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Dr. R Seetharaman (right), CEO of Doha Bank, at the the signing ceremony.

Doha Bank signs MoU withStock Holding Corporation

DOHA: Doha Bank has en-tered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Stock Holding Corporation of India (StockHolding), In-dia’s premier custodian and depository participant, to facilitate its global customer base to invest in India.

Under this tie-up, Doha Bank will offer all banking related services while Stock-Holding will offer compli-ance, clearing, settlement and reporting services for all investment activities of cus-tomers. The customers will be able to invest through the

permitted mechanism in all permitted securities across asset classes i.e equity, mu-tual funds, debt (including government debt), all de-rivatives (equity/ debt/cur-rency), AIF’S, Securitised assets etc.

In addition, StockHold-ing also offers all the eligible investors a direct access into the IFSC Market at Gift City, Gandhinagar. The IFSC has two international exchanges and offers various oppor-tunities to trade on the de-rivatives segment in equity, indices, (Contd. on page 2)

Engg graduates, MBAs in demand in UAEABU DHABI: Engineering students in the UAE, especially those specialising in the civil, mechanical and petroleum fields, are likely to be the most suc-cessful at finding jobs after graduation, a study has found.

Those majoring in business and medical are also very much in demand, according to the Ministry of Educa-tion’s Majors in Demand Study 2018. To arrive at its conclusions, the study polled a balanced sample of more than 13,000 students graduating from 80pc of the country’s higher education insti-tutions in 2017, with the aim of provid-ing academic support and counselling for students looking to pursue their higher education in the UAE.

The findings were released by the ministry to raise awareness among future university students about em-ployment opportunities and the re-quirements of the UAE labour market. Universities in the country, both pub-lic and private, are currently accepting applications from potential students. A statement from the ministry said that the findings should steer future students towards the skills and majors that will help them find the best em-ployment opportunities.

“The UAE’s wise leadership places high priority on investing in human capital, building capacity and nurtur-ing scientific talent. This stems from a firm belief that any investment in the

human capital is an investment for the future and will support our plan to build a post-oil knowledge economy,” said Minister of State for Higher Edu-cation Dr Ahmed Al Falasi.

“The network of universities and research institutes in the UAE attracts hundreds of thousands of students ev-ery year in an array of specialisations and majors. This makes it imperative that we offer academic support and guidance for students and their parents and introduce the various educational options and their compatibility with the labour market,” Dr Al Falasi added. The UAE’s wise leadership places high priority on investing in human capital, building capacity and nurturing scien-tific talent.

For the purposes of the study, the ministry compared the number of stu-dents in each field who were able to secure employment with the number of overall graduates. Students who had pursued engineering majors were found to be the most in demand after graduation. Specifically, civil engineer-ing graduates appeared to be most in demand, followed by graduates of me-chanical engineering and petroleum engineering respectively. Demand for those specialising in mechatronics and industrial engineering was also found to be on the rise.

Students who had studied business majors came next in terms of securing

employment, followed by students who had pursued the medical scienc-es and information technology respec-tively.

Within business itself, marketing graduates had access to the most em-ployment opportunities, followed by those who had studied finance, account-ing and quality (Contd. on page 2)

Most in-demand 1. Engineering (civil followed by mechanical and petroleum)2. Business administration (market-ing followed by finance, accounting and quality management)3. Medicine (medicine and surgery)4. Information technology (infor-mation security followed by net-working and information systems)5. Education (early childhood and special education).

Majors that help1. Education (science teaching, fol-lowed by early childhood educa-tion, and English language teach-ing)2. Business Administration (ac-counting followed by international business management, and banking and finance)3. Information technology (infor-mation system followed by net-working, and information security).

Reservationbill passedNEW DELHI: Barely three days after it was unveiled, a bill to provide 10pc reserva-tion in education and jobs to the poor in the general cate-gory got Parliament’s approv-al on Wednesday night with 165 ayes and seven nays in the Rajya Sabha. The Consti-tution (124th Amendment) Bill is now a step away from becoming law, as it awaits President Ram Nath Kovind’s approval. The Lok Sabha had already passed it on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Modi de-sc r ibed the pas-sage of the bill as a vic-tory for

social justice. The near- eight-hour debate began with an opposition uproar when Union Minister Tha-war Chand Gehlot sought to introduce the bill. They ac-cused the Centre of bringing it for political benefit ahead of the general elections. Nevertheless, Union Minis-ter Ravi Shankar Prasad hit back, claiming the UPA II had a similar proposal but failed to take it to its logical conclusion. The new quota will be valid for central and state (Contd. on page 2)

Narendra Modi

Most UAE salaries set for hikeDUBAI: Salaries in the UAE are expected to go up in 2019, say HR and manage-ment consultancy firms, with one survey finding that the increases are expected to be implemented by 65pc of organisations. The study by Dubai-based organisational consultancy Korn Ferry has covered 600 organisations with 429,563 employees across major industries in the UAE.

Harish Bhatia, regional director, Middle East & Af-rica, Korn Ferry, said:” As high as 65pc of the organ-isations are forecasting an increase in salaries this year. The actual increases may be dependent on how the glob-al, regional and local econo-mies perform in the coming months. As of now, the sal-ary increase forecast ranges between 2.5 and 4.5pc.”

According to Jaya Bhatia, managing director and HR advisor, JobhuntHR & Man-

agement Consultancy, the salary rise could go up to 12pc in some sectors. About 65pc of the organisations are forecasting an increase in salaries this year. The actual increases may be dependent on how the global, regional and local economies per-form in the coming months.

Bhatia said: “Salaries are expected to rise by four to 12pc in sectors like trans-portation, food and events. In 2018, the majority of hiring was for the posts of chief executive officer, chief financial officer, tax ac-countants, finance, business development, sales and IT professionals. In 2019, the predominant demand will be for positions in sales, marketing, social media, accounts and information technology.”

She said sectors like hos-pitality, travel, tourism, food and beverages, FMCG and retail will also see a number

of recruitments due to an increase in the number of tourist/visitor arrivals. Har-ish Bhatia said: “Organisa-tions in the UAE have been growing very rapidly over the last two decades, natu-rally most industries had to bring in more resources for this growth phase. Now with overall market condi-tions stabilising, we see an increased emphasis on ef-ficiency of costs, including labour. Hence, we’ve seen a relative slowdown in overall increase of new jobs in the economy.”

He said the UAE is a very diverse economy with a constantly growing afflu-ent population. “Decisions by the government in 2018 on visa regulations will also drive longer-term commit-ment and planning by the expatriate workforce. This is good news for the business and economy where con-sumption will eventually

increase impacting busi-nesses in a positive way and hence, also create more jobs in the economy to fill capac-ity and capability gaps.” He said economic forecasts as per global standard sources also highlight that inflation in the UAE will be con-trolled in the range of three-four per cent, which may result in a positive growth of spending power for the workforce.“With reduced rentals, some residents of the UAE have also benefited with reduced fixed living costs,” he added.

Here’s an outline, along with some tips on what em-ployees can do to get a pos-sible salary hike:

■ Nature of compensa-tion: Average number of years that expats live in the UAE to work, earn and save has increased because UAE as a rapidly growing nation also provides for a high stan-dard quality of life. With this

shift from assignment-based expats to non-national long-term permanent residents, organisations are changing their approach to compen-sating the workforce. They are now paying salaries as compensation for work and some assistance with other expenses; instead of covering responsibility for all individ-ual living expenses — such as full housing allowance, cost of education etc.

■ Holistic experience: Employers now seek to pro-vide a holistic experience and package to their employ-ees which covers market-linked cash salaries, recog-nition for high performance with bonuses, a safe and encouraging work environ-ment and options to learn and develop oneself, besides well-being and culturally inclusive programmes that foster diversity.

■ Selective increments: Companies (Contd. on page 2)

New IT park in Chennai to create 12,000 jobsCHENNAI: A new Informa-tion Technology (IT) park is likely to be set up near King’s Institute in Guindy, Chennai, with an investment of Rs 600 crore to Rs 1,000 crore. The Tech Park will be similar to Olympia Techpark in Chen-nai and will come up on six-and-a-half acre of land at the site where Exide Batteries once had its offices and will generate 12,000 jobs.

This will add 1.2 million square feet of office space to the city at a time when there is a shortage of IT micro-mar-ket office space. It is learnt that the project is awaiting single window clearance from the Chennai Metropoli-tan Development Authority (CMDA) under the Business Facilitation Act. Sources in-dicated that the project also requires clearance from the Union ministry of environ-ment and forest. The proj-ect will commence in 2021. Sources said the project has

already attracted foreign di-rect investment and it will cater to multiple IT sectors.

The project comes in the wake of Ascendas-Singbridge Group, a leading sustain-able urban development and business space solutions pro-vider, last week announcing acquisition of a 12.20-acre land parcel in Chennai to be developed into an IT park.

A Shankar, COO, Strategic Consulting, India & Sri Lanka, Jones Lang LaSalle told a TV channel that these new tech parks were coming up at a time when there was huge demand for office space for IT projects. “The investment is coming at the right time. It is not only these two projects, many are being planned in the Poonamallee area as well,” he said. With the Global Investors Meet (GIM) around the corner, all these projects will be given priority and would be cleared if the site is clean and the proj-ect is good, said Shankar.

