diverse industries viz. bank-ing, automobiles, FMCG, manufacturing, e-com-merce, and pharmaceutical. ICICI Bank, Myntra, Maruti Suzuki, Fujitsu, Decathlon, V-Guard, SIDBI, and Wock-hardt were among them.

MUMBAI: With traditional jobs undergoing a trans-formation, companies are now re-designing job roles to accommodate changing industry dynamics, accord-ing to a survey.

Nearly half (47 per cent) of senior HR profession-als are predicting a skills shortage in the country in the near future and, as a result, over one-third (37 per cent) are focusing on making changes in job de-scriptions to swiftly adopt changing trends, according to the survey by job portal Shine.com. It did the sur-vey among HR profession-als from various sectors on its own platform.

As organisations are rapidly adopting technol-ogy to streamline processes and make them more effi-cient, traditional job roles

Companies re-designing job roles due to changing industry trends: Survey

are undergoing massive transformation, the survey noted.

“As new job roles en-ter the market; we are already seeing job descrip-

tions evolve. Skills which wouldn’t typically be found in the same role earlier are now being combined to cre-ate more multi-dimensional profiles,” Shine.com CEO Zairus Master said.

Hence, he said, the tra-ditional resume formats are

now becoming irrelevant. He further said job seekers will need to amplify the appeal of their resumes by highlighting the relevant job skills that they possess.

For instance, data en-try professionals will now need to acquire data sci-ence skills to be able to land high-value jobs.

“At this juncture, up-skilling or re-skilling is a good option for profession-als looking to augment their

career growth trajectory,” he added.

More than half (54.05 per cent) of the HR profes-sionals surveyed said they will invest in large scale re-skilling in their organisa-tions, it said.

Further, until the skills of the workforce are aligned with business goals, 38.04 per cent of the respondents will focus on developing a rewards strategy to attract and retain gig economy workers, the survey said.

However, since re-skill-ing is a relatively gradual process, the focus of or-ganisations will remain on revamping job profiles and hiring professionals who can fulfill these multi-faceted job roles that are more demanding and skill-based than ever before, the survey added.

NEW DELHI: The ship-ment of 4G tablets grew 62pc in India in the first quarter of 2019 which was led by Lenovo, a new report said.

According to Cyber-Media Research’s (CMR) “Tablet PC Market Report Review for 1Q CY2019”, there was a 28pc sequential increase in tablet ship-ments in the Rs 10,000-Rs 20,000 price segment.

Lenovo with 26pc led the market, followed by Samsung at 17pc and iBall also at 17pc. Apple was fourth with 9pc market share.

“Lenovo covers 90pc market in 4G tablet. In

Demand for 4G tablets grow 62pc in India in Q1the coming quarters, the market share for Sam-sung is potentially going to decline as there are no new launches of tablets slated from their end,” said Menka Kumari, an analyst with IIG-CMR.

The overall tablet mar-ket saw an 11pc decline in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter last year.

“The onset of foldable smartphones is also likely to potentially challenge the future of the tablet market. While Samsung faced some initial hiccups with its Galaxy Fold, there are others such as Huawei and Motorola waiting in

the wings with their fold-able innovations,” added Kumari.

Smartphones, as well as the ul-trabooks, are a lso eating up the tablet m a r k e t . “ Ta b l e t s fits some-where in b e t w e e n t h e u l -t rabooks and smart-p h o n e s . While the increased size of screen and affordability of smart-phone are primarily the

main reasons behind the decline of the tablet mar-ket, Ultrabooks with better processors and RAM, are

also posing stiff competi-tion to tablets,’ said Kanika Jain, manager, New Initia-

NEW DELHI: Bharti AXA Life Insurance, a private life insurer, has been conferred with the FICCI Claims Excellence Award. The recognition comes

for its customer-friendly claims services in the life insurance sector.

The insurer improved its individual claim settle-ment ratio, the number of

claims paid to the num-ber of claims received, to 96.85pc in financial year 2017-18.

“The award is a rec-ognition of our pledge to provide protection against the uncertainties of life and timely support to custom-ers and their families in the hour of need. We have maintained an improved and robust track record in claims settlement in the past few years. We continue to enable faster claims settlement as our prime responsibility,” said Vikas Seth, MD of Bharti AXA Life Insurance.

tives, CMR.Due to its shrinking

Tablet business, DataWind has recently closed down its two manufacturing fa-cilities in India.

The trend in the first quarter is expected to con-tinue with a combination of new trends and oppor-tunities such as the shift from 3G to 4G.

“In the coming quar-ters, the tablet market will increase because of the launch of new models by Lenovo in tablets. 4G tab-lets have already captured the majority of the market while 2G has seen a con-tinuous decline in India,” said Kumari.

Bharti AXA bags Claims Excellence Award

NEW DELHI: India, Japan and Sri Lanka are weighing the development of a ter-minal at the bustling port of Colombo in a country that’s seen ongoing politi-cal controversies related to investments from China’s Belt and Road initiative.

The three countries are set to sign a memorandum of understanding in the coming months to build out the east container terminal at the Port of Colombo, according to an Indian government official who asked not to be identified, citing rules.

India and Japan will seek private sector invest-ment and a terminal op-erator after the framework agreement is signed, with India likely providing easy credit, the Indian official

India, Japan to sign up for Colombo terminalsaid. Sri Lanka will control 51 per cent of the project, with India and Japan joint-ly controlling the other 49 per cent, this person said. Unlike the Chinese-owned Hamban-tota port in south-ern Sri Lanka —which has been heavily criticised—the Colombo port project is a commercially viable ven-ture, though it should not be viewed as a counter to China’s Belt and Road, they said.

Japan has supported the Port of Colombo’s develop-ment since the 1980s in recognition of the impor-tance of a free and open Indo-Pacific, said Natsuko Sakata, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Nothing has been decided at this moment on any policy of our new as-

sistance regarding the port of Colombo,” she said in a statement sent by email.

Japan has also pushed its plans to be a bigger player in the region under its “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy.”

A Sri Lanka government official, who asked not to be named, citing rules, said the deal with India and Japan would soon be final-ised. Japan would provide a 40-year yen loan with a 10-year grace period, with Sri Lanka holding 51 per cent and Japan and India holding 49 per cent.

Two months ago, Sri Lanka’s Port Minister Sa-gala Ratnayaka told parlia-ment the Ports Authority was procuring cranes from Japan for the Colombo port’s east terminal.

MUMBAI: Walmart-controlled online retailer Flipkart is planning to open brick-and-mortar stores in India to sell food items.

While foreign investors are not allowed into the retail space, Flipkart is looking to tap the “food retail” business where 100pc FDI is allowed and lets the investor open physical stores. The move comes after the company opened its fifth online grocery store, Supermart in Mumbai.

“Globally, around 50-60pc of Walmart’s sales come from food. The strategy of open-ing offline stores falls into Walmart’s overall scheme of things,” sources said. Walmart, which prides itself on its food and grocery business but is

Flipkart plans offline grocery stores across India

only allowed to operate a business-to-business (B2B) wholesale segment in India due to FDI regulations, does not want to be left behind.

