Category Archives: Business & Economy

Mechanic Khaleel’s Way Of Aatmanirbhar Bharat: German Car’s Switch Unit Runs With Mixer’s Speed Knob!

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Karnataka (under research project), Science & Technology, Transport

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

Owning a car was a distant dream till 50 years of my age. Finally, I could buy a petite beauty — a German company car Opel Corsa Sail. It was a “pre-owned” one (decent word for second hand). The running around I made to purchase this would itself make an interesting story as I was a greenhorn then. The pre-owner used all his expertise in explaining its features and convinced me to buy it. He also postured as if he was deeply pained to part with the car.

Well, like any other kid with a new toy, I developed a bond with this beauty. Once, it was a dream to buy a car but soon I used to drive this car even in my dreams. My   obsession for spic and span maintenance of my new love, made her silver-coloured curvatures (I believe Chassis is a very harsh word) shine brighter.

A veteran from Indian Air Force that I am, the lessons on cleanliness has been imbibed by me. I never cared for myself even when I got sunburned in the cleaning process. I thought I had to compensate the time lost in my earlier 50 years without a car and spent more time in adoration of this new car !

This car had an exquisite spacious accommodation and upkeep of the interiors of her beauty was also given equal prominence. Dust was my chief enemy. The sight of dust would horrify me. So cleaning was meticulous. Even the remote and hard-to-access portions were carefully polished.

Well, my wife was obviously unhappy that in the course of car cleaning, my household responsibilities were weaning. Her frequency of nagging had increased. (Friends used to say their wives are also same and that sounded like music to my ears). One fine day (can I call it so?), in spite of my wife’s admonitions, I ventured into cleaning my car.

Matter of just a switch

I do not dare to blame my wife for her warnings, because of which I got a little distressed. But the resultant bad mood had an evil effect as I cleaned the interiors. There was this headlight control switch that became the casualty of my distraught. Unlike the modern-day cars, which have control switch attached to steering wheel itself, in my car, it was a little remotely fixed at right-hand corner below the dashboard. Because of my unusual harsh handling that day, the switch got damaged and so was my sleep that night.

The next day I went to the company-authorised service centre. The service engineer inspected it and gave a verdict that it cannot be repaired and the entire switch control unit needs to be replaced, with an original imported one. He said that it has to be obtained from the manufacturer and may take 15 days and the estimated cost was about Rs. 7,000.

Deft hands

I got worried and decided to have a second opinion. One of my friends advised me to go to a local mechanic, Khaleel, who was an expert in his own way in repairing high-end cars. I thought of giving it a try and went to his garage which was next to a Gujari (dump yard). I was amazed to see several high-end imported cars parked there for different levels of repairs.

I was very anxious about the snag in my car, may be very minor, but was paramount for me. But after inspecting the car for only a few seconds, he showed no expressions whatsoever. He asked me to leave the car and come after an hour. His face was so serious that I did not dare to ask any more questions. The next one hour was the toughest in my life. My restless mind was preparing for the worst. 

Complex problem, simple solution

I went back to the garage, posing with a fictional courage. Cool as a cucumber, Khaleel said the snag is rectified and demonstrated that it worked properly.  He asked me to pay Rs. 100. I was astonished and could not believe. I peeped into the dashboard and I could see a new control knob, which looked pretty familiar as well as bizarre to me. It was totally different from the original one. I wondered how he could get such a part which was supposed to cost a bomb and was not readily available locally in such a short time and that too for a paltry hundred rupees.  

When I expressed my bewilderment and disbelief (though happy within), he nonchalantly said, “Saar, it is very simple technology like a mixer in your house.  I just bought a mixer speed control knob for just ten rupees and replaced the broken switch” and handed over the broken switch to me. I was astounded. I thought to myself, hell with the frightening company-authorised service centre, my job was done so effortlessly and the worry vanished.  

Above all, I thought, it was a classic  example of “vocal for local” and “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” much before our Prime Minister Modi promulgated the scheme nationally. Wonder how many such sophisticated spare parts Khaleel would have  replaced in those imported cars lying in his garage with their bonnets open to the sky. And how many such Khaleels  would be in the trade!

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / by S. Vasudevan, Retired Superintendent of Customs & GST / March 26th, 2021

Lutfi Hassan takes oath as chairman of Gandhi Mandela Foundation- American Continent chapter

Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA / Texas, U.S.A. :

New Delhi/Washington :

Prominent businessman and Democratic Party stalwart Lutfi Hassan formally joins Gandhi Mandela Foundation.