Canada, UK popular for Indian job-seekersTORONTO: Canada and Britain have gained popular-ity among Indian job-seek-ers and others over the US which has been a decline in searches for vacancies due to its immigration policies.

The more welcoming im-migration policies in Canada and the recent developments in British immigration poli-cies as the Brexit inches clos-er have made them popular choices among international job-seekers. In fact, the re-port opines that the open im-migration policy in Canada has become the alternative for Indians, as well as job-seekers from Latin countries too. The searches are primar-ily for high paying roles in technology, research and fi-

nance, according to a report by global job site Indeed.

“Clearly what used to be every high-skilled Indians’ dream to move to the US has now been impacted by the turbulent immigration cli-mate there which has worked in Canada’s and Britain’s fa-vour. While there could be several factors triggering this sudden shift of interest, it is inferred that this trend, which began in the mid-2017, has been witnessing a sudden up-shoot towards the end of 2017,” says the report.

This is the period when the H1-B restrictions came into light, with visa appli-cations and processes being delayed, which has resulted in the (Contd. on page 2)

MUMBAI: IRCTC Air is planning to offer free air travel insurance to its cus-tomers worth up to Rs 50 lakh. The e-ticketing and catering arm of railways, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), has tied up with Bharti AXA General insur-ance company to provide free-of-cost travel insurance to those customers who book air tickets through the official air ticketing web-site of IRCTC --- IRCTC Air. IRCTC, also being the travel and tourism arm of the rail-ways has this platform of air ticketing, air.irctc.co.in where customers can book flight tickets for both do-mestic and international flights.

IRCTC Air offers free insuranceThis is a first-of-its-kind

partnership for IRCTC. After this tie-up with Bharti AXA, customers can avail free air travel insurance with a cov-erage of Rs 50 lakh to every passenger, who book tick-ets on the IRCTC air ticket-ing website irrespective of the class of tickets, in both domestic and international flights. The travel insurance will provide passengers with financial protection against accidental deaths as well as total permanent disability.

Additionally, the pre-mium for insurance will be borne by IRCTC to secure the passengers from any un-toward incident during any journey. This has been done to make air travel hassle-free. The travel insurance

cover will be for both one way trips and round trips of air travel, when booked on the IRCTC air ticket-ing portal. Meanwhile, last month railways took an ini-tiative to tie up with Air In-dia. This gave an additional benefit to railways passen-gers as those who booked tickets for the luxury train, Maharajas’ Express, could avail 17pc discount on Air India tickets to any part of the country. IRCTC had signed an MoU with Air In-dia to develop and promote special tour packages for the flagship premium rail tourist products of railways, which is the Maharaja Ex-press as well as the Bud-dhist Circuit Deluxe Special Train.

Low fares from Emirates to IndiaDUBAI: Emirates has rolled out this year’s first budget flights from Dubai, with fares starting from just less than Dh1,000 round-trip.

Announcing its first tick-et sale of the year, the Dubai-based airline said that travel-lers can score money-saving trips to Europe for as low as Dh1,955, Asia for Dh825 and the Americas for just a little over Dh3,500.

UAE residents planning a trip to India and Pakistan can book fares to Delhi, Mum-bai, Chennai and Hyderabad for less than Dh1,000 and to Islamabad and Kolkata for under Dh1,200. Travellers, however, have less than two weeks to secure the tickets,

with the budget fares on of-fer only until Jan 22. The tickets can be used for travel until Nov 30 this year.

The deals are meant to convince UAE consumers to make their holiday plans early and travel more this year. The UAE carrier, which had earlier reported an 86pc decline in net profit, has re-cently announced a major executive reshuffle as it looks to strengthen its business in 2019. The carrier is also bring-ing the prices down for busi-ness class seats to Dh3,395 for those heading to Asia and Dh3,745 for MidEast-bound travellers. For residents trav-elling to the Philippines, fares to Clark start from Dh2,095.

2 EMIGRATION Friday, January 11, 2019

Published by IPEPCIL Publications LtdRNI No.: MAHENG/2018/76663

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Dubai’s Magna Carta

If you plan properly, half the battle is won! This seems to be the message the Ruler of Dubai His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum wants to spread

across the globe. He issued Dubai’s eight governing prin-ciples — Dubai’s own Magna Carta — tenets that had been in place for a long time but are now codified for the benefit and betterment of all and for posterity.

He is a master strategist and such powerful is his wis-dom, vision and planning that it transcends generations and is mindful of the needs and wants of all concerned. It offers not only a blueprint to a better future, but also the tools to overcome the challenges that he foresees on that path ahead. This document is indeed significant. No other such open accord exists nor has been codified across the Arab world and these principles are wide-ranging, deep rooted and will hold all in good stead in the future. The Dubai Magna Carta draws its inspiration from the glorious past, it leverages the people’s tenacity and today’s resources to fulfil the promise of a brilliant tomorrow.

His Highness Al Maktoum admits that the federal union takes precedence and that Dubai is an integral part of that bond makes up UAE. It makes clear that the two are indi-visible and that the interests of the UAE are those of Dubai, are intertwined, inseparable and united for the betterment of this great Arab nation. No one person is above the rule of law, he says and it is a pivotal recognition that the system of justice is the framework for the nation, that it works on the rule of law and that those laws apply to all regardless of colour, creed, class or stature. And the second principle makes it clear too that begins with the ruling family and extends to all, promising swift due process. Next, the prin-ciples recognise Dubai’s position as a politically neutral, business-friendly global hub creating economic opportuni-ties. And it recognises the unique social make-up of Dubai, where people from every corner of the globe live in social harmony .

There is no exaggeration to the fact that Dubai too is a land that recognises people of talent and embraces educa-tional systems that nurture talent. And fundamentally, Dubai is engaged with future generations to ensure that these prin-ciples will endure and that hold the country in stewardship for generations to come. Together, the eight principles create a framework for political and social rights, laying out the te-nets of government in a transparent and egalitarian manner, a contract for good governance that embraces all and places justice and equality at the centre of Dubai’s actions. A cen-tralised education database, a doctor on call for every citizen and free economic and creative zones in universities will be the springboard for the ambition of the next generation, en-abling them to reach greater heights. He mentions self-suffi-ciency in homes and co-operatives to boost income of the lo-cals. This assures the continuity of progress and prosperity.

Editorial

LIPSYNCH “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”

— Theodore Roosevelt.

Senator Ram Villivalam sworn in

Ram Villivalam, the Chicago-born Indian American Democratic State Senator from Dis-trict-8, was sworn into office in Skokie, Illinois, by Judge Colleen Daly.

ILLINOSIS: Ram Villivalam, the Chicago-born Indian American Democratic State Senator from District-8, was sworn into office in Skokie, Illinois, by Judge Colleen Daly. Villivalam took the oath on a copy of the Bhagavad Gita while surrounded by his wife Elizabeth, their son, Rohan, as well as his mother, family and friends. The Gita was bought for his mother by his late grandfather.

“I am honored to repre-sent our communities in the Illinois Senate,” Villivalam, the first Asian-American to be elected to the Illinois Senate and the first South Asian member of the Illinois General Assembly, said. Ac-cording to the Illinois Sen-ate Democrats website that announced his swearing in, Villivalam’s priorities upon entering the General Assem-bly includes legislation for a $15 minimum wage, a pro-gressive income tax, gun vi-olence prevention, women’s rights, and LGBTQ rights.

The 101st General As-sembly will be inaugu-rated during ceremonies in

Springfield.“Diversity in who is mak-

ing decisions for our commu-nities is essential. I am also proud to join one of the most diverse groups of legislators

this state and country have ever seen, a group that will work for and with our com-

munities to ensure the needs of all residents are consid-ered and respected,” Villiva-lam was quoted as saying.

Villivalam, president of the Indo-American Demo-

cratic Organization, got a slew of endorsements before the March 20 primary, run-

ning unopposed in the Nov. 6 general election. The 8th Senate District includes 21 neighborhoods on the North-west Side of Chicago as well as parts of Lincolnwood,

Niles, Morton Grove, Skokie, Glenview, Park Ridge, and unincorporated Des Plaines.

Villivalam, who chal-lenged 20-year incumbent Ira Silverstein, won the primary getting 13,350 votes that ac-count to a total of 51.86pc. Villivalam, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from India in the 1970s, work-ing as public servants for 25 years, said he will never for-get their struggle.

While endorsing him be-fore the primary, Congress-man Raja Krishnamoorthi paid tributes to him, saying that his “friend Ram” is not afraid to speak out on the issues that are important to him and his constituents. “From fighting for access to health care to increasing the minimum wage, enact-ing sensible gun control and supporting small businesses - Ram has been right there, working on the front lines for Illinois working families as a progressive union orga-nizer,” he said.

WASHINGTON: Mysore-born Gita Gopinath has joined International Mon-etary Fund as its chief econ-omist, becoming the first woman to occupy the top IMF post. Gopinath’s joined at a time when she believes the world is experiencing a retreat from globalisation, posing challenges to multi-lateral institutions.

Announcing her appoint-ment, IMF Managing Direc-tor Christine Lagarde had described her as “one of the world’’s outstanding econo-mists with impeccable aca-demic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership and extensive in-ternational experience.” The 11th chief economist of the IMF, Gita in a recent inter-view to The Harvard Gazette described her appointment at the IMF as a “tremendous honour” and said the ap-pointment of the first-ever woman for this position speaks highly of IMF’s Man-aging Director Lagarde.