Flipkart’s foray into the food retail segment can also help Walmart’s cash-and-carry business, where revenue growth has been slow. Food accounts for two-thirds of India’s overall retail market

The move to open offline stores will allow Flipkart to take advantage of Walmart’s expertise in food and grocery, sources said.

Amazon, Walmart’s arch rival globally, has committed an investment of $500 million in food retail, both online and offline, through its food retail arm Amazon Retail India.

GULF JOBS & CAREERS 5Friday, May 24, 2019

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Sudoku Puzzle Rules: To solve a Su-doku puzzle, every digit from 1 to 9 must appear in each of the nine verti-cal columns, in each of the nine horizontal rows and in each of the nine boxes.Solution for Puzzle # 65 will be in next issue.

Fun Corner

Sudoku Puzzle 64 Answer

Your wellness

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has devel-

oped a cost-effective and rapid point-of-care test kit for diagnosing genetic bleeding disorders such as haemophilia A and Von Willebrand disease (VWD).

Diagnostics which are currently available require special equipment and are expensive.

“Both Haemophilia A and VWD are under di-agnosed disorders in our country. There are only handful of comprehensive

ICMR develops kits for genetic bleeding disordersdiagnostic centres for bleed-ing disorders,” an official at ICMR said.

“Lack of awareness and diagnostic facilities, high cost of tests are some of the factors for under-diagnosis of bleeding disorders in our country,” he said.

According to the ICMR, the kit is the world’s first point-of-care test for specif-ic diagnosis of any common bleeding disorder and costs less than Rs 50 in compari-son to existing conventional test that cost around Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000.

The newly developed kit would help in diagnosis

within 30 minutes of blood sample collection. Also, this will be available at any level of health care system including primary health

care centres (PHCs) since it does not require any special expertise or infrastructure.

Worldwide, incidence of Haemophilia A is 1 per 10,000 male births and that of VWD is around 1 per cent of the general population.

“In India, there is no epidemiological data. We may have roughly 80,000-1,00,000 severe Haemo-philia cases in our country, but the total number reg-istered with Haemophilia Federation India (HFI) is only around 19,000,” the

official said.Patients with severe

Haemophilia A or VWD can have life threaten-ing spontaneous or post-traumatic bleeding like brain haemorrhage and gastrointestinal bleeding. In emergency medical setting, it is important to have a quick diagnosis of bleeding disorders for treatment.

This rapid test kit can be used for the diagnosis of menorrhagia cases/ post-partum haemorrhage (PPH), gynaecological complica-tions among others.

Limiting exposure to blue-light emitting de-vices such as phones

and laptops in the evening for just a week can help teenagers improve their sleep quality and reduce symptoms of fatigue, lack of concentration and bad mood, a study has found.

Recent studies have indicated that exposure to too much evening light, particularly the blue light emitted from screens on smartphones, tablets and computers can affect the brain’s clock and the pro-duction of the sleep hor-mone melatonin, resulting in disrupted sleep time and quality.

The lack of sleep does

Cutting screen time may reverse sleep problems in teensnot just cause immedi-ate symptoms of tiredness and poor concentration

but can also increase the risk of more serious long-term health issues such as

obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Other studies have sug-

gested that sleep depriva-tion related to screen time may affect children and ad-olescents more than adults, but no studies have fully investigated how real-life exposure is affecting sleep in adolescents at home and whether it can be reversed.

Researchers from Neth-erlands Institute of Neuro-science, the Amsterdam UMC and the D u t c h N a -tional Institute for Public Health and the Environ-ment, investigated the ef-fects of blue light exposure on adolescents at home.

Those who had more than four hours per day of screen time had on aver-

age 30 minutes later sleep onset and wake up times than those who recorded less than one hour per day of screen time, as well as more symptoms of sleep loss.

The team conducted a randomised controlled trial to assess the effects of blocking blue light with

glasses and n o s c r e e n time during the evening

on the sleep pattern of 25 frequent users.

Both blocking blue light with glasses and screen abstinence resulted in sleep onset and wake up times occurring 20 minutes ear-lier, and a reduction in

reported symptoms of sleep loss in participants, after just one week.

“Adolescents increas-ingly spend more time on devices with screens and sleep complaints are fre-quent in this age group,” said Dirk Jan Stenvers from the Amsterdam UMC.

“Here we show very simply that these sleep complaints can be easily reversed by minimising evening screen use or expo-sure to blue light,” Stenvers said.

“Based on our data, it is likely that adolescent sleep complaints and delayed sleep onset are at least partly mediated by blue light from screens,” he said.

The Osmania Univer-sity is conducting the common postgradu-

ate entrance test (CPGET) for admission to various courses at postgraduate and diploma level in Telan-gana. The test score will be eligible for admission to state-based universities including Osmania Univer-sity, Kakatiya University, Telangana University, Ma-hatma Gandhi University, Palamuru University, and Satavahana and Jawaha-rlal Nehru Technological University.

The state-level entrance exam is scheduled to be conducted on Friday, June 14, 2019. The application process for the same is open and will conclude on May 30, 2019. Appli-cations will be accepted till June 8, 2019 with late

CPGET 2019: Application process for Telangana colleges onfee of Rs 500. The process will conclude on June 11 with late fee of Rs 2000. Interested candidates can apply at the official web-site, tscpget.com.

CGPET 2019: Exam patternThe exam will be con-

ducted online. Students will get 90 minutes time to solve 100 questions. All the questions in the exam will be multiple choice based. Each question is of one mark each. In M.PEd

exam, only 75 questions will be asked and the re-maining 25 marks will be awarded based on sports achievements.

For admissions into MSc

biotechnology compris-ing of Part-A (Chemistry for 40 marks) and part-B (Bio-Technology for 60 marks. For admission to MSc courses, candidates will have to appear for BCESFG&M of which part A will be chemistry and

part B will be the subject of specialisation – consti-tuting for 60 marks.

The exam will have questions based on com-prehensions, matching, classification, theoretical point of view etc. For each question, answers will be given in the form of mul-tiple choices.CGPET 2019: Eligibility

To appear for the exam, students should have cleared a corresponding un-dergraduate degree with at least 40-60 per cent marks. The minimum marks and subject requirements vary from course to course. Stu-dents will have to read the instructions related to their course carefully before ap-plying.CGPET 2019: How to apply

Step 1: Visit the official website, tscpget.com

Hiring activity grew by 16pc in April compared to a year-

ago period, mainly led by the IT industry that regis-tered a 39 per cent growth, according to a report.

The Naukri JobSpeak Index for hiring activity for April 2019 stood at 2,477 which is 16 per cent higher from April 2018, when it stood at 2,139.

The IT-software indus-try recorded a 39pc hiring growth over last year in April. Hiring in functional areas like site engineering, sales and business develop-ment observed a growth of 26pc and 9pc, respectively, it said.