Mr Lutfi Hassan is Founder Chairman of the Apex group of companies and a senior member associated with the Democratic Party of the United States of America.

Mr Hassan  took oath as the Chairman of the Gandhi Mandela Foundation for the Americas (United States and the Continent), said a press release of Foundation.

Lutfi Hassan

Shri Nandan Jha, Secretary General, Gandhi Mandela Foundation, administered the oath. The ceremony took place at the Gandhi Mandela Foundation headquarters in New Delhi. Syed Yahya Bukhari, President, Jama Masjid United Forum also took part in the oath taking ceremony. Mr. Bukhari presented Mr Hassan with the Gandhi Mandela Medal as souvenir alongwith a bouquet of flowers.

On his new role Mr Hassan said, “My job would also be to involve younger generation, my children, my grandchildren and generations to come, I would like them to know what GMF is all about, and get them engaged. I see a lot of young people here, who are very excited to be part of this fabric, so similarly I would like to expand that in the United States and carry this mission through.”

After the oath ceremony Mr Hassan, Mr Nandan Jha, Shri Adesh Tyagi, Director(GMF), Mr, Faiz Aksari, Jt. Director(International Relations, GMF), Joint secretaries (GMF), Shri Abhinanv Singh, Shri Adarsh Laddha, Ms Sharmishtha Sharma (Media Relations) visited former CJI Justice Shri KG Balakrishnan (Chairman of Jury, Gandhi Mandela Award) at his residence. Justice KG Balakrishnan welcomed Mr Lutfi Hassan as member of Gandhi Mandela Foundation family and presented him the symbolic flag of Gandhi Mandela Foundation.

This meeting was followed by lunch hosted in honour of Mr Lutfi Hassan at the Shangri La Hotel, New Delhi. The team was joined by several other dignitaries. During this lunch meeting the team discussed further plans for the Gandhi Mandela Foundation global expansion.

Mr Lutfi Hassan, is an established civic leader representing the South Asian community in mainstream American politics. Mr Hassan has served as an advisor on Presidential, Gubernatorial, Senatorial, Congressional, Mayoral and Judicial campaigns in the United States. He has served as a national finance co-chair for the Obama for America campaign in both 2008 and 2012. Over the years, Mr. Hassan has also served on the National Advisory Board (NAB) as a member of Democratic National Committee. Most recently, Mr. Hassan served on the board of advisory for South Asians for Biden. He was one of the select few who were invited at the Biden-Harris inauguration ceremony.

The Gandhi Mandela Foundation a Govt. of India registered trust which promotes individual freedom, civil liberties, and human rights across the globe. The headquarter is situated at New Delhi and Global presence include America, Africa, Russia, Great Briton, Switzerland, China, Nepal, Bangladesh.

The Foundation instituted the Gandhi Mandela Awards during the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji to celebrate those who have carried forward that the legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. The Chairman of the Foundation is India’s hindu spiritual leader Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj, Patron Swami RamDev. The Jury committee includes former Chief justices of three countries (India, Nepal & Bangladesh).

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim / by Muslim Mirror Network / March 11th, 2021

Prophetic Medicine Council Launched To Promote The Practice And Organize Its Practitioners

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Green Products, Science & Technology, Useful / HEALTHCARE, World Opinion, , , ,

KERALA :

Kerala-based Traditional Prophetic Medicine Association Trust (TPMAT) has launched the Supreme Twibb Council in order to promote Prophetic medicine or Tibb-e-Nabawi.

The initiative aims to provide a platform to doctors and physicians involved in Prophetic medicine and will also give training to those doctors who are interested in practising Tibb-e-Nabawi.

Dr Muhammed Gafoor Saquafi, the council’s president highlighted that the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has recognized Prophetic medicine as one of the alternative medicine as ordered by the ruling of the Supreme Court. TPMAT had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in this regard and after winning the case they decided to initiate Tibb Council.

“Moreover the Prophetic medicines institutes have received various orders from the Central Government in this connection. Based on this and Central Act1882, the TPMAT is registered and Supreme Twibb council is formed under it.

Advice and remedy given by Prophet Muhammad on the matters of health including sickness, hygiene, and treatment are called Prophetic medicine. These remedies are given by the Prophet, which is mentioned in the books of Hadith, and the writings were undertaken by non-physician scholars to collect and explicate these traditions.

In 2014, the Prophetic medicine was recognized as a complementary medicine senate via the Alma Atta Declaration of the World Health Organization. A letter of recognition and appreciation was also provided by the World Health Organization via the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Sidha and Homeopathy (AYUSH).