“She is phenomenal, not just in her leadership of the IMF but as a role model for women around the world,” she had said. Identifying some of her top priorities at the IMF, Gita said that she would like the IMF to contin-

Gita Gopinath takes charge in IMFue to be a place that provides intellectual leadership on im-portant policy questions.

“Among the research is-sues that I would like to push,

one would be understanding the role of dominant curren-cies like the dollar in interna-tional trade and finance. We could do more on the empiri-cal side to try to understand countries’’ dollar exposures and on the theoretical side in terms of the implications for international spillovers, consequences of dollar short-ages, etc,” she said.

“The one (biggest issues being faced by the IMF) that is absolutely clear and present is that we are see-ing the first serious retreat from globalisation. This has not happened in the past 50 or 60 years, when the world moved toward lower tariffs and increasing trade across

countries,” she told the prestigious Harvard publica-tion. “Over the past several months, we have the US-imposed tariffs and retalia-tion to them from China and other nations. There is in general growing uncertainty about trade policy, including the one arising out of Brexit [the British move to leave the European Union].

“While the trade has re-duced global poverty and raised livelihoods, its con-sequences for inequality, and on whether the rules of engagement are fair, are real concerns that need to be ad-dressed,” she said. Gita said there is also a concern about whether there is the right multilateral institutions and frameworks in place to make sure everybody feels that there is fairness in trade. “And the same goes for capi-tal flows,” she added.

“ FDI was always viewed very favourably by countries. But because most of the FDI is now in tech-heavy firms, there are growing concerns about national security and international property theft. So I believe this retreat from globalisation and this retreat from multilateralism is quite unique to the times we are living in,” she said.

SINGAPORE: In a serious case of dereliction of duty, an In-dian-origin policewoman has been jailed in Singapore for four years for forging a statement of an alleged molestation survivor. A media report stated that Kalaivani Kalimuthu is a senior staff sergeant in the Singapore Police Force. She was an investigation officer in the Violence Against Per-sons Squad when she committed the offence.The case was about a woman who lodged a police complaint in March, 2016 alleging being molested by a man who also tried to rape her. The victim was not named in the court records.

Senior staff sergeant in Singapore Police Force, Ka-laivani has been jailed for four years for forging a statement of a molestation survivor. Kalaivani was given the duty to conduct an investigation into the case and interview the woman and record a further statement. As she wanted to complete the investigation quickly, Kalaivani forged the further statement, deputy public prosecutor Stephanie Chew told the court. Though she called the woman but could not arrange interview with her. Strangely, Kalaivani forged a statement that the victim had not made, which in-cluded details such as a claim that the woman touched her alleged molester during the incident, and she did not mind her attacker touching her.

The policewoman signed the statement with the woman’s name by tracing her signature from the previous statement and sent the investigation papers to her officer-in-charge, recommending that no further action be taken regarding the woman’s police report. After that, the matter was reassigned to another investigation officer, who interviewed the woman in person in June 2017. He showed her the forged statement, and the woman denied having given any such statement.

Kalaivani, who has been suspended from the Singapore Police Force, pleaded guilty in December.The prosecution had asked for five to six months’ jail term, saying that Ka-laivani’s offence “was in severe dereliction of the duties she had been entrusted with”, and in flagrant breach of trust reposed in her. Kalaivani could have been jailed for up to four years, fined, or both for committing forgery.

Indian-origin policewomanjailed in Singapore

Raj Chetty elected to AAPSSBOSTON: Indian origin Raj Chetty, an economist at Har-vard, has been elected as one of the five 2019 Fellows of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS), one of the nation’s oldest and most distinguished learned societies. Chetty is the William A Ackman Professor of Public Economics at Harvard University. Chetty’s work on topics ranging from tax policy and unemployment insur-ance to education and affordable housing has been widely cited in academia, among policymakers and in the press. An economist, whose innovative uses of “big data” has trans-formed understanding of dis-advantage and economic mo-bility among American youth, Chetty’s work has illuminated the “decline of American eco-nomic mobility, the impact of race on a child’s economic prospects, and other cracks in the American dream,” accord-ing to the Harvard Gazette.

“The annual election of a small number of exceptionally distinguished scholars as Academy Fellows never fails to remind us that social sci-ence, at its best, is constantly expanding its knowledge base and, on that foundation, honoring its social responsibility as an agent of improvement,” said Kenneth Prewitt, Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs at Columbia University and Pres-ident of the AAPSS. “It is a pleasure to again celebrate this win-win moment in the life of the Academy,” Prewitt said.

Raj Chetty

Engg graduates, MBAs...

Reservation bill passed(Contd. from page 1)government jobs, though states would be free to define their cut-off of income level, he said for their children’s employ-ment”. The Bill was approved after the House rejected a mo-tion moved by Kanimozhi (DMK) and supported by Left parties for sending it to a parliamentary select committee for scrutiny.

(Contd. from page 1)currency and commodities on a single platform with all transactions being settle-ment in US dollar.

Both the institutions will complement each other in sourcing the investors glob-ally. The MoU reiterates Doha Bank’s long-term com-mitment to the Indian mar-ket and will enable the bank to further expand its service offerings for its overseas cus-tomers looking to invest in India, thereby aligning with its intention to become a one stop shop for its target customer base. Dr R Seeth-araman, CEO of Doha Bank, said: “The tie-up with Stock-Holding will enable Doha Bank to offer seamless and integrated investment solu-tions in India to its custom-ers outside India looking for opportunities to invest in the Indian debt and capital mar-kets through the Portfolio In-vestment Scheme (PIS), For-eign Portfolio Investor (FPI) or Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) routes.

The MoU will primarily target Financial Institutions, venture capital funds, pen-sion funds, private equity

Canada, UK popular for...(Contd. from page 1)lookout for career options in an alternative country, notes the report. Data indicate that Indian job-seekers are exploring op-portunities in Canada nearly twice as much as they did two years ago with a massive shift in cross-border searches from the US to Canada. Between August 2016 and July 2018, the US’ share in job searches from India fell from 60 to 50pc, while there was a rise in searches for Canada from six to 13pc.

Most UAE salaries set for hikeDoha Bank signs MoU withStock Holding...funds, hedge funds, family offices and high Networth Individuals (both NRIs and other foreign nationals) based outside India and planning to invest in the Indian market.”

Doha Bank, set up in 1979, provides domestic and international banking ser-vices for individuals, com-mercial, corporate and insti-tutional clients through four business groups — whole-sale banking, retail banking, international banking and treasury and investments.

StockHolding was incor-porated as a Public Limited Company in 1986 and services

retail and institutional inves-tors through its 200 branches in India. It has been jointly promoted by leading banks and financial institutions. Currently, a government of India Company, StockHolding has over 22pc market share and accounts for Assets under Custody (AUC) of $535b.

StockHolding provides the full range of services to its cus-tomers including custody, des-ignated depository participant services, clearing and settle-ment across all security seg-ments as well as direct access to the International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) in India.

(Contd. from page 1)are ensuring that most part of every additional dollar or dirham spent on salary in-crements is allocated to high performers or high potential employees.

This is a good practice as long as the organisation and employees have transpar-ency and trust in the perfor-mance management system and processes overall.

■ What can employees do? Employees should en-sure they understand their KPIs clearly and ensure

they focus on achieving or surpassing their key goals so they belong to the select group of employees which are valued and rewarded ad-ditionally with bonuses or salary increments.

■ Purchasing power: In the past five years, we’ve seen flat or nominal increase in real pay (average pay increments – local inflation) with exception to last year, where published inflation figures were higher than the average increments, eroding some purchasing power for people in the UAE.

(Contd. from page 1)management. On the other hand, business majors who had spe-cialised in retail and tourism appeared to be the least in demand in 2017. Meanwhile, medicine and surgery were the most in-demand specialisations among medicine majors, but demand for general dentistry graduates was low. Among graduates of in-formation technology, those who studied information security had most access to employment opportunities, followed by stu-dents who specialised in networking and information systems. Finally, education majors were also able to land jobs, especially those who had knowledge of early childhood and special edu-cation. Within the financial services market, companies focus on revenue generation and winning new business, so positions within front-office are also dominating hiring requirements. The positions within front-office are still in demand for profes-sionals who are able to bring strong local networks and exper-tise to the role. Governance and compliance continues to play an increasingly important role within the region.

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4 GULF JOBS & OPPORTUNITIES Friday, January 11, 2019

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NATIONAL JOBS & CAREERS 5Friday, January 11, 2019

Puzzle #: 27 Diffi culty : Easy

Sudoku PuzzleRules: To solve a Sudoku puzzle, every digit from 1 to 9 must appear in each of the nine vertical columns, in each of the nine hori-zontal rows and in each of the nine boxes.Solution for Puzzle # 27 will be in next issue.

Fun Corner

Sudoku Puzzle 26 Answer

Your wellness

Poor posture while working on the com-puter can lead to fa-

tigue, increased muscle tension and even injury to the vertebrae over time, a study has found.

The seemingly harmless posture can even limit the ability to turn your head, researchers said.