“The JobSpeak index for the financial year 2018-19 remained consistent clock-ing in an average of 12pc growth in hiring. This financial year has started with a 16pc growth in hiring in April with more companies tapping into

Hiring activity sees 16pc growth in April, says report

Global in-house cen-tres (GICs), a key segment in the IT-

BPM sector, are on a hir-ing spree. According to Teamlease, these captive units of global IT corpora-tions may hire as many as 1.5 lakh people in the next two years, as com-panies focus on India to build solutions for a digital landscape. GICs are capa-bility centres focussed on delivering R&D, analytics, automation, IT manage-ment and development services to their respective parent enterprises. “GICs have developed as powerful value creators by scaling the footprint of their parent enterprises in India and further driving innovation,” Rituparna Chakraborty, cofounder Teamlease, said. According to her, the num-ber of employees is likely to see an “estimated 14pc growth”, adding that since

GICs may hire up to 1.5 lakh people in the next two years

business growth and em-ployee growth figures are pretty much in the same line, “such an employee growth seems reliable”.

In terms of installed GIC talent, the workforce was pegged at about 7.45 lakh

in fiscal 2015 and is ex-pected to have approached the 10 lakh-mark in FY19. GICs are also focussing on reskilling and upskilling employees to meet demand for talent in emerging do-mains such as AI, cloud computing and data sci-ence. Earlier this month, another Teamlease report

had brought cheer amid the negative sentiment around job losses when it predicted that India will add 11.5 lakh jobs in the first six months of the current fiscal. The study, titled Employment Outlook

Report, had further noted that 11 out of 19 sectors surveyed had projected an increase in net em-ployment outlook.

India boasts over 1,200 tech-focused GICs, of which more than a third are pure tech-focused com-

panies that build critical technology for parent enti-ties. This list includes chip makers such as Texas In-struments, Intel, AMD and Qualcomm. Industry body Nasscom estimates that In-dia accounts for over 45pc of the Global Centers in the world outside of home country. The GIC market

size, moreover, is expected to have ballooned nearly 46pc from $19.4 billion in 2015 to $28.3 billion in the just-concluded fiscal.

A senior Nasscom ex-ecutive said that among the centres, “Bengaluru continues to have the larg-est share of GICs in India with 50pc of the total tal-ent base”. According to another study by Colliers Research, GIC leasing ac-tivity is likely to be in the range of 30-35 million sq ft across the top six cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune over the next three years. Although Bengaluru is expected to attract the highest propor-tion of GIC leasing, tech and consumer electronics companies are looking for options in Delhi-NCR for GICs whereas energy and chemical companies are considering Mumbai.

Step 2: Click on the link ‘fill application form’ under ‘application’

Step 3: Fill details, click on ‘proceed to fill applica-tion’

Step 4: Fill form, upload images

Step 5: Make paymentCGPET 2019: Fee

The registration fee for a single subject is Rs 800. For candidates belonging to reserved category and PH category, fee of Rs.600 will be applicable. For ad-ditional subject, fee of Rs 400 is applicable, irrespec-tive of the categories.

The results of the en-trance tests will be made available in the websites, http://www.osmania.ac.in, http://www.tscpget.com, http://www.ouadmissions.com, http://www.cpget.tsche.ac.in.

the talent pool across sec-tors,” InfoEdge India CMO Sumeet Singh said.

Keeping in mind this trend, the coming months look positive, he added.

The Naukri JobSpeak

is a monthly index which calculates and records hir-ing activity based on the job listings on Naukri.com website.

IT, engineering, FMCG, healthcare and real estate industry saw upward trend in hiring, while banking and financial services and auto industry witnessed a dip of 15pc and 1pc, re-spectively.

In terms of experience, demand for entry-level jobs with an experience of 0-3

years witnessed a rise of 18p, whereas recruitment for mid-level executives with experience of 4-7 years rose by 17pc.

Recruitment activity for mid-management roles

with 8-12 years of experience grew by 11pc, while for senior manage-ment roles with 13-16 years of ex-perience recorded a 9pc rise in hir-

ing.Besides, hiring for lead-

ership roles with expe-rience of over 16 years increased by 6pc.

The report said that overall hiring activity in Delhi and Chennai in-creased by 13pc, while in Mumbai and Hyderabad it jumped by 11pc and 19p, respectively.

Similarly, Pune and Bangalore registered an increase of 11pc and 23pc, respectively, in hiring.

VBSPU Jaunpur has declared the annual undergraduate and

postgraduate courses result for the session 2018-19 at its official website, vbpsu.ac.in.

The Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University (VB-SPU), Jaunpur has an-nounced the annual result of the undergraduate and postgraduate courses like BSc, BCom, BA and BPE courses for UG and MSc, MCom and MA results for PG courses for the session 2018-19 at its official web-

VBSPU Jaunpur UG, PG Results 2019 declared

site, vbpsu.ac.in.Steps to download

Step 1: Visit the official website, vbspu.ac.in.

Step 2: If your screen is covered by a VBSPU admission brochure, click

anywhere.Step 3: Click on click

here to view results’.Step 4: Click on the

subject you appeared for.Step 5: You will be redi-

rected to a new page.Step 6: Log-in using the

roll number.Step 7: Result will ap-

pear.

6 IN FOCUS Friday, May 24, 2019

My marriage was solemnised in India. I and my husband work and live in Dubai. We separated a few months ago and are planning to file for a divorce here. We don’t have kids. Can you tell us the procedure?

We assume that both of you are Indian citizens and are non-Muslims by faith. You and your husband are willing to file divorce in the court based in the emirate of Dubai. We are not aware if you two intend to file a mutual consent divorce or a contested divorce. In Dubai, the Personal Status Court accepts divorce cases filed by individuals who are residents in the UAE. In the UAE, divorce decree may be obtained under Sharia Law for Muslim expatriates and non-Muslims may apply provisions of Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 concerning personal status (the “Personal Status Law”) which allows them to apply own personal laws of their home country under which their marriage was solem-nised. This is in accordance with Article 1(2) of the Personal Status Law of UAE which states: “The provisions of this law shall apply to the citizens of the UAE un-less non-Muslims among them have special provisions applicable to their community or confession. They shall equally apply to

non-citizens unless one of them asks for the application of his law.”

You or your husband may initially ap-proach the Family Guidance Section of the Personal Status Court, Dubai along with the below mentioned documents: Original and copy of marriage certificate, which is duly notarised, attested by ministry of external affairs India, UAE embassy in India and the ministry of foreign affairs & international co-operation in the UAE, original Arabic translation of the aforemen-tioned marriage certificate duly attested by a legal translator in the UAE and ministry of justice, UAE original passports or UAE resident identity card, copy of passport, visa pages and UAE resident identity card.

The Family Guidance Section of the Personal Status Court, Dubai, will request you to submit an application along with the aforementioned documents and upon verification of the documents, they will call you over telephone or inform you by email regarding the first meeting with the family counsellor in the Family Guidance Section of the Personal Status Court. Since, you both are willing to seek a divorce, you may together meet the family counsellor in the first meeting or else you can go separately on different dates as informed by the family counsellor.

