Municipality, Etisalat and Commercial Bank of Dubai Join Hands for E-payment June 12, 2006 Dubai eGovernment in association with Dubai Municipality, Etisalat and Commercial Bank of Dubai today announced the launch of its Direct Debit payment system aimed at facilitating direct debit payments capitalizing on Internet banking channels. Account holders from Commercial Bank of Dubai can now pay for all eGovernment services through Direct Debit in real time with immediate updation in their records. The launch of Direct Debit is an important evolution in the online payment scenario in UAE and will lead to a quantum jump in increasing online payment transactions for government institutions and large corporates through extension of B2B and C2B payment transactions utilizing the existing IT infrastructure of banks. According to Salem al-Shair, eServices Director, Dubai eGovernment, ?Direct Debit aligns perfectly with Dubai eGovernment's vision to offer innovative options for online payment solutions for businesses and people transacting with the Government.? "We look forward to working with farsighted partners like Dubai Municipality, which is not only the number one department in terms of the total number of eServices and the number one department in the total revenues collected electronically through ePay, but also, was the first to adopt and implement the new Direct Debit service. We know that Etisalat?s varied experience and its massive customer base will ensure the success of this project, while the Commercial Bank of Dubai, in line with its reputation as the leading bank in the region was the first to support, adopt and promote ePay banking solutions," added Al Shair. The Direct Debit solution is part of Dubai eGovernment?s ePay initiative and is based on Etisalat?s proven and secure payments platform. It facilitates direct debit payments for businesses from their accounts, through self-initiated, bank-authenticated online banking channels, using the standard Internet banking infrastructure of banks. Payments can be initiated by the customer online through the service provider web site and the final authentication will be carried out by the bank online. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Acting Director General of Dubai Municipality said, ?The Direct Debit will help us realize our much awaited goal of ?zero visits?, since many of our corporate customers can perform their transactions completely online. We recently recorded our two millionth online transaction and collected over AED 24 million, showing how successful the ePay system is. Abdulla Hashim, Assistant General Manager, eCompany, Etisalat said, "One of Etisalat?s prime objective in extending customer convenience has been to eliminate over the counter payments as much as possible. The Direct Debit solution is a direct outcome of that vision to empower users and service providers through such a versatile and convenient online payment service and we are in the process of expanding the service even further with more banks and service providers throughout the UAE.? Mr. Mahmood Hadi, General Manager-Systems and Operations, Commercial Bank of Dubai said, ?We are pleased to be the first bank to associate with Dubai eGovernment in this venture and our strategy is in line with their pioneering initiatives which are aimed at providing many convenience tools that will benefit our customers.? Dubai eGovernment and Etisalat is currently in testing mode on Direct Debit with other major banks including Emirates Bank, National Bank of Dubai, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Mashreqbank and are committed towards ePayment tools that will ease the lives of citizens, residents and businesses in the UAE. Strengthening Indo-Saudi Ties Harsh Bhal The friendship between India and Saudi Arabia goes back many centuries. Trade, culture, religion and philosophy have bound the people of the two countries. It is a matter of satisfaction that over 1.5 million strong members of the Indian expatriate community have found a second home in the Saudi Kingdom and continue to make a significant contribution to reinforcing bilateral friendly ties. In Saudi Arabia, a country of 23 million people, the Indian community is 19-20% of the total expatriate community of seven million, the largest from any single foreign country. Delhi Declaration Saudi King Abdullah visited India for a four-day state visit in January this year. He was the Chief Guest of the Republic Day celebrations. At the conclusion of the visit, the Prime Minister and the King issued a Delhi Declaration which, inter alia, said:- The two countries would work for closer co-operation in the field of technology, in particular in the field of information and communication technology, agriculture, bio-technology, and non-conventional energy technologies. India will assist in setting up an ICT Centre of Excellence as well as institutes of higher learning, involving both education and research, in the field of technology in Saudi Arabia. India would offer opportunities for Saudi students to pursue Post-Graduate and Doctorate level studies in technical institutions in India, and enhance cooperation in human resource development related to telecommunications. It was agreed that an Educational Exchange Programme between the two countries should be finalized and concluded at an early date. The two countries would explore the prospect of cooperation in the health sector to realize the promising possibilities for enhancing cooperation in this sector, including health services, exchange of health personnel, health education and pharmaceuticals. It was agreed that cooperation in the field of science and technology, tourism, youth affairs and sports, agriculture research and education, technical education and vocational training and other fields of mutual benefit should be intensified through signing of agreements and memorandum of understanding as necessary. The two sides agreed to cultivate and encourage cultural exchanges between the two countries, both at official and popular levels.   