“When your posture is tall and erect, the muscles of your back can easily sup-port the weight of your head and neck -- as much as 12 pounds,” said Erik Peper, a professor at San Francisco State University in the US.

“But when your head juts forward at a 45-degree angle, your neck acts like a fulcrum, like a long lever

Bad posture may cause fatigue, spinal injurylifting a heavy object,” Peper said.

“Now the muscle weight of your head and neck is the equivalent of about 45 pounds. It is not surprising people get stiff necks and shoulder and back pain,” he said.

Researchers tested the effects of head and neck position. First, they asked 87 students to sit upright with their heads properly aligned on their necks and asked them to turn their heads.

Then the students were asked to “scrunch” their necks and jut their heads forward.

Ninety-two per cent re-ported being able to turn their heads much farther

when not scrunching.In the second test, 125

students scrunched their necks for 30 seconds.

Afterwards, 98pc report-ed some level of pain in

their head, neck or eyes.The researchers also

monitored 12 students with electromyography equip-ment and found that tra-

pezius muscle tension in-creased in the scrunched, head forward position.

So if you suffer from headaches or neck and backaches from computer

work, check your posture and make sure your head is aligned on top of your neck, as if held by an invisible thread from the ceiling.

“You can do something about this poor posture very quickly,” said Peper.

To increase body aware-ness, Peper advised purpose-fully replicating the head-forward/neck scrunched position.

“You can exaggerate the position and experience the symptoms. Then when you find yourself doing it, you can become aware and stop,” he said.

Other solutions he of-fers include increasing the font on your computer screen, wearing computer reading glasses or placing your computer on a stand at eye level, all to make the screen easier to read without strain.

Pune records highest number of H1N1 deaths in MHMaharashtra had the

highest number of cases of H1N1

virus (swine flu) and deaths last year followed by Raj-asthan and Gujarat in the country. According to the state health officials, there were 2,594 cases of H1N1 virus in 2018 and 462 deaths. Of these, the high-est number of deaths were in Pune.

Across the country there were a total of 13,447 cases of H1N1 virus and 969 deaths according to the lat-est update of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Last year was relatively quiet according to experts across various states. However, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh had a fair share of H1N1 virus cases.

There were 1,553 H1N1

virus cases in Karnata-ka with 59 deaths, 2,053 cases in Gujarat with 88 deaths and 738 cases and 40 deaths last year in Kerala according to NCDC data. A review by health officials in Maharashtra, which had the highest number of deaths, shows that the age group

of 21 to 50 was among the most affected.

Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer said there has been a cyclical

declining trend. “In 2017, there were 6,144 number of cases of H1N1 virus in the state and 778 deaths, while in 2016 there were 82 cases and 26 deaths,” he said.

While preventive mea-sures like vaccination is taken up, the immunity

against the virus in the com-munity lasts for eight to 12 months, and then there is another surge, Awate said. Last year a total of 1.28

lakh people were vaccinated against the virus, and this year too the vaccine will be procured, Awate added.

Due to the strong sur-veillance network, cases are picked up, health officials added. Pune has seen a total of 136 deaths — the highest in the state last year. Of this, there were 65 deaths in the Pune Munici-pal Corpora-tion area, 35 in Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal cor-poration area and 36 in Pune rural area.

Nashik corporation had 26 deaths and Nashik dis-trict (rural) had registered a total of 30 deaths last year due to H1N1 virus infec-tion. Kolhapur registered 39 deaths, Satara 43 and Nagpur 11 deaths last year.

While men and women in India are largely physi-

cally inactive, women were found to burn less calories than their male counter-parts, finds a survey of over

o n e million Indians.

s u r -v e y - -

“Physical activity levels of Indians” by HealthifyMe, the domestic health and fitness app -- showed that 53pc of Indian women are “inactive” and burn less than 50pc of calories that a person should burn through physical activity, daily, as against 44pc of men.

The average calorie

Over 53pc women in India physically inactive: Survey

burn budget of Indian men is 476 calories per day vs. women’s 374 calories per day, out of which men burn 55pc (262) while women burn just 44pc (165).

Over 30pc men are “ac-tive”, burning more than 80pc of their calories, and only 24pc women are “ac-tive” and 22pc “mildly active”.

“It is a matter of grave concern that almost half of all Indians are inac-tive and burn less than even 50pc of their calorie budget. Inactivity and un-healthy food habits can lead to several lifestyle diseases like obesity, hy-pertension, diabetes and high cholesterol,” Tushar Vashisht, Co-founder and CEO, HealthifyMe said, in a statement.

“From our experience, we are already witnessing an increase of such cases

amongst people as early as in their 30s.

“Everyday physical activity and good eating habits can play a crucial role in avoiding and even reversing such diseases. It is time that we start taking ‘working out’ more seri-ously,” Vashisht said.

Further, the survey found that Tier 1 cities continue to be more active than Tier 2 cities, burning 407 calories in a day versus 371 in Tier 2.

Bengaluru, Gurugram and Noida were found as the most fitness conscious, while Kolkata, Jaipur, Luc-know and Ahmedabad were the least active cities.

The data is based on the activity auto-synced via fitness-bands or smart-phone apps as well as self-reported workouts from over one million users, aged between 25 and 35.

St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, an-nounced that it will start post-graduate courses for 10 more

subjects in its Park Street campus over the next two years.

The college principal Rev Fr (Dr) Dominic Savio, SJ, said, “As part of our expansion programme, our college will begin MA courses in the following subjects from academic year 2019 — MA in English, Political Sc and Bengali at Raghabpur cam-pus and MEd, if possible. In 2020 and 2021, MAs in Sociology and History and MSc in Chemistry, Statistics/ Data Science and Economics will be started. For all PG courses available… there are plans to start PhD programmes after two years.”

The institute plans to start a PhD programme in Computer Science from the 2019 academic year. It will also set up a state-of-the-art finance

St Xavier’s College announces plans for 10 more PG courses

laboratory for students pursuing a specialisation in finance. “The new finance laboratory is the first-of-its-kind in any college in the country. It is a research laboratory for stu-dents with finance specialisation. It

can also be of use for faculty and research-ers,” said Savio.

M e a n -while, the 12th con-v o c a t i o n

ceremony of the college will be held on January 16, which is also its 159th Foundation Day. Jadavpur University Vice-Chancellor Suranjan Das will be the chief guest. He will also be awarded with the prestigious Nihil Ultra Award for his contribu-tion to higher education in the state in general and for his support and patronage to St Xavier’s in particular.

A number of new job vacancies have been announced by

the Bhopal-based Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) at bhel.com. Inter-ested and eligible candi-dates can visit the official website now. A total of 573 ITI Apprentice Posts are up for grabs by the company for which the official noti-fication has been released. This apprenticeship posts are available in Bhopal,

BHEL announces new jobs at bhelbpl.co.inMadhya Pradesh. The ap-plication process started on January 7, 2019 and will

continue un-til January 31, 2019. Men-tioned below are some de-tails that can-didates need to keep a tab of in order to

apply for the posts on offer.Post details: PostsITI Apprentice .................. 573Electrician ........................... 150Fitter .................................... 150Manist Composite .............. 60Welder (Guess & Electric) 50Turner .................................. 40Computer (COPA/PASAA) .. 60Draftsmen (Machanic) ........ 10Electronic Machanic .......... 06Machanic Motor Vehicle ... 06

Manist Grinder ................... 10Meson .................................. 08Painter (Gen.) ..................... 5Co-Painter ........................... 08Plumber ............................... 10Salary:Selected candidates will receive a stripend of Rs 8232.How to apply:

Candidates can visit the official website of BHEL, Bhopal at bhelbpl.co.in on or before 31 January 2019 to fill the application form and be a part of this recruitment drive. Once filled, candi-dates can send the hard copy of the online application form along with necessary documents to Post Box No. 35, Post Office Pipalani, BHEL Bhopal, Pin Code- 462022, Madhya Pradesh latest by 10 February 2019.

Prisoners of the Nag-pur Central Jail in Maharashtra who

have taken up academ-ic courses will now get their queries answered by teachers through a new in-clusive radio counselling facility started for them. The ‘mediated phone-in radio counselling’, launched by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), will help prisoners in their academic studies without compromising the jail’s security, IGNOU’s regional director P Sivaswaroop said.

The ‘virtual classroom’ facility was inaugurated by Deputy Inspector Gen-

IGNOU’s radio programme to educate prisonerseral, Prisons (eastern re-gion), Yogesh Desai and Sivaswaroop at IGNOU’s Gyan Vani radio channel studio here. Prisoners’ education is a univer-sally accepted principle to bring a change in their behaviour, make them aca-demically strong, and to help them stand on their feet after release from jail, Sivaswaroop said.

While IGNOU has been offering various academ-ic courses, this student-teacher interactive call back facility was not avail-able for prisoners as they do not have access to phones in jail, he said. “To circumvent this difficulty, an innovative method has

been adopted by IGNOU here. Prisoners will now listen to lessons imparted by teachers on the FM radio channel. They will write their doubts/queries on a paper and give it to the IGNOU’s jail coordina-tor,” he said.

The coordinator will immediately call the Gyan Vani studio from the jail office phone and read out the prisoner’s queries. The teacher in the studio will then provide answers on the radio channel, Sivaswaroop said. Desai claimed that the ‘phone-in education’ programme was being started for the first time in the Nagpur Central Jail where several

prisoners were pursuing academic courses offered by IGNOU.

