Don't include my name in Tipu Jayanthi invite: Anant Kumar Hegde

Dubai, Mar 3: Abu Dhabi-based Indian retail tycoon MA Yusuff Ali has become the first Indian to receive Saudi Arabia's premium residency, his office said in a statement on Monday.

Yusuff Ali, 64, is the chairman of the LuLu Group, who was ranked the richest expat in the UAE by the Forbes magazine last year.

The permit, informally known as Saudi Green Card, grants expatriates the right to live, work and own business and property in the Kingdom without need for a sponsor, the LULU group said in a statement.

The introduction of the Premium Residency comes as a part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 reform plan, which was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to boost the Saudi economy, the statement said.

Yusuff Ali said "obviously a very proud and humbling moment in my life. This is a great honour not only for me but for the entire Indian expat community and I sincerely thank the HM the King Salman, HRH Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman and the government of Saudi Arabia."

"@Yusuffali_MA , an investor from India, after obtaining Premium Residency in Saudi Arabia: ''The Kingdom became an attractive investment destination due to the remarkable growth in economy," Premium Residency tweeted on Monday.

Yusuff Ali said he was sure that this new permanent residency initiative will further boost Saudi Arabia's image as one of the key investments and business hubs of the region as well as attract and retain new investors.

This initiative is targeting key investors and prominent personalities from various fields, including sports, arts & culture, who have played a defining role in the nation building process.

The Lulu Group owns and operates more than 35 hypermarkets and supermarkets in Saudi Arabia, which includes ARAMCO Commissaries and National Guards super stores.

Bengaluru, May 22: The Karnataka government, which has fixed Rs 200 as fine for not wearing masks and covering faces to contain coronavirus spread, has collected Rs 3.43 lakh from 15,000 people as fine from May 5 till date.

"From May 5, the government has collected Rs 3,43,000 by fining 1,715 citizens for nor wearing masks or covering their faces," the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) Commissioner said in a statement.

Here is a zone-wise chart showing fines that have been collected:

Meanwhile, Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said the state has reached its target of scaling up to 10,000 tests per day by conducting 11,499 tests on Thursday. In Kalaburagi, where the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the State, conducted over 1000 tests yesterday.

"By conducting 11,449 COVID-19 tests yesterday, we reached our target of scaling up to 10,000 tests per day Kalaburagi that saw the first COVID-19 case in the state conducted over 1000 tests yesterday," Sudhakar said.

As per the Union Health Ministry, Karnataka has 1,605 positive cases, of which 571 have been recovered and discharged and 41 have succumbed to the infection.

Mangaluru  Mar 27: Thinking that he might have contracted the coronavirus infection, a 55-year-old man has committed suicide in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district.

The deceased has been identified as Sadashiva Shetty, a resident of Abbettu under Meramajalu village. He was working in a petrol bunk.

It is learnt that Sadashiva suspected that he might have come in contact with coronavirus infected people while working in the petrol bunk.

He was scared that the same might get transferred to his family members through him. 

He was depressed for past few days. Today, he hanged himself from the ceiling fan of his house, sources said.

A case has been regarded at the Bantwal rural police station and investigations are on.