Prophetic medicine was enlisted as an alternate medicine by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2017 and gains the status of independent practice. This liberty to practice prophetic medicine was given by Supreme Court itself. There are many Prophetic Medicine institutions initiated at various locations of India.

The Court managed to draft bylaws of the Council in contrast with a pending petition given by TPMAT to the Supreme Court earlier, that constitute the legal part of the Prophetic medicine.

The council will also provide memberships to the scientific scholars and traditional scholars in different categories. Moreover national memberships will also be given for the structural expansion of the training institutes in the Country with a head-quarter in the national capital, Delhi.

source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> News / by Ghazala Ahmad / March 13th, 2021

Rashid Ali Khan buys Gaya Gladiators Team in Bihar Cricket Legue

Business & Economy, Sports, Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Patna (Bihar) / Mumbai:

Mumbai based successful entrepreneur, sportsperson and the founder of Significant Sports Capt. Rashid Ali Khan has bought Gaya Gladiators, a team in the Bihar Cricket League (BCL) T20. The auction for the same was held in Patna today. 

Founded in 2011, Significant Sports holds a reputable position in the world of Sports Marketing & Celebrity Management. The company constantly aims at working towards being the frontrunner across various sports verticals and for being a one-stop destination for everything in and around sports.

Commenting on this development Capt. Rashid Ali Khan said, “We are delighted to be a part of this Bihar Cricket League T20, which will provide an opportunity to flourish and nourish hidden cricketing talent in Bihar. This initiative taken by BCL will bring a paradigm shift in the development of Bihar and will help the young cricketers grow exponentially.” 

“Being a sportsperson, I am always inclined towards promoting young talent and honing their skills in cricket. Gaya Gladiators will nurture the youngsters with potential and I am delighted to announce that legendary Sri Lankan cricketer Tillakaratne Dilshan would be the mentor of Gaya Gladiators”, he added.

source: http://www.english.newstracklive.com / News Track / Home> Sports / March 10th, 2021

Making screen history

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, World Opinion, , , , , , , ,

Mum bai (Bombay) , MAHARASTHRA :

Liani goes back in time to find out how Alam Ara, the first Indian film with sound that was released on March 14, 1931, was made.

With my travelling severely curtailed, I tried the time machine. I turned a few knobs and wham! I was in March 1931 at a studio in Grand Road, Bombay, that overlooked the railway tracks.

“What’s happening?” I asked a mouse that suddenly appeared by my side. He tittered, “This is a film shooting. These rooms are not soundproofed; so these guys have to wait till the trains stop running.”

I looked at him quizzically. “It’s 1930s, my friend. There were only silent movies. See how they are placing those large microphones inside the actors’ costumes, behind the props and every other place possible.”

“Must be uncomfortable right?”

“You bet. Oh! Look at that. They have musicians hiding behind the trees!”

This was fascinating. I hopped across until I found a man gazing out of the window. I introduced myself and asked him to give me the lowdown.

Getting briefed

“Hello,” he said. “I’m Ardeshir Irani, the producer of this film. I was inspired after watching Show Boat, last year. I knew it was the next greatest thing in films. I decided it would be in Hindustani, which is a mixture of Urdu and Hindi. For my story, I had Alam Ara, about warring queens, palace intrigues and, of course, romance too.”

For his heroine, he had found a young actor named Zubeida, and the male lead was Master Vithal, a Marathi stunt star. The villain was Prithiviraj Kapoor. “If the villain is not good, the movie can fail, you know,” he said. “We are almost done here. This is the fourth month of shooting. It takes just a month to shoot a silent movie.”

My time machine was beeping and my time had run out. Intrigued by what I had seen, I read up about Alam Ara. The film was a sensation. The Majestic Cinema in Bombay was mobbed and the police had to be called in. Tickets were sold on the black market for four to five rupees. But here is the sad part: No copy of this film exists. There are just a few stills to remember this pioneering film.

Fun five

Alam Ara was India’s first talkie.

The shooting was done mostly between 1.00 a.m. and 4.00 a.m.

Released on March 14, 1931, at Majestic Cinema in Bombay, its tagline read: All living. Breathing. 100 per cent talking.

The song ‘De De Khuda Ke Naam Par’ was sung by Wazir Muhammad Khan, a neighbourhood watchman. Irani hired him because of his coarse voice. The film had six other songs.