With this facility, there will be a “two-way com-munication” which will be quite beneficial to prison-ers who want to study, he said. “The initiative will also be helpful in cor-recting and rehabilitating them,” he said.

Shyam Koreti, IGNOU’s coordinator and associate professor of history at the Nagpur University, who was part of the phone-in counselling session, said they received six to seven queries from prisoners. He appreciated their interest in pursuing education despite being in jail.

N A T I O N A L

6 IN FOCUS Friday, January 11, 2019

I work for a federal government com-pany in shifts. My company gives me a day off on public holidays only if it falls during my day shift on a weekday. If the public holiday falls when I am on night shift or on a weekend, I don’t get any sort of compensation. Is this legally right?

It is understood that you work for a federal government company in shifts and your employer grants you a paid leave for a public holiday only if it falls on a day when you are on day shift and on a weekday. Such a leave is not granted if the holiday falls on a weekend or on a day when you are scheduled to work on a night shift and no compensation is given to you for this. You have not speci-fied your shift schedules and the type of employment and we shall, therefore, as-sume that you are on a full-time employ-ment and your employment is subject to the Federal Decree Law No. 11 for 2008 On Human Resources in the Federal Gov-ernment (as amended by Federal Decree Law No. 9 for 2011 and Federal Decree Law No. 17 for 2016), called “Human Re-source Law” and the Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2018 On the Executive Regula-tions of Human Resources Law in the Federal Government, called the “Execu-tive Regulation”.

According to the Human Resource Law, public holidays, official govern-ment working days and hours are deter-mined by a decision of the UAE Cabinet. The chairman of your federal entity may also make necessary arrangements for flexible working hours and may invoke a shift system as necessary, provided that the total weekly working hours shall not exceed 48 hours. This is in accordance with the provisions of Article 74 read with the provisions of Article 75 of the Human Resource Law that read as fol-lows:

“Article 74- 1. Official Government working days and hours are determined by a decision of the cabinet.

2. The Chairman of the Federal en-tity may make necessary arrangements for flexible working hours as needed and within the limits of normal working hours per week.”

“Article 75: Public Holidays are deter-mined by a decision of the cabinet. The decision also designates competent au-thorities that announce public holidays.”

The Executive Regulation further sets forth that when employees are required to work on official holidays, they shall be entitled to receive compensatory leave on some other day or, if applicable, may opt to receive extra compensation for the actual overtime work he performs dur-ing these days. However, if the said holi-day coincides with a weekend, he is not entitled to any compensation. This is in accordance with the provisions of three clauses of the Article 116 read with the provisions of Article 117 and Article 122 of the Executive Regulation, which are quoted here for reference:

“Article 116: (3)The chairman of the federal entity may introduce a flexible working system as required by work needs and conditions as long as it is within the limits of approved weekly working hour.

“(5) Official holidays for federal en-tities shall be subject to cabinet resolu-tions.

“(6) Except for religious holidays, any other holidays set forth in the proceed-ing article may be carried over to the be-ginning or end of the week, if they occur between two working days. The official holiday may not be moved or compen-sated if it coincides with another holiday or weekend.”

Further, Article 117 of the Executive Regulation states that a federal entity may apply a system of shift-based work. The provision reads as follows:

“A Federal Entity may apply a shift system on all or part of the positions or organisational divisions within its struc-ture, depending on its and requirements and nature of work, provided that the total weekly working hours shall not ex-ceed 48 hours.”

In accordance with the provisions of Article 122, it may be noted that when an employee is required by his or her su-perior to work on official holidays, he or she shall be granted paid leaves that are equal to the number of holidays he or she was on duty. Under clause (3) of Article 117, it may be noted that such employee

Wage for working on public holiday ?may either choose days of paid leave for the number of days worked during pub-lic holidays or may seek compensation for the actual overtime work performed during the period. The provisions under Article 122 read as follows:

“Compensation for work during offi-cial holidays:

1- The direct superior may assign an employee to work during an official holi-day if deemed necessary as per work re-quirements.

“2-An employee who works on offi-cial holidays shall be granted days equal to the number of days he works during weekends in compensation. Part of a day shall be considered full day.

“3-An employee who is entitled to overtime pay may choose between being compensated by days equal to the num-ber of days worked on official holidays or receive a payment in compensation for the actual overtime work he performs during official holidays.”

In pursuance of these provisions of the HR Law and those of the Executive Regulation, it may be noted that you shall not be entitled to compensation if the public holiday coincides with a week-end. But if a holiday coincides with a weekday when you work on night shifts, you may be entitled to additional days of paid leave or you may also choose to get compensation for overtime work.You may address your concerns with your supervisor and seek compensatory days off or overtime payment, if your work-ing hours have fallen on public holidays. However, if you feel that your supervisor has not followed the prescribed working hours for its subordinates, you may con-sult the human resource department of your organisation.

Dating in UAE?I am a Dubai resident and come from a culture where we are encouraged to date our future spouses for a few months before marriage. I have received conflicting reports about the legality of unrelated men and women hanging out in the UAE. Can you tell me the legali-ties of pursuing such a courtship in the country? Will I fall in trouble, legally speaking?

It is understood that you are a resi-dent in Dubai and you belong to a cul-ture that encourages you to date your future spouse for a few months before marriage. We understand that you are looking to pursue courtship and want to understand the laws on this matter. Certain laws in the UAE are influenced by the Islamic principles and by local customs, values, and cultural and tra-ditional practices. It may be noted that Dubai’s population largely comprises people of different expatriate communi-ties and the city provides a liberal envi-ronment for social interactions for all its residents. Men and women may freely meet at public places including-- but not limited to restaurants, cafeterias, public parks and such other places --- as long as they do not resort to doing anything indecent or vulgar or commit a violation of the prevailing laws of the UAE. In this regard, it may further be noted that any indecent act committed flagrantly is deemed an offence punishable with a minimum imprisonment term of six months.This is in accordance with the provisions of Article 358 of the Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 On Penal Code, which reads as follows: “Shall be sentenced to detention for a minimum term or six months, whoever has flagrantly commit-ted an indecent act. “Shall be sentenced to detention for a minimum term of one year, whoever has perpetrated an inde-cent act with a girl or boy who did not complete 15 years of age, even if not committed openly.” However, there does exist a code of acceptable behaviour when it comes to courtship and dating in the country, which must be respected and adhered to by all residents.

Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani with participants of Know India Programme in Delhi.

WASHINGTON: India’s GDP is expected to grow at 7.3pc in the fiscal year 2018-19 and 7.5pc in the following two years, World Bank has forecast, attributing it to an upswing in consumption and investment.

The bank said India will continue to be the fastest growing major economy in the world. China’s economic growth is projected to slow down to 6.2pc each in 2019 and 2020 and six per cent in 2021, according to the Jan 2019 Global Economic Prospects report. In 2018, the Chinese economy is estimated to have grown by 6.5pc as against India’s 7.3pc.

In 2017, China with 6.9pc growth was marginally ahead of India’s 6.7pc mainly be-cause the slowdown in the Indian economy due to de-monetisation and implemen-tation of the GST, the report said. “India’s growth outlook is still robust. India is still the fastest growing major economy,” World Bank Pros-

India’s GDP expected to hit 7.3pcpects Group Director Ayhan Kose told a TV channel. “With investment picking up and consumption remain-ing strong, we expect India to grow 7.3pc in the fiscal year 2018-19 and average 7.5pc in 2019 and 2020. India registered quite a bit of pick up in doing business ranking. The growth momen-tum is there (in India),” he further said.

In India, the growth has accelerated, driven by an upswing in consumption and investment growth has firmed as the effects of tem-porary factors wane, World Bank said in its latest re-port. Domestic demand has strengthened as the benefits of structural reforms such as the GST harmonisation and bank recapitalisation take effect. “India’s growth accelerated to an estimated 7.3pc in FY2018-19 (April to March) as economic activity continued to recover with strong domestic demand. While investment contin-

ued to strengthen amid the GST harmonisation and a rebound of credit growth, consumption remained the major contributor to growth,” World Bank said.

According to the report, India’s GDP is forecast to grow by 7.3pc in FY2018-19 and 7.5pc thereafter, in line with June forecasts. Private consumption is projected to remain robust and invest-ment growth is expected to continue as the benefits of recent policy reforms begin to materialise and credit rebounds. Strong domestic demand is envisioned to widen the current account deficit to 2.6pc of GDP next year. Inflation is projected to rise somewhat above the midpoint of RBI’s target range of two to six per cent, mainly owing to energy and food prices, the bank said. It said in India the recent introduction of the GST and steps toward demonetisation are expected to encourage a shift from the informal to the

formal sector.“India’s recent growth

numbers suggest that the economy remains robust despite temporary setbacks (due top demonetisation and GST),” Kose said. The World Bank’s estimate suggest that India’s potential growth rate is around seven per cent, and is expected to remain around seven per cent, he said in response to a question.

“The fact is that Indian economy is being able to deliver growth slightly above its potential is a very good sign,” he added. Refraining from commenting on the economic performance of the Modi government that too in an election year, the World Bank official said growth performance of India as compared to other emerg-ing markets has been quite impressive. “India’s growth performance has been quite impressive. Year after year it has delivered strong numbers around its potential growth,” he said.