The family counsellor will listen to your grievances and will make his or her efforts to reconcile the differences between the two of you to save the marriage. In the event you both or one of you disagree to reconcile, the family counsellor will provide you another date and will ask you to bring the terms of divorce/settle-ment if you have decided to mutually divorce. Thereafter, on the said meeting, the family counsellor will look into your terms on which you are willing to seek divorce and will draft an agreement in Arabic. Upon informing you the contents of the divorce settlement agreement, both of you will be accompanied by the family counsellor to the judge’s chamber and the mutual divorce judgment will be passed by the judge if he feels the grounds to grant divorce are met by you and your husband. However, in the event one of you disagrees on the terms of divorce or is not willing to divorce on the final meeting with the family counsellor, you may mention the same to him/her. The family counsellor will hear you and issue a letter to both of you or one of you which allows you

Married in India, seeking divorce in UAE?to approach the Personal Status Court di-rectly and apply for contested divorce. The said letter issued by the Family Guidance Section of the Personal Status Court will be valid for 90 days.While you approach the Personal Status Court directly upon completion of Family Guidance Section requirements, you may engage services of a legal counsel and file for divorce in the court submitting all the required documents and the letter issued by Family Guidance Section of the Personal Status Court in case the divorce is contested between you and your husband. If you are a Hindu, Jain, Buddhist or a Sikh, you are entitled to submit the legalised translation of the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 of India and may apply the grounds of divorce mentioned in the said law.

Further, if you are a Christian, Parsi or a Jew, you need to apply the legalised translation of the Indian Divorce Act of 1869. Those who had inter-faith marriages or had marriages only through registra-tion (without religious rituals) may apply for divorce by submitting the legalised translation of the Special Marriage Act of 1954 of India. If one of the parties to the marriage is a foreigner or if Indians married in the Indian embassy or Indian

consulate abroad, they may apply for divorce by submitting the legalised trans-lation of Foreign Marriage Act of 1969 of India. Muslims are entitled to apply the Sharia Law as its provisions are broadly uniform throughout the world. However, they may inform the Personal Status Court regarding the local customs related to marriage for Indian Muslims while ap-plying for divorce.It should be noted that divorce by mutual consent granted in the UAE under Personal Status Law is valid in India. However, in case of contested divorce, non-Muslims are advised only to apply on the aforementioned laws under which they are married while applying for divorce. If non-Muslims do not apply the laws under which they are married, such divorces granted by foreign courts may not be valid in India. Further, both parties to the marriage should to be present or should be represented by a legal counsel. If one of the parties to the divorce is absent and do not agree to accept the jurisdic-tion of the UAE Personal Status Court, the divorce granted by UAE Personal Status Court will be ex parte judgment (judg-ment in absentia). Such divorce is valid in the UAE, however, ex parte divorce judgments granted by foreign courts may be challenged in India.

Overstaying in UAEMy 18-year-old son’s UAE residence visa will expire on June 2, 2019. His exams will continue till June 18. Can he stay on the expired visa during his exams, considering the fact that there is a one-month grace period? Or will he need to come back on a visit visa?

Even as your son’s residence visa ex-pires on June 2, he may still stay in the UAE on one-month grace period (during his exams) without paying any overstay-ing fines. Thereafter, upon completion of his exams and prior to completion of 30 days of grace period of stay in the UAE, he may travel back to his home country or any other country and return to UAE on visit/tourist visa or on any other visa. Fur-ther, if your son is willing to enroll at an educational institution based in the UAE for higher studies, the said educational institution may grant him a student visa upon completion of admission procedures. You may contact the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai for any further information in this regard.

GULF FAQs

Actress Huma Qureshi poses at the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France.

DUBAI: This year, both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have taken steps towards provid-ing a stable environment for foreign investors through long-term or privilege resi-dency schemes, which al-lows investors and their family members to enjoy a secured stay within the lim-its set out by the schemes.

The two systems have focused not only on attract-ing capital, but also place a premium on skills needed by modern economies. For decades, GCC countries have suffered from sig-nificant outflows of remit-tances that reached $120 billion last year, according to IMF. Despite the flexibil-ity in investment systems, some analysts considered GCC economies to be less competitive in terms of at-tracting foreign capital.

This was partly because

UAE’s Gold Card to boost investmentsof certain restrictions on the movement of investors, who may thus find more favourable opportunities in many other regions. This affected the balance of payments and the size of Gulf states’ gross national product (GNP). With the UAE cabinet approving the decision to grant permanent residency, the Gold Card will be granted to more than 6,800 investors, with investments totalling Dh100 billion. This will help them stay longer and help keep their investments in the UAE. Make no mistake, this move will attract large amounts of investment and contribute to boost econom-ic conditions, in particular the non-oil sector.

The long-term residency scheme grants five-to-10-year visas to investors, entrepreneurs and people

of special talents and free them from the need to have sponsors while allowing 100pc ownership of busi-nesses. In Saudi Arabia, the new residency plan, which is similar to the green card announced in 2016, is ex-pected to be a magnet for distinctive capital, compe-tencies, and high-net-worth individuals, but with con-trols. The scheme will fight the shadow economy and the high-level of commer-cial concealment, according to the Saudi minister of trade. This system is much likely to benefit more than three million people, who generate more than $10 billion. The two systems have focused not only on attracting capital, but also place a premium on skills needed by modern econo-mies. Each system grants privileges to professionals

and the highly skilled in various fields, thanks to their significant contribu-tion to creativity.

On the other hand, the new residency schemes will enhance the competi-tiveness of UAE and Saudi markets, regionally and globally. It has come in line with both sides’ vision and their joint co-ordination for the future.

Accordingly, both coun-tries will see non-oil sec-tor growth rates improve, which would boost the sec-tor’s contribution to GDP. It will also accelerate the pace of economic diversification and further stimulate the private sector to increase investments. This will help train and qualify national competencies, by benefiting from the existence of skilled international workforces across the GCC.

DUBAI: Now is the right time for customers to buy gold in the UAE, as jewel-lery shops across the emir-ates have cut prices in line with falling gold rates and a strengthening US dollar amid concerns surround-ing Europe’s parliamentary elections.

UAE jewellery stores and souks posted about Dh2.50 per gm price drop on Monday with 24-karat gold selling at a 1.6pc price drop from Dh157 per gm last May 20 to Dh154.50. Rates of 22-karat gold also fell by the same margin to Dh 145.25 while 21K and 18K dropped to Dh 138.50 and Dh 118.75, respec-tively. The decline in prices could be short-lived, how-

UAE jewellery shops cut pricesever, as analysts predicted the precious metal will rise again this week to $1,298 an ounce due to geopoliti-cal tensions in the MidEast and a US-China trade war. The UAE on Sunday said it would introduce a number of new programmes aimed at standardising measure-ments used across a range of sectors, including jewel-lery products and taxi fares.

The Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA) is work-ing with the public and pri-vate sectors to develop new legal and scientific stan-dardisation programmes, said Eng Amina Zainal, Director of the Standardisa-tion Administration at the authorities.

