Indian consular and passport services launched in UAE through Al Hind
Ample facilities in Dubai
DubaiIIndian consular, passport and visa services have been launched in the UAE through Al Hind Tours and Travels. Al Hind Chairman Muhammad Harris, who has obtained accreditation from the outsourcing agency, announced that the services are available in all the emirates of the UAE. The UW Mall near Burjuman Metro Station has become the venue for the largest Indian consular application center in the UAE. Mall Manager Praveen Nair stated that extensive facilities have been prepared here. Indian Consul General in Dubai Satish Kumar Sivan assessed the facilities of Al Hind. The Consul General pointed out that it will take a few more days for the procedures to be smooth. The mall has ample parking facilities, a good food court and prayer rooms. The Supreme Court of India’s verdict on the temporary provision of passport renewal and other consular services in the UAE to Al Hind Tours ended weeks of uncertainty. Apart from the UAE, outsourcing contracts in Kuwait, Singapore and Canberra have also been temporarily reinstated. Indian diplomatic missions have been instructed in this regard. The Supreme Court has directed that service providers whose contracts were cancelled earlier be given a temporary opportunity. The central government’s petition against the Delhi High Court’s verdict cancelling the tender process for outsourcing consular, passport and visa (CPV) services in Indian missions was heard on Monday. The verdict came as a relief to the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate General in Dubai. This situation will continue until the new tender process is completed. Millions of Indians were facing disruptions in passport and visa services. Recognizing the need to avoid this, the Supreme Court modified the High Court’s directions to allow temporary arrangements. The UW Mall, where Al Hind operates in Dubai, is owned by a Malayali.
Muhammad Suhaib, the son of expatriate industrialist T M Sulaiman and a young entrepreneur, is the managing director of UW Mall
Muhammad Harris
After days of uncertainty, Indian consular services in the UAE are in high demand. Long queues formed in front of Al Hind Travel and Tours, which has been awarded the service rights of Indian Consular Application Centres, on Wednesday morning. “This is the biggest innovation in Indian passport and consular services in the country,” said Mohammed Haris, Chairman and Founder of Al Hind Group of Companies, at the inauguration of the flagship centre at UW Mall in Bur Dubai. The response from applicants has been strong since the centres opened. “Within hours of the new website going live, around 2,000 applicants booked appointments. The new ICAC network became operational immediately.” The one in Bur Dubai is the largest Indian Consular Application Centre in the UAE. It has 70 service counters. It will receive around 600 applicants a day. The procedures will take half an hour.