Who will benefit from the new 10pc quota?

To all those who are not covered by existing quotas and have a family income below Rs8 lakh a year or agricultural land below five acres. Those who have a house above 1,000 square feet or a 100-yard plot or above in a notified municipal area or a 200-yard plot or above in a non-notified municipal area are not eligible.What steps are necessary for its implementation?

The 124th Constitution Amendment Bill, 2019, which the Lok Sabha has already passed on Tuesday, will have to be passed by the Rajya Sab-ha too by a special majority of two-thirds of the members present and voting, which

New 10pc quota system, its implicationsshould not be less than one-half of the total strength of the House. If it is not passed by both the Houses within the term of this Lok Sabha, it will lapse. The Bill will also have to be ratified by at least half the state assemblies. Once the Constitution is amended to add economic backwardness as a ground for reservation, it will most likely have to stand the test of judicial scrutiny, as the Supreme Court had in the Indra Sawhney case capped quotas at 50pc of the avail-able seats. But, according to some legal experts, the 50pc cap is only applicable for socially backward reservation.What are the future implica-tions, should the Bill stand judicial scrutiny?

If the Supreme Court in-

deed agrees to lift the 50pc cap, all states can extend the quantum of reservation and “upper castes” will stand to lose in state services.

If the Supreme Court rejects the idea of breaching the 50pc cap, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quo-tas can be provided only by eating into the SC, ST and OBC quota pie, which will have social and political im-plications.How will it help the economi-cally less prosperous “up-per caste” Hindus and such groups in other communities?

If the EWS is treated as a category just like the SC, ST and OBC, a large chunk of general category candidates will apply for just 10pc seats and the cut-

offs can rise. While ideally the non-reserved 40pc open seats should be open seats based on merit, there are complexities here too. For example, the UPSC accepts a reserved candidate in the civil services examination making it in the general merit list as general only if he/she has not benefited from res-ervation in the preliminary, mains, service choice (if one gets a better service, say IAS or IPS, due to reservation, one is counted as reserved irrespective of one’s overall rank) and state cadre choice (if a reserved candidate is in the general merit list but is getting a cadre of her choice as a reserved candidate, she is counted as reserved), say bureaucrats.

MUMBAI:The government has allowed an Iranian bank --- Iran’s Bank Pasar-gad ---- to open a branch in Mumbai, Union Ship-ping Minister N i t i n G a d -kari said after meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Md Javad Zari f here.

Iran’s Bank Pasargad will o p e n i t s branch within the next three months. Gadkari said: “The government of India has already given permission to Iran to open a bank branch in Mumbai.

Bank Pasargad to openbranch in Mumbai

That will be used for transactions“.

He termed his meet-ing with Iranian Minister

on Chabahar Port “fruit-ful”. We had detailed dis-cuss ions . . . Our meet -ing was very fruitful and we have re-solved a lot of issues,” G a d k a r i said. India

has placed $ 85 million machinery order for Cha-bahar, which is a port on the coast of the Gulf of Oman, and is Iran’s southernmost city.

Qatar to set up150 projectsDOHA: Qatar’s economy will continue to expand with one of the fastest growth rates in the world for years. More than 150 large-scale projects worth billions of dollars are to be offered after 2022, which include projects related to in-frastructure development, roads and construction of buildings, hospitals and schools, said a top official of Qatar Chamber (QC). Sheikh Khalifa bin Jas-sim Al Thani, Chairman of QC, said that the level of projects will continue after the 2022 World Cup, and this is a very important issue. It is known that more than $200b will be spent in total in preparation for the tournament. This figure covers not only stadiums but huge and costly projects such as roads, a new airport and hospitals.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia plans to lower its oil shipments fur-ther as it follows through on a global deal to cut output to prevent a build-up in supplies. Minister of Energy Khalid A-Falih told a news conference here that the kingdom would export 7.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in Feb, down from 7.2 million bpd in Jan.

He also said Saudi Arabia was producing 10.20 mil-lion bpd, delivering on an earlier pledge to cut output further than required by a supply-limiting deal between the OPEC and allies such as Russia. Saudi Arabia had a target to lower output to 10.311 million bpd as of Jan. 1, when the supply cut accord took effect. He also said that the oil market stability will take time.

Saudi to trimoil exports

CORPORATE NEWS 7Friday, January 11, 2019

Aiming to boost ties with India, Iran has welcomed in-

vestment proposals from the country in urea and petrochemicals and is willing to provide fertilis-ers at reasonable rates, an Iranian minister said.

After meeting Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said India can look at investments in sectors like petrochemicals and fertilisers in the Chabahar area. “We have offered dis-cussions in that area (urea)

Iran seeks Indian investments in fert, petrochemand we welcome proposals from India. India has been a customer for Iranian urea fertilisers for a long time.

“Because of the illegal US sanctions, the Indi-an consumer, the Indian farmers are paying 38pc more for the fertilisers and we have possibilities of providing that to India at a reasonable rate,” Zarif said.

He said trade arrange-ment with the European Union (EU) was moving slower and Iran was work-ing with its traditional partners like India, China

and Russia to protect its interests.

“While we continue to work with Europeans on their special purpose vehicle, we are working with our traditional part-ners like India, China, Russia so that we continue to work in the interest of our people. “Europeans have been trying but they have not been able to do it as rapidly as we had expected them to do. We are in touch with Europe but we are not waiting for Europe” Zarif said.

In November last year,

Iran said the EU must be given more time to set up a trade mechanism meant

to circumvent reimposed US sanctions on Tehran, but warned it could not

“wait forever”. The EU is working on a payment system to continue trade and business ties with Iran after the US ditched a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018 and reintroduced a raft of sanctions on the country.

The US sanctions aim to cut off Iran’s banks from international finance and significantly reduce its oil exports. “With India we are expanding our areas of cooperation through various channels that we have, both through direct channels as well as barter,

and providing for require-ments of the two coun-tries,” the Iranian minister said. Earlier, shipping and port minister Gadkari had said India plans to set up a urea plant at the strategic Chabahar port complex in Iran to cut down on its huge subsidy on urea.

“Ministries of Chemical and Fertiliser and Petro-leum are working on it. Once it is set up, there will not be the need for a huge Rs 80,000-crore subsidy on urea and prices will come down by 50pc,” Gadkari had said.

An integrated startup complex, billed as the country’s largest

innovation hub and set up by the Kerala Startup Mis-sion, would be inaugurated by state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Janu-ary 13. The complex set up over an area of 1.80 lakh sq ft within the Technology Innovation Zone (TIZ) at Kalamassery, Kochi, would provide top quality infra-structure for incubation and acceleration, a release from the mission said. It said the complex was the largest of its kind in the country.

It would among others house a “Maker Village”; BRINC, the country’s first international accelerator for hardware startups, BRIC,

Startup complex to open in Kochian incubator dedicated for developing solutions for cancer diagnosis care, and

a Centre of Excellence set up by industry majors like UNITY and CERA.

Once fully developed into a full-fledged campus having over half-a-million sq ft built up area, TIZ

would become the larg-est Work-Live-Play space exclusively dedicated to

startups in the country, the release said. Over a 100 startup companies in various stages of growth were already operating in the three incubators func-tioning within the facility.

In an effort to make debit, credit or prepaid card payments safer, the Re-

serve Bank of India issued guidelines on the use of tokenisation, which would mask the sensitive card data and use a unique to-ken instead. “Tokenisation involves a process in which a unique token masks sensi-tive card details. Thereafter,

RBI issues guidelines for card payment

The Reserve Bank of In-dia (RBI) has constitut-ed a high-level commit-

tee under Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani to suggest measures to strengthen the safety and security of digital payments in the country. The five-member panel on deepening of digital payments has been constituted with a view to encourage digitisation of payments and enhance financial inclusion through digitisation, the RBI said.

“The committee shall sub-mit its report within a period of 90 days from the date of its first meeting,” it added.

The panel has been tasked with reviewing the existing sta-tus of digitisation of payments in the country, identifying the current gaps in the ecosys-tem and suggesting ways to

Nilekani heads panel on digital paymentsbridge them and assessing the

current l e v e l s of digi-tal pay-ments in financial i n c l u -sion.

It will also “suggest measures to strengthen the safety and security of digi-tal payments… (and) a road

map for increasing customer confidence and trust while accessing financial services through digital modes”. It has also been asked to un-dertake cross country analy-ses with a view to identify best practices that can be adopted in our country to accelerate digitisation of the economy and financial inclu-sion through greater use of digital payments.

Besides Infosys co-found-er Nilekani, other members of the panel are former RBI deputy governor H R Khan, former MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank Kishore Sansi and for-mer secretary in ministries of IT and steel Aruna Sharma.

The fifth member is San-jay Jain, chief innovation of-ficer, Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneur-ship (CIIE), IIM Ahmedabad.

Edelweiss General Insurance Com-pany Limited has introduced an add-on, ‘Health 241’, for its health

insurance policy. Literally meaning “two for one”, if this add-on is bought along with the Edelweiss Health Insurance Policy, and if the first year is claim free, the customer is covered absolutely free for the second year. This is a first-of-

Edelweiss Ins offers unique health add-onits-kind feature to be introduced by any insurance company in India. Commenting on the new offering, Anup Rau, CEO of Edelweiss General Insurance, said, “Our Health 241 add-on is an attempt to show value to these customers so that they start their health insurance journey early. If there are no claims in the first year, they can take the next year for granted with us.”

