Emirates Announces Repatriation Flights to Five Indian Cities Between July 12-26, 2020

Emirates will be operating special repatriation flights to five Indian cities between 12 and 26 July to assist stranded Indians get home and for residents of UAE currently in India to return to the UAE.

The flights will be operated to Bengaluru, Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram between 12 and 26 July 2020 offering the following flight frequencies

Bengaluru: twice daily flights

Delhi: twice daily flights

Kochi: twice daily flights

Mumbai: thrice daily flights

Thiruvananthapuram: once daily flights

The flights to Bengaluru and Mumbai are subject to state government approval.

Flights can be booked on emirates.com, through travel agents, Emirates’ sales offices and contact centre. Passengers must meet all the entry requirements of the destination to be allowed to board the flights.

Flights from Dubai to India

Only Indian citizens stranded in the UAE will be allowed to fly from Dubai to the five Indian destinations.

Flights from India to Dubai

These flights will be available for UAE nationals and residents with prior entry approval from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDFRA) for residents of Dubai and ICA approval for residents of other emirates of the UAE.

All passengers travelling from airports in India to Dubai are also required to carry a negative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) certificate issued by a laboratory authorised by the government of India to be accepted on the flight. Certificates must be issued no more than 96 hours before departure.

More information for returning UAE residents can be found at https://www.emirates.com/ae/english/help/flying-to-and-from-dubai/

Health and Safety First

Emirates has implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees on the ground and in the air. Emirates has modified its services onboard these flights in line with requirements from the authorities. Visit www.emirates.com/wherewefly for more information on the products and services onboard each flight.

Premium customers travelling from Dubai can now also enjoy Emirates’ Chauffeur Drive service and relax in its Lounge facility at Dubai International airport, with the restart of these signature services after a full health and safety review.

Emirates continues to offer customers a wide range of travel options. The airline’s network will encompass 58 cities by mid-August covering destinations across six continents.

Leela Group to invest Rs 100 crore to open IT campus

Hospitality major Leela Group will soon open a Rs.100 crore state-of-the-art IT campus in the Technopark here, a top group official said.

"The building is almost ready and we will open the campus very soon," V.J. Jayakumar, chief of Leela Group's operations in Kerala, told the media.

The 15-storey building will have 500,000 square feet built-up space and an additional 100,000 square feet for car parking.

"Already we have finalised talks with two IT companies, which will take space here. The total investment for the project is above Rs.100 crore," said Jayakumar, who was also the former chief executive of the Technopark.

Leela, which has top-end resorts in several cities in the country, has stepped into the business of IT infrastructure as part of its diversification strategy.

"In Mumbai and Bangalore we have been in the business of IT infrastructure. In Kerala, we have planned to invest Rs.260 crore in the sector and the first and second phases of our project at the Infopark campus in Kochi are complete," said Jayakumar.

"We have finished 90 percent work of the third phase and the next phase work has already started. In all, there will be more than 1 million square feet space in Kochi," he added.

The IT infrastructure division of the Leela Group comes under the Leela Lace Holdings and two of its subsidiaries - Leela Soft and Ocean Soft - manage the Infopark and the Technopark units.

Currently, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are the leading IT hubs in Kerala.

Around 50 companies that employ more than 10,000 people operate in and around the Infopark campus in Kochi, while 160 companies with a total employee strength of 25,000 work in the Technopark.

As part of the state government's IT policy, IT parks will be set up in all 14 districts of Kerala.

Works have already begun for the district IT parks at Kollam, Trissur and Alappuzha.

According to the latest figures provided by the state-run Software Technology Parks India (STPI), software exports from Kerala has grown 43.41 percent to Rs.2,300 crore till February-end of last fiscal.

In 2007-08, the total software exports from Kerala stood at Rs.1,750 crore.

Agencies

No global impact; ACS to hire 1,000 in India

Amid gloomy scenario in the global job markets, hiring in India is continuing at a strong pace with world's largest business process ou tsourcing firm Affiliated Computer Services planning to recruit 1,000 people in the next 6-8 months in the country.

"We are looking to increase our headcount by 1,000 employees in India in the next 6-8 months, out of which about 500 would be employed in our new facility at Noida, which is in the process of being set up," ACS India Country Head and Vice President Aman Mustafa said.

The company is in the process of setting up a new facility in Noida, while it already has offices in Bangalore, Kochi and Chennai and the total employee strength of the company is around 5,000 in the country. Bangalore operation has a capacity of about 2,800 people and around 1,800 people are stationed in Kochi.

"Despite the global economic crisis our business has not been affected and our existing and new clients have been approaching us for services to reduce their costs," Mustafa said.

Mustafa further said that ACS Inc's balance sheet is stable with strong cash flows amid the economic downturn, even as its shares have taken a beating at the New York Stock Exchange. The global firm has a market capitalisation of over 3.86 billion dollar.

Recently, a host of firms, including Metlife India, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, State Bank of India, Larsen and Toubro are planning to recruit over 70,000 people in the country.