TOKYO: India, Japan and Sri Lanka are weighing the development of a ter-minal at the bustling port of Colombo in a country that’s seen ongoing politi-cal controversies related to investments from China’s Belt and Road initiative.

The three countries are set to sign a memorandum of understanding in the coming months to build out the east container terminal at the Port of Colombo, according to an Indian government official.

India and Japan will seek private sector invest-ment and a terminal op-erator after the framework agreement is signed, with India likely providing easy credit, the official said. Sri Lanka will control 51pc of the project, with India and Japan jointly controlling

India, Japan to sign up for Colombo terminalthe other 49pc . Unlike the Chinese-owned Hamban-tota port in southern Sri Lanka —which has been heavily criticised—the Co-lombo port project is a commercially viable ven-ture, though it should not be viewed as a counter to China’s Belt and Road, they said. Japan has supported the Port of Colombo’s de-velopment since the 1980s in recognition of the im-portance of a free and open Indo-Pacific, said Natsuko Sakata, a spokeswoman for the ministry of foreign affairs. “Nothing has been decided at this moment on any policy of our new as-sistance regarding the port of Colombo,” she said in a statement. Japan has also pushed its plans to be a bigger player in the region under its “Free and Open

Indo-Pacific Strategy.”A Sri Lanka government

official said the deal with India and Japan would soon be finalised. Japan would provide a 40-year yen loan with a 10-year grace period, with Sri Lanka holding 51pc and Japan and India holding 49pc. Two months ago, Sri Lanka’s Port Minister Sagala Rat-nayaka told parliament the Ports Authority was procur-ing cranes from Japan for the Colombo port’s east terminal. The country was seeking to “attract more shipping lines, especially shipping lines which oper-ate the largest ships in the industry,” he said, noting at the time India was a pos-sible partner. Sri Lanka pre-viously tried to court Indian investment in Hambantota’s empty airport.

DUBAI: Over 43,000 residential units within 136 Dubai projects are between 85 and 99pc complete with expected completion by the end of 2019, according to new data from Property Finder. The data also estimates that 4,133 residential units in 18 projects in Dubai have a comple-tion status of between 65 and 99 percent until Sept 2020, a month before the beginning of Dubai Expo 2020.

Cumulatively, Property Finder believes that Dubai could see the completion of as many as 48,015 residential units in the emirate, although construction completion does not necessarily translate into the handover of homes. “Construction is now slowing down and projects are in full swing,” said Lynnette Abad, Property Finder’s director of research and data. “We are also starting to see phases of big projects near completion status.”

“Therefore, we can expect to see a higher number of completed units this year compared with following years,” Abad added. “So far, to date, there has been a total of 10,670 units completed this year.” Of the total upcoming inventory in 2019, apartments were found to account for 33,548 of the total, compared with 4,612 for villas and townhouses and 5,622 serviced apartments.

Over 43,000 Dubai residential unitsto be completed by year-end

The move reflects In-dia’s new openness to co-operate with Japan, the US and other Indo-Pacific powers in its immediate neighbourhood, said Con-stantino Xavier, a foreign policy fellow at Brookings India. “China’s Belt and Road Initiative investments in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region have forced Delhi to be more proactive in offering reli-able alternatives to Beijing’s rising economic clout.” Sri Lanka has been one of the countries drawn to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious plan announced in 2013 by President Xi Jin-ping to build an estimated $1 trillion of infrastructure to support increased trade and economic ties and further China’s interests around the globe.

CORPORATE NEWS 7Friday, May 24, 2019

Currently available health covers are likely to get more

broad-based soon with a panel constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) calling for scrapping many exclusions currently in place.

No health insurance policy should incorporate exclusions such as diseases contracted after buying the health cover, injury or illness associated with hazardous activities, and impairment of a person’s intellectual faculties due to usage of drugs and stimulants or depressants prescribed by a medical practitioner, the panel said.

The panel has also ad-dressed one of the key issues faced in relation to critical-care patients who fail to recover despite significant expenditure on treatment.Providing for life support

Artificial life mainte-nance, including the use

Health policy may soon cover all flanksof a life-support machine, wherein such treatment will not result in a recov-ery or restoration of the previous state of health, should not treated as an exclusion “under any cir-cumstances’’, the commit-tee has said.

In the case of a patient in a vegetative state, as cer-tified by the treating medi-cal practitioner, expenses up to the date of confirma-tion by the treating doctor should be covered, it said.

Similarly, the cover should be extended for the treatment of mental illness and stress or psychologi-

cal and neurodegenerative disorders besides puberty and menopause-related ailments.

Internal congenital dis-eases and genetic disorders are also not to be included under exclusions.Curtailing waiting period

When contacted, Shanai Ghosh, Chief Marketing & Commercial, Strategy Edel-weiss General Insurance, said that the suggestions, once implemented, will benefit customers.

Typically, health insur-ance policies have ‘wait pe-riods’ for specific diseases. In the current draft, the

regulator has advised that for lifestyle diseases related to hypertension, diabetes and heart ailments, the waiting period should not be more than 30 days.

“Usually, the wait pe-riods tend to be 90 days or more, and in some instances, even years. Re-ducing this to 30 days is extremely beneficial to customers – all their claims beyond 30 days are now payable,’’ she said.

This will impact the loss ratios of the product which will, in all prob-ability, go up. “Therefore, insurers will also need to review their pricing, which may lead to reworking of the premium,’’ Ghosh added.

In another fundamental shift, insurance companies will now focus on the preventive aspects of the business.

The regulator is expect-ed to take a decision on the recommendations soon.

Richest Indian Muke-sh Ambani’s oil-to-telecom conglomer-

ate Reliance Industries has toppled state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) to become the country’s biggest com-pany by revenue.

Reliance in the 2018-19 fiscal year that ended March 31, reported a turn-over of Rs 6.23 lakh crore. In comparison, IOC posted a turnover of Rs 6.17 lakh crore for the fiscal, accord-ing to regulatory filings by the two companies.

It was also the most profitable company in the country with a net profit of more than double that of IOC in FY2019.

Reliance, which was about half the size of IOC till about a decade back but its bet on burgeoning consumer base and foray into new businesses such as telecom, retail, and digi-tal services vastly expanded its business, clocked a net profit of Rs 39,588 crore in FY19. IOC, on the other

Reliance overtakes IOC hand, ended the year with a net profit of Rs 17.274 crore.

IOC till last year was the most profitable PSU but may have lost this posi-tion to Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) in 2018-19. ONGC is yet to declare its FY19 earnings but it had

clocked a net profit of Rs 22,671 crore in the first nine months of the fiscal year.

Net profit of IOC, which depends on oil refining, petrochemicals and gas business for its revenue, had in 2018-19 declined by 23.6pc over Rs 22,189.45 crore net profit it had earned in 2017-18.

Reliance, on the other hand, posted a 13pc rise in profits over Rs 34,988

crore recorded in 2017-18.ONGC had a net profit

of Rs 19,945.26 crore in 2017-18 fiscal, lagging be-hind IOC.