It introduced the concept of music and playback singing.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Children / by Liani / March 09th, 2021

Meet the hijabi cake artist of Goa

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, , , , ,

Panjim, GOA :

Nadia Aslam, a young cake artist, has set up an inspiring example of entrepreneurship by starting her own business from home and becoming a known cake artist in Goa capital city, Panjim, within the span of a few years.

Nadia graduated in home science. One of her hobbies was stitching. Despite being a mother of three kids, she preferred to follow her passion and prepare bakery stuff on the special occasions of her close ones. She then realised that she can turn her passion into a business, with her mother’s support. She began to accept customized orders from people and is now one of the best cake artists in the city.

Nadia also takes cake making classes regularly under the banner of “Nadia’s Sweetooth”. she has trained dozens of girls to become “Atmnirbhar’ [self-sufficient].

Speaking to Muslim Mirror Nadia said, “Muslim women in Hijab can take up a business and support the family, as an entrepreneur. I realised that all we need are opportunities, and support from our family to exhibit our ideas and creativity in business.

”We can support our families financially while practising Islam and following its guidelines,” she added.

The reason why Nadia’s mother was her biggest supporter was that her mother was also a beautician long back and as it is said “An artist can only understand the definition of art”. Maybe Nadia has also inherited the art of creativity and beautification from her mother as can be clearly seen in her work. The startup wasn’t a child’s play.

Coping up with the timings of household chores, care of three kids and baking ruined her sleep several times. She hardly has time to rest as one whole cake took 17 hours of preparation to get completely ready. Also, it became tougher when she began to receive orders from the corporate sectors and grand parties. Keeping taste, decoration and creativity on a track called “perfect” is her art, and she handles it in a perfect way. And people give a lot of love to it.

In five-year span, Nadia has made approximately 2000 cakes and other bakery products including cupcakes. She says that customers command more concentration on the decoration and overall presentation of the cake, which requires a lot of time and efforts.

Orders from wedding parties, corporate sectors, birthday parties, festival celebrations and many more huge functions requires a perfect decoration with eloquent creativity. To provide a perfect taste while handling the measures of sugar syrup and fondant is also a task.

Nadia has bagged the Achievers award 2018, Proud award 2019. Gowomania Goa has also felicitated her with “star of the month 2017” and 2018 consecutively.

Speaking with Muslim Mirror, Nadia’s husband Rehan Shaikh expressed happiness over her success. He further said that there is nothing if a woman pursues her career while following Islamic guidelines. Men should support their wives to prove their abilities.

Dr Afreen Karol, who is one of Nadia’s ”satisfied” customers, said, ”Nadia is the one who makes my dream cakes into a reality, whatever the occasion, and however weird my request for the cake might be, she nails it every time and it tastes heavenly, good looking cakes can also be tasty, only if Nadia bakes them.”

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Featured / by Imran Inamdar and Sobiya Inamdar / March 08th, 2021

Indian-origin Naureen Hassan becomes first VP, COO of Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinion, , , , ,

KERALA / U.S.A. :

Naureen Hassan, Indian-origin veteran of the financial services industry. (Photo | Twitter/@NewYorkFed)

As the first vice president, Hassan will be the New York Fed’s second ranking officer as well as an alternate voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee.

New York :

An Indian-origin veteran of the financial services industry has been appointed as the first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Naureen Hassan has been appointed by the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as the first vice president and chief operating officer, effective from March 15.

The appointment was approved by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in a statement.

As the first vice president, Hassan will be the New York Fed’s second ranking officer as well as an alternate voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee.

Hassan, whose parents had immigrated from India, is a 25-year veteran of the financial services industry with expertise in strategy, digital transformation, cybersecurity and regulatory/risk management.

She was, most recently, the Chief Digital Officer for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management (MSWM).

President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Fed John Williams said Hassan’s leadership background, deep commitment to fostering diverse teams, and extensive technology and financial experience will be critical to her role as a Bank leader.

Denise Scott, executive vice president of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and chair of the New York Fed’s board of directors, said Hassan’s leadership experience and operational expertise are “fully aligned” with what the search committee and he envisioned for this role.

Scott said Hassan will be taking on the role that is critical to advancing the Bank’s mission and strategic priorities.

The statement added that Hassan has served in various capacities in the financial services industry, focusing primarily on digital and business process transformation.

Prior to working at Morgan Stanley, she was at Charles Schwab Corporation beginning as a vice president of corporate strategy and ending her tenure as executive vice president of investor services, segments and platforms.

