UAE announces ministers for state ministers for happiness, tolerance, youth

February 11, 2016

Dubai, Feb 11: It sounds a bit New Age, but the United Arab Emirates has just appointed state ministers for happiness, tolerance and youth.

ministers

Minister of Tolerance Sheikha Lubna Al-Qassimi, Minister of Happiness Ohood Al-Roumi, Minister for Youth Affairs Shama Al-Mazroui

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the UAE prime minister who is also the ruler of Dubai, announced the new lineup on Wednesday via his official Twitter account.

It is apparently part of a move to show the government is offering more than simply providing basic services for its citizens.

"Happiness in our nation is not a wish .. but there will be plans, projects and programs and indicators .. and it will be part of the work of all our ministries .. and a part of our way of life," Sheikh Mohammed tweeted.

The job went to Ohood Al Roumi, who will continue her existing role as director-general of the prime minister’s office. She was one of seven women named to posts in the new 29-member Cabinet.

"The new cabinet focuses on the future, youth, happiness, developing education and combating climate change," tweeted the 66-year-old prime minister, who is also the Emirati vice president and ruler of Dubai.

Sheikha Lubna al-Qassimi, the former development and international cooperation minister, was made state minister for tolerance.

Twenty-two year old, Western-educated Shama al-Mazroui was made state minister for youth affairs.

The United Arab Emirates, which has one of the highest levels of GDP per capita in the Arab world, is seen as a haven of stability in a region beset by turmoil and where public devotion to the rulers is high and little dissent is tolerated.

It is home to the glitzy emirate of Dubai, which transformed from a desert backwater to a global financial hub, where thousands of Arab expatriates flock to seek professional and entpreneurial opportunities not available in as much supply in other unstable Arab countries.

Sheikh Mohammed had announced earlier this week plans to outsource most government tasks to the private sector and cuts to the number of ministries.

The announcement came as energy-rich Gulf Arab states have been hit by low oil prices, encouraging them to streamline institutions and attract more foreign investment.

The cabinet lineup left the same figures in the critical portfolios of finance, economy, energy, defence and foreign affairs.

"The new lineup is a new stage whose headline is the future ... the youth ... happiness ... developing education ... and dealing with climate change to protect our environment," Sheikh Mohammed said.

Comments

preetha
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

A good move to have a minister for happiness, which is lacking in this world, only if we are happy we can radiate happiness to others .
A good move
stay blessed

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News Network
April 1,2020

Mangaluru, Apr 1: Police have arrested a person on charges of spreading malicious comments against the Karnataka government staff engaged in the prevention of the novel coronavirus in the district.

City Police Commissioner Harsha on Tuesday tweeted, “One Nizam has been arrested and sent to judicial custody on court orders for spreading malicious content on social media through a platform idunammadhwani.. regarding various government functionaries engaged in anti-COVID-19 work and spreading rumours.”

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News Network
July 19,2020

Mangaluru, Jul 19: Palakkad Division of Southern Railway that has jurisdiction over Mangaluru Railway region has established a business development unit (BDU) to cater to the transportation of various sectors, including non-bulk goods traffic, namely, white goods, finished products, manufactured products, agricultural produce and raw material.

In a statement issued here on Sunday said that the BDU’s mandate was to facilitate seamless interaction between the Railways on the one hand and industry, trade representatives and rail freight customers on the other at appropriate zonal or divisional levels. The unit was also expected to help expeditious clearance of their proposals for freight movement.

Palakkad Divisional Railway Manager Pratap Singh Shami established the BDU in line with the similar unit at the zonal level with other divisions of SR too setting up similar units. Palakkad BDU would work under the supervision of Additional DRM-II CT Sakkeer Hussain while Senior Divisional Operations Manager PL Ashok Kumar was its convener with Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Jerin G Anand, Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer KV Sundaresan and Senior Divisional Finance Manager AP Sivachandrar were its members.

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News Network
April 11,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 11: Karnataka Library Department’s mobile application, which is said to be the first of its kind initiative in the country has seen an exponential growth in downloads during the COVID-19 lockdown, a senior Minister said on Friday. The main reason that the application is growing is due to the heavy students demand as schools and colleges are closed during the 21-day nationwide lockdown.

Students are relying on online material for their studies as they can’t step out of the house and risk being infected.

The Library Department's efforts to keep readers active through the lockdown time, by prompting them to utilise its e-initiatives is paying off, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar said.

"The app is seeing exponential increase in downloads since its launch. As many as 16,500 people have taken it; while ten thousand people have downloaded it during this brief lock down time itself," he said.

E-library mobile app was released by the library department on February 26.

There are over one lakh e-books available on department's digital platform ranging from arts, humanity, school curriculum, competitive exams and self help to classic novels - all for free for the readers.

"Its needless to say, the variety of attractive content that is available in the app is creating all the buzz among the public. Not just the books, the app contains over 600 educational videos too," the Minister said in a statement.

Considering that over 16,500 readers have downloaded the app since its launch a couple of months back, its high time, we see this domain as an opportunity for growth, he said, and stressed on the need for better adaptability approaches to the changing times.

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