HRD Minister’s Visit As a follow up to the Delhi Declaration, Minister for Human Resource Development Shri Arjun Singh visited Saudi Arabia early this month to strengthen academic relations between the two countries. World Class Library During his visit the Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud renewed his personal commitment for opening a world class library in India and hoped that this would strengthen the ties between the two countries. The library to be set up in India with Saudi assistance will be the third such library after the libraries already set up by Saudi Arabia in China and Malaysia. When the King mentioned about his intention to set up an exclusive Science University in Saudi Arabia, Shri Arjun Singh offered to provide talented Indian faculties to this proposed Science University. The King also announced a donation of $30 million (Rs. 138 crore) to Jamia Millia Islamia for the construction of a building that will be both library and research centre and will be named after him. National Education Day Speaking in Jeddah at a reception organized by India Forum, Indian Educational Council and Jeddah Urdu Academy, Shri Arjun Singh said ‘Our tradition of higher education is old.The universities of Nalanda and Takshila used to attract the best minds from China, Arabia and the rest of the world and that tradition still continues.” Responding to the suggestion of the Jeddah Urdu Academy to declare Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s birthday as the National Education Day, Shri Singh said that this is a thoughtful suggestion and is under the active consideration of the government. Speaking at a reception by Aligarh Muslim Old Boys’ Association (AMUOBA) at Riyadh, Shri Singh said that a National Monitoring committee on Minority Education has been set up by the UPA government to ensure the education advancement of the minorities. Shri Singh said that the minority character of the Aligarh Muslim University will be protected beyond any doubt. Indo-Saudi Medical Forum Launching the Indo-Saudi Medical Forum at a glittering ceremony in Jeddah at the Hotel Jeddah Hilton Human Resources Development Minister said:”We have just heard about the objectives behind setting up this Forum, which is to provide a platform for interaction amongst members of Indian and the Saudi medical fraternity and to promote linkages between Indian and Saudi medical institutions. These objectives are fully in tune with the sentiments expressed by His Majesty the King after signing the Delhi Declaration. We are indeed very gratified by the sentiments expressed by His Majesty because we are fully aware of the historical ties between our two countries which go back several centuries in the past and which are now being renewed in the modern world. “One of the areas where both countries recognize great potential is higher education. It is a matter of pride that there are so many of you, products of medical colleges and universities in India, who are working in this country. I hope and trust that through your work in this country, you are bringing credit to yourself, to your institution and to your country. “I also hope that there is a serious interaction between medical professionals in both our countries at the teaching and research levels as well. We should look at strong links between the Indian Council of Medical Research and its affiliated organizations with parallel organizations in Saudi Arabia. We should also look at providing opportunities for teachers and researchers in medical universities in India. I hope that the Saudi-Indian Medical Forum will also represent the interests of the nursing profession. Indian nurses in Gulf are amongst our most successful ambassadors. We have the facility to train nurses in India and would be glad to extend assistance should it be required.” AIEEE Centre In Saudi Arabia Shri Arjun Singh announced that an examination centre for All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) will be opened in Saudi Arabia in the next academic year 2007. He hoped that the issue of equivalence of degrees will cease to be a problem very soon. Arab Cultural Centre At a meeting of Muslim Education Society in Dubai, while en-route to India, Shri Arjun Singh announced that an Arab Cultural Centre would be set up at the Jamia Millia University. The University Grants Commission would fund the Centre. 100 million Mobile Phone users in India!!! The upward trend in the number of new telecom subscribers continued in the new financial year with a net addition of about 4.36 million phones - with an average daily addition of 1.4 lakh lines during May 2006. As a result, the total number of telephones in the country crossed 150.55 million, as against a total of 146.19 million as on April 30, 2006, i.e. a growth of 2.9%. The growth in May 2006 was 48% over that of May 2005. Almost the entire growth registered was in the mobile segment - with GSM contributing 3.16 million and CDMA contributing 1.1 million, respectively. The additions in the fixed line segment during the month was about 0.10 million. The overall teledensity improved further to 13.46% in May 2006 from 13.09% in April 2006 and from 9.17 % as on May 31, 2005. The North East Telecom Circle continued to record the highest growth rate (14.36%) in the GSM segment, followed by Assam (10.70%) and Jammu & Kashmir telecom circles (8.04%). In the CDMA segment, the total subscriber base registered a growth of 4% with a net addition of 1.0 million subscribers. Andhra Pradesh and Delhi contributed the maximum to this addition. Andhra Pradesh alone added 3.6 lakh subscribers to the network during the month. The growth of broadband connections improved further and at the end of April 2006, over 1.38 million broadband connections were provided and coverage of broadband connectivity by public sector service providers has reached 291 cities. Further, the total number of existing ISP licencees is 401. Under the Bharat Nirman Programme, a total of 25431 Village Public Telephones (VPTs) have been provided. The remaining 41391 villages having more than 100 population and not lying in thick forest area etc. are to be covered by November 2007.