According to her profile provided by the Bank, Hassan was formerly a member of the Board of Directors at OneSpan, a USD 250MM revenue public security software and hardware firm, and Ascensus, the largest independent record keeping services provider, third-party administrator, and government savings facilitator in the United States.

Hassan also serves on the board of the California Academy of Sciences and the Cathedral School for Boys in San Francisco.

She was previously on the board of the Charles Schwab Bank and the Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment.

She holds a BA from Princeton University and a Masters of Business Administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> World / by PTI / March 06th, 2021

Keralite ‘racquet doctor’ to attend to Federer, Serena

Business & Economy, NRI's / PIO's, Sports, World Opinion, , , , , , , , ,

Perumpilavu (Thrissur District), KERALA / Dubai, U.A.E. :

Jasif Mustafa

Dubai:

A Keralite racquet stringer’s dexterity and craftsmanship will be in high demand at the Dubai Open which will feature top tennis stars like Roger Federer and Serena Williams.

Jasif Mustafa, the lone Malayali in the team of official racquet stringers for the championship, which kickstarts on Sunday at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, is an expert racquet mechanic.

A native of Perumpilavu in Thrissur district, Jasif is the head of the racquet stringing section of Adler Sports, one of Dubai’s top sporting goods and equipment dealers.

Professional players would restring their racquets occasionally as the strings tend to lose their tension after several games. Jasif’s job is ensuring the precise degree of tension requested by each player.

The professional stringers of Adler Sports, headed by Jasif, got the offer to be a part of the Dubai Open after they did a commendable job at the Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open which was held earlier this year. During the course of the 10-day event, they repaired as many as 513 racquets and their work was widely appreciated.

Jasif has vast experience under his belt as a string mechanic. He had worked at a racquet repair shop in his home town for six years before he landed in Dubai four years ago. After joining Adler Sports, he has repaired over 20,000 tennis and badminton racquets that include the ones used by ace Indian shuttlers like Kidambi Srikanth and P V Sindhu.

“Jasif has a knack of executing the right tweaks. He can assess the quality of the strings just by slapping it on his palm. It is something he has picked up over the course of time,” says Pramod, a native of Guruvayoor and a coordinator at Adler Sports. 

Stringing a racquet can take up to twenty minutes for a skilled stringer. Jasif’s strength lies in his speed and accuracy. Recently, he strung a racquet in 12.33 seconds and shared the video on social media which attracted great attention from people and the media particularly in the Gulf. 

The 28-year-old is a certified stringer of Yonex, a global leader in sports equipment manufacturing. He has had the opportunity to train under Yonex stringing team head Tim Willey and Europe Racket Stringers Association chief Mark Maslowski. Jasif is also grateful to Adler Sports owner Abdul Salam for all his support. 

Challenging job

Stringing racquets is a challenging job. A stringer has to ensure that racquets are strung at the right tension based on the style of each player. Racquet tension can vary from anywhere from 30-70 lbs. Professional players tend to opt for the upper limit of the racquet tension range which offers more control, while lower tensions provide more power. Tennis strings are usually made up of polyester, synthetic gut or a hybrid of the two and the price ranges between Rs 300 and Rs 8,000.

www.onmanorama.com / OnManorama / Home> Sport / by Raju Mathew / March 04th, 2021

National Player : Oman 2020 : Interview with Ishrath Habibulla – Managing Director : Majees Technical Services

Business & Economy, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Science & Technology, , ,

Chennai, TAMIL NADU / Muscat, OMAN :

Majees Technical Services continues to look at new lines of business in line with the growing need for localization of services and manufacturing.

______________

BIOGRAPHY

Ishrath Habibulla is an experienced Managing Director with a demonstrated history starting up and operating profitable businesses in varied sectors including oil, gas, power, construction, automation. He is skilled in negotiation, business planning, and sales. He is also a strong business development professional. Since 2006, he has been the Managing Director of Majees Technical Services, positioning the company as a leading turnkey security and telecoms contractor, as well as flare system manufacturer. He holds an MBA from the University of Florida, US, and a BSc in electrical engineering from Crescent Engineering College.

_____________________

INTERVIEW :

What role does MTS play in Oman’s market and what is your medium-term growth strategy?
Majees Technical Services started purely as a trading organization and then moved onto services and eventually into manufacturing, mostly geared toward the oil and gas industry, targeting the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. We continued the traditional lines of business and added newer lines under our new focus on manufacturing. We are looking to bring in skillsets that are not present in Oman. At present, we produce flare packages in Oman, but we want to take this to the next level and produce more process packages. On the digital transformation aspect, we already provide cybersecurity solutions for a number of banks. Internally, we are exploring robotic process automation. In this sense, our priorities for 2020 can be summarized as increasing the local content in our teams, exporting more, and implementing more digital strategies.