Bank of Baroda has doubled the mini-mum quarterly aver-

age balance (QAB) that its ‘Baroda Savings Account’ customers maintain at the bank’s metro, urban, and semi-urban branches.

With effect from Febru-ary 1, customers of the aforementioned savings account variant at metro and urban branches will need to maintain Rs 2,000 minimum QAB. In the case of customers at semi-urban branches, the minimum QAB will be Rs 1,000.

There is no change in the minimum QAB re-

Min bal in BoB to be Rs 2,000

quirement of Rs 500 for customers having ‘Baroda Savings Account’ with rural branches.

The maximum charges for non-maintenance of minimum QAB are Rs 200 for metro and urban branches, and Rs 100 for semi-urban branches.

The doubling of mini-mum QABs comes at a time when incremental deposit growth is lagging incremental credit growth and non-banking finance companies tapping the market aggressively with non-convertible debentures at attractive interest rates.

More than 70pc of our oil transits through this area

and our energy needs are met. Areas such as Jam-nagar, Vadinar, Mundra and Kandla are largely in use for oil tanker move-ment.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) will acquire 50 new vessels and around 40 air-craft in the next four years, a top official said. K Nata-rajan, Additional Director General and Coast Guard Commander Western Sea Board, said with this ad-dition, the force will have 200 platforms (boats and ships) by 2022. Natarajan

Oil minister Dhar-mendra Pradhan said that the gov-

ernment will allow state-owned ONGC and Oil India to induct private and for-eign partners in oilfields to raise output and also give special incentive to make their discoveries in difficult areas viable. Speaking at the launch of second bid round for 14 exploration blocks under open acreage licensing, policy, Pradhan said Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and OIL will have the freedom to decide which of their currently producing fields they want to retain and in the ones where they would

Coast Guard to add 50 vessels

ONGC, OIL allowed to induct pvt partners

was speaking to report-ers at the seventh joint national-level Pollution Response Exercise here. “In 2008, we had some 60 platforms, and today we have more than 150 platforms — ships and boats — and all are operation-al,” he said.

“By 2022, we will be having 200 platforms. The number of aircraft will also be increased from 62 to 100 in the same period,” he said. The highlight of

like to induct a partner.This is a climb down

from the 2017 position where the oil ministry’s up-

stream technical advisory body Directorate General of Hydrocarbons identified 15 fields—11 of ONGC and

the exercise was participa-tion of ICG Pollution Con-trol Vessel ICGS Samudra

Pavak and involvement of other agencies such as the Mumbai Port Trust, ONGC

four of OIL—for giving out 60 per cent stake to foreign and private companies. The move couldn’t go through

because of tough resistance from the state-owned firms. Then again in October last year, the ministry wanted

and the Shipping Corpora-tion of India.

The Indian Coast Guard

is the central coordinating authority for dealing with marine oil spills. Eleven

ONGC to concentrate on large fields as they con-tribute to 95 per cent of its production and leave out the rest for private firms.

They can decide on the fields they want to retain and the stake they want to give (to foreign and private firms),” he said. Pradhan said “special incentive be-sides the incentive already provided” will be given to difficult fields of ONGC. ONGC and OIL have not been able to develop some of their discoveries or bring them to production as the current gas price of $ 3.36 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) is way lower than the cost of production.

ICG ships and an ICG Dornier maritime recon-naissance aircraft and a Chetak helicopter partici-pated in this mega exercise along with vessels of other agencies. “The Gulf of Kutch is the main route for our oil trade. More than 70 per cent of our oil transits through this area and our energy needs are met. Areas such as Jamnagar, Vadinar, Mundra and Kan-dla are largely in use for oil tanker movement. Hence, international-level capacity development for containing oil pollution in the sea is needed,” Nata-rajan said.

PNB MetLife and Kerala-based ESAF Small Finance Bank

have entered into a strate-gic partnership to provide customers an expanded financial services suite.

The alliance will en-able PNB MetLife to reach both existing and new ESAF SFB customers with insurance products. Also, ESAF SFB will be able to provide its customers an access to a wide array of life insurance products and services.

As per the Corporate Agency agreement, ESAF SFB will leverage its out-

PNB MetLife, ESAF Small Fin Bank enter into partnership

lets to offer PNB Metlife’s life insurance products.

“We are delighted to partner with ESAF SFB and offer our wide range of unique products to their customer base”, said Ashish Kumar Srivastava, MD and CEO, PNB Metlife Insurance.

According to K Paul Thomas, MD and CEO, ESAF SFB, many fami-lies from the middle and lower socio-economic class of non-metro cities do not have access to the services offered by the formal finance sec-tor. The partnership with

PNB Metlife will enable to fulfil customers to un-derstand the value of life insurance better.

PNB MetLife is dedi-cated to the cause of insurance penetration. It utilizes various distri-bution channels. As of December 31, 2018, the insurer is present in 107 locations across the coun-try with access to over 100 million customers. It also has a distribution net-work through more than 11,000 bank branches. ESAF Small Finance Bank is the newest addition to the list.

in lieu of actual card details, this token is used to perform card transactions in contact-less mode at Point of Sale (POS) terminals, Quick Re-sponse (QR) code payments, etc,” RBI said.

RBI said any card pay-ment network can offer card tokenisation service to a token requestor (third party app provider), and

a cardholder can avail the services by registering the card on the token requestor’s app with consent. Customers won’t be charged for this.

All existing regulations of RBI on safety and security of card transactions, including the additional factor authen-tication, will be applicable for tokenised card transac-tions as well, RBI said.

Mastercard and Mosambee , a payment solu-

tion company, have part-nered to launch a low-cost point of sale (PoS) machine, SamosaPoS.

Android-based Sa-mosaPoS is priced at Rs 2,000 and looks and works like a calculator. It comes with multiple ap-

Mastercard parteners with Mosambee for PoS machineplications such as an in-ventory stock, calculator and accepts credit cards, debit cards, BharatQR and e-wallets, all with a single click, according to a press release.

Rajeev Kumar, Senior Vice-President - Mar-ket Development, South Asia, Mastercard, said in the press statement,

“Through this partner-ship with Mosambee, Mastercard’s aim is to reach out to small, micro merchants, kirana stores and create a behavioural shift towards accepting digital payments.”

Sameer Chugh, Co-founder, Mosambee, said in the statement, “Samo-saPoS is another example

of Mosambee’s attempt to bring a disruptive solu-tion that is familiar in every way, but is packed with a set of unmatched features. We are proud and excited to announce our strategic partnership with Mastercard to jointly promote this solution across various geogra-phies.”

8 Travel / Entertainment

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As on 10th January, 2019 (In rupees)

Currency Buying Selling

Australian Dollar 49.15 51.65Bahraini Dinar 182.75 192.75British Pound 88.55 91.55 Canadian Dollar 52.05 54.55 Emirati Dirham 18.70 19.70Euro 79.95 82.95Kuwaiti Dinar 228.00 238.00Omani Rial 178.60 188.60Qatari Riyal 18.90 19.90Saudi Riyal 18.30 19.30Singapore Dollar 50.95 53.45 Swiss Franc 70.85 73.85 US Dollar 69.80 71.8 0

Source:

Footprints tracedby Prince Manjalil

Overseas job market will get stabilisedby mid-year, says Mr. Zakaullah Siddiqui

M Zakaullah Siddiqui

Mr. M Zakaullah Sid-diqui, one of the pio-neers of recruitment

and travel industry in Mum-bai, started Zaireen Travel Service in 1964 when travel

industry was in its infancy. He recollects that the

Government officials and others depended on ship-ping services to travel to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other places, but it used to take a long time to reach their destinations. Around that time, Air India first started one flight, daily, to Damam. In late 1970s, when the Gulf states started build-

ing their infrastructure after the oil boom, there were lot of demand for Indian work-force in those countries.

When more and more Indians started migrating, the problems from the au-thorities also started because under the Emigration Act, which was enacted by the British in 1866, Indians were not allowed to migrate even with a valid visa and ticket. This uncertainty started af-fecting the recruitment and travel industry in an adverse manner.

On the advice of Mr R K Rao, their legal adviser, a writ petition was filed by Mr. Eric Kandva of Zarineen Travels Services’s staff in the Supreme Court on the grounds of violation of fun-damental right to travel abroad. This cost him about Rs 40,000/- at that time. Un-der such circumstances, a need was felt for having a fo-rum to voice the concerns of this industry and it was de-cided to form an Association to fight for the fraternity and their rights. All recruitment

agents agreed and ‘The Re-cruiting Agents Association of India’ (RAAI) was formed on June 4,1979, with found-ing members like Mr A.A Syed, Late Subodh Navalkar and many others along with himself. Mr. Siddiqui re-members that initially the Association functioned from the office of one of their members, Mr. Bhatia.

Later, on July 11,1997, Indi-an Personnel Export Promo-tion Council (IPEPCIL) was formed and remain as one of the largest recruitment agen-cies association in India.