With this milestone, Reliance has achieved the numero uno position in terms of all three param-eters revenue, profit, and market capitalisation.

With strong refining margin and robust retail business, Reliance clocked a 44pc in revenue in FY19 over the previous year and posted a compounded an-nual growth rate of over 14pc between FY10 and FY19. In contrast, IOC turnover rose 20pc in FY19 and 6.3pc during FY10 and FY19.

Interestingly, Reliance which boasts of the high-est cash reserves of Rs 1.33 lakh crore on the book, also has the highest gross debt of Rs 2.87 lakh crore at the end of March 2019.

In contrast, IOC had short and long-term loans totaling Rs 92,700 crore.

KITEX, the global leader in the manu-facturing and export

of Infant Garments has crossed the magical figure of Rs 1000 crore in total revenue. In the financial year of 2018-19, Kitex reg-istered a total revenue of 1005 crore which comprise of Rs 630 crore by the listed entity KITEX Garments and Rs 375 crore by KITEX Childrens Wear.

KITEX garments stand-alone total revenue has re-ported a growth of 12.38pc in the fiscal.

Sabu M Jacob the MD, said “We are happy to touch the number of Rs 1000 crore in total revenue. By 2025, our target is to attain a total revenue of Rs 2165 crore from KITEX Garments Limited and Rs 1000 crore from KITEX Childrens Wear.”

KITEX cross 1000cr revenue

Larsen & Toubro ’s standalone market capitalisation (mcap)

will touch Rs 3 lakh crore and revenue will reach Rs 2 lakh crore in five years as strategic initiatives like L&T NxT have helped in making giant strides, Group Chairman AM Naik said.

The recently launched L&T-NxT initiative is a technology platform that focusses on artificial intel-ligence, internet of things (IoT), virtual reality, aug-mented reality, geospatial solutions as well as cyber-security.

The $ 20 billion diver-sified L&T Group has a market cap of about Rs 2.5 lakh crore at present.

“Five years from now, I expect L&T standalone mar-ket cap to be in the range of Rs 3 lakh crore from the present about Rs 2 lakh

L&T mkt cap to touch Rs 3 lakh cr in five yrscrore... L&T’s revenue will then touch Rs 2 lakh crore from the present about Rs 1.4 lakh crore,” Naik told in an exclusive interview.

According to him, when he took over as L&T CEO, the combined market cap was around Rs 2,000 crore and it has now surged to Rs 2.5 lakh crore.

He joined L&T in 1965 as a junior engineer and rose to the positions of CEO and MD in 1999 and chairman in 2003. In 2017, he stepped aside from ex-ecutive responsibilities and took over as Group Chair-man.

“It has grown so much. The sales were about Rs 5,000 crore (when he took over) and today it is Rs 1.4 lakh crore.”

“I would say 88 per cent of today’s L&T has been cre-ated by me from the clean

slate. What we inherited, no longer exist today and in a year or two, it (share of the inherited businesses) will come down from 12 per cent to 2-3 per cent. Remaining we would have closed or sold,” he said.

Naik narrated how he aspired to be a manager in L&T and retire when he would get Rs 1,000 salary.

“I used to say I will become a manager one day and will get a four figure salary of Rs 1,000, which I received in 1966 itself, purely out of sheer hard work and a lot of innovative things I did.

“This went on...I gave stock options to all employ-ees in 1999 and fortunately the stock went up...perhaps it is a record... it moved up 1,800 times which made al-most 2,500 L&T employees millionaires and some even

multi-millionaires,” he said.Naik said since then the

stock options have become worth a lot of wealth and he has been consistently giving away the same for charity,

education and health.He said, once he aspired

to work with L&T which only recruited from IITs but he was not an IITian.

“Finally I was called for interview in November 1964 and joined L&T in March 1965. Now it is my 55th year with L&T...I have always worked 16 hours

a day, 7 days a week,” he said.

Naik said L&T- NxT has been his brainchild and has propelled the company

further on growth path and it is set for giant strides.

“Through L&T-NxT I hope we will do better and do great things. ... in IT and engineering service, once we complete our acquisi-tion of Mindtree, we will be a $ 3 billion company and our idea is in three to four years, we will take it to $ 5 billion,” he said.

“It was zero when I took over....application of new generation of technologies is now a major focus for us with L&T-NxT and I hope we will do a great job in this area.”

The infrastructure major has taken its shareholding in IT services firm Mindtree to 26.53pc.

L&T is a major technol-ogy, engineering, construc-tion, manufacturing and fi-nancial services conglomer-ate with global operations.

Muthoot Finance, a diversified financial services company,

expects to disburse ‘salaried personal loans’ to the tune of Rs 750-1,000 crore across the country over the next twelve months, a top official said.

This systemically impor-tant non-banking finance company had last year di-versified into the unsecured personal loans business.

After testing this ‘salaried personal loans’ product in

the four Southern metros of Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Chennai, this product was launched in the National Capital Region (NCR).

In the coming months, plans are afoot to launch this ‘salaried personal loans’ product both in the West and Eastern parts of India, George M Alexander, Ex-

Muthoot Finance offers loan of up to Rs 10 lakh to salaried class

ecutive Director, Muthoot Finance said.

“We now have assets under management of Rs 125 crore under the ‘salaried personal loans’. From cur-rent level of 16 locations, we want to take its availability to 18 more locations this year”, he said.

Muthoot Finance will hand out personal loans (without collaterals) from Rs 1-10 lakh at interest rates ranging from 13.5pc to 23pc

per annum to the salaried class only.

The working population typically in the age group of 24-58 years and engaged in private, state and central government services can avail personal loan for ten-ure of 1-5 years, according to company officials.

“This is an unique offer,

which will benefit the sala-ried class as the loan can be availed with minimum documentation and will be disbursed within 48 hours”, Alexander said.

Alexander also indicated that the company may look to introduce other ‘unse-cured products’ (it is already offering microfinance and personal loans) in the com-ing months, but did not elaborate.

Muthoot Finance sees

ample scope for it to cross sell its ‘salaried personal loans’ product to its existing gold loan customers. Over 2 lakh customers visit the Mut-hoot Group’s 5,020 branches every day across the country. It also sees opportunity to convert new ‘salaried per-sonal loan’ customers into gold loan customers.

Karnataka Bank has launched a new savings

bank product, KBL SB Salary, a customised product for the sala-ried class with three variants. The bank has designed three variants – SB Salary Executive, SB Salary Prime, and SB Salary Classic – to cater the financial needs of the ‘employer-employee ecosystem’.

The three variants of KBL SB Salary come with a host of features and do not have the minimum balance cri-teria.

K’taka Bank S/B product for salaried class

The board of directors of HDFC Bank has approved a proposal

to split the lender’s share from one equity share of face value of Rs 2 each to two shares of face value Rs 1 each.

“Owing to the bank’s strong financial perfor-mance and sound asset quality, the market price of the bank’s equity shares has grown steadily over the past several years,” HDFC Bank said in a regulatory filing, adding that the stock split will augment the af-fordability of the bank’s equity shares and participa-tion of retail and individual investors.