Are these avenues for growth a reactionary approach to how the market has evolved?
In the last few years, the market has moved toward the localization of services and manufacturing. There is a policy that Omani-made products must be given a 10% price preference, especially in engineering services and equipment. On the employment side, local companies are under tremendous stress because of Omanization. On the digital transformation side, although we are one of the leading telecoms and security providers in Oman, PDO is leading the charge because it established digital transformation as a unit within the company, setting new rules of engagement and pulling in companies like us who are service providers. This might lead to the development of some models that are relevant for all players.

How will Oman strike a balance between the government trying to engage SMEs and big established players?
In the last few years, a handful of companies that were once SMEs have grown, and there is currently a lack of SMEs. Young companies will grow to fill that vacuum, while the larger companies will no longer compete on smaller projects due to high costs. The marketplace will adjust itself. The bigger companies might suffer, or they might even grow their prospects and revenues. Nonetheless, there is space for new players to come in.

How do you expect the relationship between local players and foreign players to evolve?
The new foreign capital investment law will possibly allow foreign investors to hold up to 100% ownership. We welcome competition, though at the same time we have to be careful about foreign manufacturers if we want to develop a manufacturing industry in Oman. Foreign investors will be more confident in deploying capital, and the practice of having silent shareholding will also stop, which means serious Omani businesspeople will probably start investing more. Previously, Omani businesspeople were investing because the law required them to be a 30% shareholder. More active engagement between all shareholders is good for the entire economy.

What is the key for filling the skills gap in the market in a sustainable way?
It has been a challenge because we can no longer hire foreign engineers, and there are not many engineers in the local market. The private sector has to be profitable at the end of the day, which means we need to find competent people with the right skills and work ethics. We are training fresh Omani graduates and helping them assume junior management and mid-management roles in the future. We need to continue to improve the workplace and grow our presence on social media so that we can better attract young Omanis.

Where will technology have the greatest impact within your industry, and what is your definition of innovation?
The deepest impact will be on how we market ourselves. The market is still dependent largely on local clients, but that is changing. As a business, you also want to innovate in terms of new products. For us, innovation is using the latest technology to improve your processes and increase profitability.

source: http://www.thebusinessyer.com / The Business Year / Home> Oman 2020> Industry> Interview / by The Business Year, UK / UAE – 2020

J&K girls are flying high, as pilots

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Transport, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Kaneez Fatima.

In the recent past, Jammu and Kashmir has been giving to the country several women professional pilots—young women who have struggled hard to get their wings to fly. The latest to join the club is Kaneez Fatima who became the second lady from Ladakh to become a pilot.

Talking to The Sunday Guardian, her mother Shakeela Bano said that her daughter’s success was because of her, the mother’s, struggle as she had single-handedly brought up Kaneez and provided her with the required education. Shakeela was divorced at a young age and devoted her life to bring up her two daughters.

Shakeela said that she saw a spark in her daughter and was very keen for her education. “I got myself transferred from Ladakh to Srinagar only for the better education of my daughter. I gave her my best as a single parent, I tried my best to give her everything she needed,” she told this newspaper.

She said she was satisfied that her daughters were settled in their lives and added that the burden of her bank loan for their education was no longer occupying her mind. Her elder daughter Nahida is an engineer with HAL. She did her engineering from Srinagar.

“I took a huge loan from a bank in Srinagar for the education of my daughters. Now it is all over. I have achieved what I wanted for my daughters,” said a smiling Shakeela. She said that she could get her daughter admitted to the Government Aviation Training Institute at Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Kaneez, according to her mother, went through a six-year training course and subsequent flying experience.

According to Shakeela, another girl from Leh was so inspired by her daughter’s struggle that she too got herself enrolled for training in the same institute.

J&K came into prominence when Captain Tanvi Raina became a pilot. It was followed by other success stories of women pilots Ayesha Aziz and Iram Habib. The state got its first Muslim pilot Hina Masood, who is working with Air India now, and belongs to Ladakh. Like Hina, Kaneez has also joined Air India. Ayesha is flying fighter jets and has roots in Kashmir as her mother is from the Valley.

source: http://www.sundaygurardianlive.com / TSG – Sunday Guardian Live / Home> News / by Noor ul Qamrain / September 22nd, 2018