Thereafter, certain chang-es were introduced like, in 1983, the Emigration Act was amended. However, many lacunas were still there, like ECR and ECNR categories. Though the gov-

ernment gave some relax-ation for professionals like doctors and engineers, but majority of the workforce was still under ECR catego-ry. It was around this time, the then Union NRI Affairs Minister, Mr E Ahmed of the Muslim League from Kerala, changed the entire scenario by bringing all 10th passed individuals into ECNR cate-

gory, Mr Siddiqui recollects. Over the period, Immigra-tion policies and systems changed considerably and finally it is now become on-line. Mr. Siddiqui believes that more positive change can be expected in future as well. He says that although the present overseas job sce-nario is not very bright due to the falling oil prices, he is optimistic that the situation

Hotel restaurant sector providesthousands of jobs: Kuwait minister

Mariam Al-Aqeel

“The hotels and restau-rants’ sector in Kuwait provides thousands of

jobs and investment oppor-tunities in major projects, as well as medium and small enterprises that are gaining more momentum the closer we get to concluding major projects related to the New Kuwait 2035 vision”, Min-ister of State for Economic Affairs Mariam Al-Aqeel has said. The minister made her remarks in a statement re-leased to the press on the oc-casion of the Horeca Kuwait 2019 exhibition, which is set to be inaugurated under her auspices on Jan 14 with par-ticipation of companies spe-cialised in hospitality, cater-ing and hotel equipment.

Aqeel added that the government fully sup-ports all efforts that would help achieve this vision,

namely in terms of the pri-vate sector’s contributions. “Hence comes Horeca’s sig-

nificance,” she underlined, pointing to the importance of exploring all sectors ca-pable of creating more job opportunities for citizens and improving work envi-ronments for small and me-dium projects.

“Tourism and hospitality services tops those sectors, especially after the cabinet decided to subject the Civil Service Comission to the minister said and combin-ing all state departments entrusted with employment under one umbrella to set a clear strategy for labour markets,” Aqeel elaborated, expressing hopes that local products would help the in-dustrial sector, namely food industries, flourish.

As part of its focus on deregulation, Dubai’s Department

of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has begun efforts to release about Dh250 million in bank guarantees that have been furnished by tourism-related service providers.

Once a prerequisite re-quirement to start a travel and tour business in the emirate, the regulation has now been waived, allowing for instant liquidity to be in-jected into Dubai’s economy. Dubai Tourism says that the move will lower the cost of doing business and support further investment in the sec-tor ecosystem. The move is part of efforts to support the

Dubai Tourism releases Dh250m in bank guarantees

government’s economic stim-ulus programme aimed at lowering cost of doing busi-ness and making the emirate more attractive to investors.

Strongly aligned with the directive of Dubai Ruler His Highness Shaikh Moham-mad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum

to accelerate Dubai’s eco-nomic growth through rela-tive strategic and regulatory initiatives, Dubai Tourism seeks to directly benefit over 2,000 travel and tour opera-

tors and agencies in Dubai.“As we head into 2019

with a commitment to signif-icantly boost tourism arriv-als in line with our 2022-25 tourism strategy and vision to make Dubai the world’s most visited destination, re-laxing regulations in support

of the business commu-nity, especially support-ing start-ups and SMEs, is fundamental for sus-tained sector growth,” said Helal Saeed Al Merri, director-general of Dubai Tourism. “Tourism is a

strong contributor to Dubai’s GDP and we intend to ensure that we sustainably enhance our economic value and aid the diversification agenda for the wider UAE.”

Now, ferry between Dubai malls

The Roads and Transport Author-ity, in partnership

with Emaar Properties, has launched a new ferry service connecting Dubai Mall and Dubai

Marina Mall. The latest ferry service will start op-erations next week and will initially run once a day, offering tourists and residents a new mode of transport and different view of the Dubai skyline.

The ferry service, for a duration of about one hour and 20 minutes one-way, will offer resi-dents and tourists a new perspective to the city’s skyline - from The Palm Islands to the skyscrap-ers along Sheikh Zayed

Road and the Dubai Ca-nal. The ferry will ply between the Dubai Ma-rina ferry station, located behind the Dubai Marina Mall and Al Wajeha Al Maeyah station, from

where a complimen-tary shuttle service will take guests to reach The Dubai Mall and back.

Tickets can be pur-chased from At the Top, Burj Khalifa, from the guest service desks at The Dubai Mall and Dubai Marina Mall or www.burjkhalifa.ae as well as from the ferry stations. They are priced Dh68.25 (inclusive of VAT) per adult and Dh52.5 for children from five to 12 years.

Budget carrier IndiGo has announced a sale offer under which

customers can book domes-tic flight tickets for as low as Rs 899 (all-inclusive). The flyers can also grab flight tickets for just Rs 3,399 (all-inclusive) on international routes of the airline. The bookings for the offer started on Jan 9, 2019 and will end on Sunday, Jan 13, 2019.

The four-day offer – “New Year New Sale” – is valid for travel from Jan 24, 2019 to April 15, 2019. The offer is valid on non-stop flights on different sectors across the airline’s network. The flyers can book tickets on all chan-nels available during the offer period. The fares, however, don’t include airport charges and government taxes.

IndiGo’s Rs 899 ticket offer closes on Sunday

will be stabilised by mid-year, the veteran predicts.

(Mr. Zakaullah Siddiqui, is a lawyer and business-man and apart from the travel and cargo, import and export business, he ac-tively participates in vari-ous socio-economic activi-ties and is attached to many national organisations.)

Shivering Munnar attracts tourists

Kerala’’s Munnar, fond-ly called the ‘’Kash-mir of the South’’ by

travel buffs, has once again turned out to be a paradise for tourists, thanks to the

unexpected chilly weather and snow. Located 1,600 metres above sea level, the tourist town was once the summer resort of the erst-while British government in South India.

The mercury level has plunged to minus degree Celsius in the last few days, spreading a blanket of snow across its lush greenery and tea plantations, which has wooed a large number of holidayers, both domestic as well as foreigners. The

photos of snow-sprinkled grasslands and reports of the frozen climate of the place have gone viral on the social media in no time. For the last eight days, the mercury level

has gone down to below zero degree Celsius. It was -2 de-gree Celsius at the tea planta-tions and zero degree Celsius at the town area on Thursday.

Local people said it was very rare for the frozen cli-mate to last for over a week. Seeking to tap the opportu-nity thrown in by the unex-pected weather conditions, Kerala Tourism had updated its Twitter handle with in-formation and photos of the cool weather. “We can’’t get enough of this rather unex-

pected, but dreamy Munnar weather,” one of the tweets said.

The chilly weather has also given renewed energy to the tourism sector, which had faced the brunt of the deluge that had ravaged Munnar in August last year. Hoteliers, home-stays and resorts are receiving heavy bookings due to the sudden inflow of tourists. However, the unexpected snowfall has caused extensive damage to tea plants, local people said. Wildlife photographer Praveen Muraleedharan said that the minus degree temperature at high alti-tudes and deep forests of Munnar was common dur-ing Dec-end and the first week of Jan.

“This may not be a posi-tive sign. It is due to drastic climate change. We need to conduct proper research into it. Unfortunately, many are marketing the phenomenon in Munnar as a snow-fall des-tination in Kerala,” he told a TV channel. Located in the biodiversity hot spot of the Western Ghats, Munnar is a sought-after tourist destina-tion, known for its vast tea plantations, pristine valleys and scenic mountains and exotic flora and fauna.

Eco-tourism in Singapore

Singapore is creating a vast eco-tourism zone in a bid to bring in

more visitors, but environ-mentalists fear the develop-ment will damage natural habitats and are already blaming it for a series of ani-mal deaths.

While it may be best known as a financial hub with scores of high-rise buildings, tropical Singapore is still home to patches of rainforest and an array of wildlife, from monkeys to pangolins — also known as scaly anteaters. In one green corner of the city sits a zoo and two sister at-tractions — a night safari and river safari — that have long been big draws for foreign and local visitors. Now jungle is being cleared in the same area to make way for a bird park, a rainforest park and a 400-room resort, to create a green tourism hub it is hoped will eventually attract mil-lions of visitors a year.

But the project in the Mandai district has ruffled the feathers of environmen-talists. They believe that rather than promote biodi-versity, it is too imposing for the area, will destroy forest habitats and they say insuf-ficient safeguards were put in place before work began — leading to animals being killed on roads. The row has highlighted concerns about

rapid development in space-starved Singapore and wor-ries that some of the coun-try’s more wild and green corners are being lost only to be replaced with some-thing more artificial.

“I think you are getting your priorities wrong if you are replacing natural heri-tage with captive breeding,” Subaraj Rajathurai, a veter-an wildlife consultant, said. With the new development, it appears that “making mon-ey was more of a priority than finding the balance and preserving biodiversity”, he added. But Mandai Park Holdings, which is oversee-ing the project through its development arm, insists work is being carried out sensitively and will bring improvements. The district, which sits next to a protected nature reserve and has been earmarked for development for years, is mostly aban-doned villages and farmland that have been swallowed by the surrounding jungle.Work is already well under way in an area that is home to animals including flying lemurs and deer, with con-struction cranes looming over hillsides stripped bare of jungle.A major focus of concern has been the ani-mal deaths on the main road leading up to the zoo as for-est is cleared.