“This will thereby fa-cilitate more liquidity in the bank’s equity shares, sub-division of the equity shares is proposed,” it said.

The proposal will now be approved by the bank’s shareholders in the annual general meeting (AGM) on June 12, and the stock split will be completed three to four months after that. After the sub-division, the lender’s authorised share capital will be Rs 650 crore divided into 650 crore fully paid-up equity shares of Rs 1 each from the current 325 crore equity shares of Rs 2 each.

HDFC profit up 27pc on higher interest income

HDFC Bank, the coun-try’s largest private sector lender, had last split its shares in 2011 in a ratio of 1:5, or one share of Rs 10 split into five shares of Rs 2 each.

The AGM will also de-cide on the proposed divi-dend Rs 15 per equity share recommended by the board at its earlier meeting on April 20.

State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) posted an increase of 70pc in its net profit in the fourth quarter of the last financial

year ended March 31, 2019, helped by substantial inventory gains and rupee appreciation negating a dip in refinery margins. Net profit in the period came in at Rs 2,970 crore against Rs 1,748 crore in the same period a year ago.

“Increase in profits is mainly attributable to in-creased sales, improved logistics, efficiency, inventory gains and rupee appreciation,” said HPCL chairman and managing director M K Surana. He added that the

company has also achieved its highest ever sales of 38.7 million tonnes during 2018-19. In the fourth quarter, sales increased by 6.5pc to 10.3 million tonnes. “The sale of petrol increased 8.5pc, diesel by 3pc, LPG by 12.9pc, and ATF by 17pc,” he said. Besides, the oil firm also recorded an inventory gain of Rs 916 crore as the value of stock it held rose due to global price trends.

HPCL’s total income came in at Rs 73,672.50 crore against Rs 66,983.38 crore during the corresponding period of the previous year. Average gross refining margin for the fiscal came in at $5.01 per barrel against $7.40 per barrel last year, but refining margins fell due to low cracks in light and middle distillate products.

During 2018-19 full fiscal, however, net profit was lower at Rs 6,029 crore when compared with Rs 6,357 crore a year ago.

HPCL net profit increase 70pc

8 Travel / Entertainment

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Friday, May 24, 2019

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EXCHANGE RATESEXCHANGE RATES

Rates are subect to change without notice. Errors &omissions excepted

As on 23rd May, 2019 (In rupees)

Currency Buying Selling

Australian Dollar 46.65 49.75Bahraini Dinar 178.07 192.07British Pound 86.70 90.70Canadian Dollar 49.75 53.75 Emirati Dirham 18.20 19.70Euro 76.40 79.40Kuwaiti Dinar 221.60 235.60Omani Rial 174.00 188.00Qatari Riyal 18.35 19.85Saudi Riyal 17.80 19.30Singapore Dollar 49.40 52.40Swiss Franc 67.00 71.00US Dollar 68.05 71.05

Source:

A giant under-construction Buddha statue at Khai Nguyen pagoda in Son Tay on the outskirts of Hanoi, Vietnam. Vesak day or Buddha day festival, marking the birth of Gautama Buddha, was celebrated on Saturday.

Virgin Atlantic to resume fl ightson London-Mumbai routeVirgin Atlantic has

decided to resume daily flights on the

London-Mumbai route after a gap of four years. Virgin Atlantic will operate the Boeing 787-9 aircraft for the London Heathrow and Mumbai route.

The news comes as a welcome development for air travellers at a time when Jet Airways has suspended services on all domestic and international routes. Accord-ing to a statement by Virgin Atlantic, the first flight on the London-Mumbai route will start from Oct 27, 2019.

Virgin Atlantic London-Mumbai flight timings, frequency & other details:

The Virgin Atlantic Boe-ing 787-9 aircraft will offer passengers flight tickets for Economy Light, Upper Class, Premium, Classic and Delight cabins. As part of the package, Virgin Atlan-tic will offer full on-board service. This includes; over 300 hours of entertainment, drinks and complimentary food. All Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 aircraft are WiFi enabled.

Flight Frequency: Daily, year-round from Oct 27,

2019Flight timings: London

Heathrow to Mumbai (10:15 to 00:40; 10 hours and 25 minutes). Mumbai to Lon-don Heathrow (02:55 to 07:35; 8 hours and 40 min-utes)

Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 with 31 Upper Class, 35 Premium, 192 Economy seats/cabins

What’s included: Full service on-board including complimentary food and drink and WiFi.

Commenting on the de-velopment, Juha Jarvinen, Executive Vice President,

Commercial, at Virgin At-lantic has said that the com-pany continues to expand its network. Till a few days back, Virgin Atlantic served the London-Mumbai route through its partnership with Jet Airways. However, with Jet Airways suspending op-erations, Virgin Atlantic has decided to resume services on the crucial route. Accord-ing to Virgin Atlantic, the flight services from London Heathrow to Mumbai is the airline’s third new route an-nouncement from London this year after Tel Aviv and São Paulo.

Taj becomes fi rst monument with breastfeeding roomThe Taj Mahal, built as a monu-

ment to a woman who died in childbirth, is set to get a baby

feeding room in a first for India where conservative attitudes toward public breastfeeding mean nursing mothers are often shamed and told to cover up.

Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, a top official at the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) in Agra city -- home to the Taj Ma-hal -- said the baby feeding room would be set up by July to help the “millions of mothers who visit with their babies”. A regular visitor to the 17th century monu-ment to eternal love, Swarnkar said he got the idea last week when he spotted a mother hiding under a staircase and struggling to breastfeed her baby despite her husband providing extra cover.

“I could see it was so difficult for her (to feed her child) which is a basic motherhood right. So I thought we have to do something,” he told the a TV chan-nel. Public breastfeeding still carries a

social stigma in India where mothers are expected to be covered head-to-toe.

Last year, mothers in Kolkata pro-tested outside a mall where employees told a woman to nurse her baby in a toilet and mocked her complaint. The Taj attracts up to eight million visitors annually. Swarnkar said he has ordered two other historical monuments in Agra to set up similar feeding rooms.

The ASI said this was the first time it was providing such a facility at any of India’s 3,600 plus monuments. “My hope is that more and more monuments - not only in India but around the world - rep-licate this (plan) so that women can feed their babies comfortably,” said Swarnkar. In 2017, the director of London’s Victo-ria and Albert museum apologised to a mother, who was asked to cover up while breastfeeding her baby. Two years earlier, another was expelled from Spain’s Cor-ral del Carbon monument for nursing her baby.

EU Chambers and the delegation of the EU to India felicitated actor Anil Kapoor in Mumbai for his artistic achievements, contributions to EU-India cultural ties.

Anil Kapoor feted at Europe Day celebrationsThe Council of EU

Chambers of Com-merce in India (EU

Chambers) and the delega-tion of the EU to India fe-licitated actor and producer Anil Kapoor for his artistic achievements, contribu-tions to EU-India cultural ties as well as his activism for continuous support in promoting the cause of chil-dren’s rights. He was rec-ognised during the Europe Day celebration organised in Mumbai.

