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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.

Kasaragod, Apr 29: Kasaragod's General Hospital on Tuesday discharged the last of its 89 COVID-19 patients, who were admitted since the outbreak of the disease last month.

The patient discharged on Tuesday is a native of Anankur in Kerala. He was under treatment for 27 days following his return from Dubai. He was given a warm send-off at 12 noon by the doctors and hospital staff.

Of the 175 positive cases in Kasaragod district, only 12 are under treatment in other hospitals in the district now. Of them, seven had come from the Gulf and the remaining five were those in contact with them.

During a press meet, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while referring the Kasaragod General Hospital's success story, congratulated the doctors, nurses and medical staff for the achievement.

According to Health Department, in spite of treating the highest number of COVID-19 patients in the state with meagre infrastructural facilities and even without the support of a medical college in the district, there have been no deaths.

According to the district administration, Kasaragod has conducted 4,112 tests so far, out of which 3,104 tested negative and the results of 833 are awaited.

The team of doctors, nurses and other staff numbering 250 is led by Dr Rajaram K Kandiyil, Superintendent of the Kasaragod General Hospital.

Bengaluru, Jun 11: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday allowed the Opposition Congress party's newly elected state president DK Shivakumar to have a formal swearing-in function.

He told media, “I have spoken to Shivakumar and informed him to conduct the event after taking precautionary measures against the spread of the COVID-19 disease”.

The move came after the state government received flak from the main Opposition Congress leaders, for refusing to permit the newly elected State Congress president to have a formal swearing-in function take reigns from his predecessor Dinesh Gundu Rao.