Europe Day celebrates the strong partnership be-tween India and the EU. Many dignitaries including Ambassadors Tomasz Ko-zlowski (EU), Artis Bertulis (Latvia) and Eleonora Dimi-trova (Bulgaria) and Consul Generals of EU members states, non-member states and senior representatives of European and Indian Com-

panies were part of the event.To m a s z Ko z l o w s k i

said: “Council of European

Chambers of Commerce in India traditionally organises EU Day celebrations every year. I am so happy that Anil Kapoor is with us today

because he is so famous in promoting cultural ties be-tween India and European

countries.” He also said Kapoor is known as a very devoted promoter of social values, women rights. We spent some time together

in Oct last year, promoting girls’ rights in an event or-ganised by Plan India.

Af t e r r ece iv -ing the citation, an overwhelmed Anil Kapoor expressed his gratitude and said: “It ’s been very educative, very emotional and one of the best evening of my career. I don’t know if I deserve this honour but I want to thank you (Tomasz) for giving me this honour.”

“And give my regards and best wishes to your wife because she loves Slumdog Million-

aire,” Kapoor jokingly re-plied Tomasz who earlier said that her wife really admires Anil’s performance in Slumdog Millionaire.

Air Asia India eyes corporateclients, foreign fl ights

Seeking long-term trav-el commitment, Tata group joint venture

Air Asia India plans to tie up with about 200 compa-nies in the next few months, offering them a slew of ben-efits, including flexibility in last-minute flight change and onboard meals. The aggressive business pitch is set to help the low-cost car-rier widen its customer base before launching maiden international flights by year-end.

The airline is looking at Southeast Asian destina-tions, such as Bangkok and Singapore, for its overseas

operations. The foreign flights would cover short-haul destinations with four hours of flying.

Air Asia India Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sanjay Kumar said the air-line had restructured some of its operations, launched a loyalty programme as well as a new in-flight menu to enhance customer ex-perience. “We have a new in-flight menu. We have also started a loyalty pro-gramme called Big Loyalty. We are the only low-cost airline in the country offer-ing customers a structured loyalty programme, which

allows them to earn reward points,” said Kumar.

Talking about its cor-porate travel programme, the senior airline executive said most domestic airlines get 50pc of their custom-ers from corporate travel programmes and Air Asia India’s situation would not be different. Air Asia India, which started operations in June 2014, is a joint venture between Tata Sons (holding 51pc stake) and AirAsia Ber-had (holding the remaining 49pc shares). The airline last week inducted 21st aircraft in its fleet, enhanc-ing connectivity from its

Delhi base.“We have applied for

permission to start inter-national operations. With the induction of our 21st aircraft, all the necessary re-quirements are in place for an approval. We have com-pleted five years of opera-tions in the domestic mar-ket. Subject to regulatory approvals, we are planning to launch our international flights sometime in Sept-Oct,” said the airline COO. Air Asia India currently operates 164 flights a day, covering 19 destinations and carrying over 25,000 passengers.

Kerala to launch NRI Halal chit schemeFollowing the much-accepted

Pravasi Chitty - an investment scheme targeting non-resident

Keralites - the state is planning to launch a Halal Chitty, said Kerala Finance Minister Dr Thomas Isaac. During a visit to Dubai, the minister said Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE), which launched the Pravasi Chitty scheme, is discussing the terms of the new scheme with a panel of experts to make it Shariah-compliant. The money raised through this will be used only for Shariah-compliant purposes and there will be no auction or interest. “Every month, the recipient of the money will be decided through consensus. This will be a revolution-ary investment scheme that will allow a free flow of money into the state’s in-frastructure development,” said Isaac.

The minister -- on his way back from London after the listing of masala bonds sold by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) at the London Stock Exchange (LSE)--visited Dubai. KIIFB, a state government agency, raised Rs 21.5 billion through

its debut masala bond issue. It plans to raise Rs 50 billion through masala bonds to fund large and critical infra-structure projects in Kerala. Indian Rupee-denominated overseas bonds are popularly known as masala bonds. With the listing, Kerala became the first Indian state to issue masala bonds.

The minister said the state is now planning to launch dollar bonds to raise funds for infrastructure develop-ment. Isaac said Kerala is implement-ing a time-bound approach to infra-structure development as it rebuilds the state after the 2018 floods that caused large-scale devastation across 12 districts. “With KIIFB, we are plan-ning to pump in half-a-trillion rupees into the local market for infrastructure development. Half of the projects will be launched this year. We are diver-sifying the source mobilisation by issuing bonds. The KIIFB funds will strictly be used for infrastructure and not on welfare schemes. Sourcing and expenditure of the money would be transparent and will go through strict auditing at various levels. Everything

will be strictly monitored to make it corruption-free,” he added.

Isaac also elaborated on the state’s plan to make all the households “Internet-connected”. “This will be part of the infrastructure development projects under the KIIFB. At present, Internet penetration in Kerala is the highest in India, but there are many who are left out. We plan to make Kerala fully connected and half of these connections will be free of charge.” The minister added that Kerala is imple-menting a project that will digitalise all the public schools in the state.

Another major tourist attraction to come up in the state is the Spice Route project, which will reinvigorate the his-toric route of the spice trade, said Isaac.

“We want to link all the major old ports in the state through which the historic spice trade of Kerala was hap-pening. We are doing it with the sup-port of Unesco and other international agencies. A new 550km-long road will come up in the state, connecting all the old ports and the spice trade routes,” he added.

Air India to launch new fl ightsAir India has an-

nounced that vari-ous new f l ights

would begin from next month on domestic as well as international routes in order to meet heavy demand of seats during the summer vacation.

The national carrier said it will offer additional 3,500 seats per week on Mumbai-Dubai-Mumbai route from June 1. Moreover, it will offer additional 3,500 seats per week on Delhi-Dubai-Delhi route too from June 2 by operating two new flights using its B787 Dreamliner aircraft.

“The airline will offer one way Economy class pro-motional fare of Rs7,777 (all inclusive) from both Delhi and Mumbai to Dubai for sale and travel up to July 31, 2019,” Air India said.

On its domestic front, Air India said it will intro-duce new flights on Bho-pal-Pune-Bhopal route and Varanasi-Chennai-Varanasi route from June 5.

“The number of flights

on Delhi-Bhopal-Delhi will be increased from present 14 flights per week to 20 flights per week by intro-ducing third frequency to the historical city of Tals,” the statement added. The national carrier would be increasing its flights on Delhi-Raipur-Delhi route from existing seven flights per week to 14 flights per week.

According to Air India, the number of flights per week would be increased on routes such as Delhi-Bengaluru-Delhi, Delhi-Amritsar-Delhi, Chennai-Ahmedabad-Chennai and Chennai-Kolkata-Chennai. The flights per week would also be increased on Delhi-Vadodara-Delhi route and Mumbai-Vizag-Mumbai route.