Outsourced Indian consular services in the UAE are set for a major transition, with Alhind Tours & Travels Pvt Ltd awarded the new contract, replacing long-time operator BLS International, according to an official notice and multiple local media reports.

The Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi confirmed in a notice dated April 20, 2026 that the contract for outsourcing consular, passport, visa, Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), Police Clearance Certificate (PCC), surrender certificate (SC), Global Entry Programme (GEP) verification and attestation support services has been awarded to Alhind after a competitive tender process.

The notice states that financial bids from four shortlisted companies—Alhind, DU Digital Global, SGIVS Global and VFS Global—were opened on March 30, with Alhind declared the lowest financial bidder (L1) and awarded the contract

This aligns with local media reporting that the embassy formally announced the award following the evaluation process initiated under a November 2025 tender.

BLS exits after more than a decade

The development marks the end of BLS International’s role in the UAE, where it has handled Indian consular outsourcing services since 2011.

Alhind’s appointment comes after a competitive bidding process involving multiple global service providers, signalling a reset in the outsourcing landscape for one of the largest Indian diaspora markets globally.

A key differentiator in Alhind’s winning bid is its pricing model, with the company quoting a unified, all-inclusive service fee of Dh19 per transaction—significantly lower than existing arrangements.

The fee is expected to cover ancillary services such as document handling and photography, positioning the new operator as a cost-efficient provider in a high-volume service environment.

According to reports, the contract spans services at both Abu Dhabi and Dubai missions and is expected to be rolled out across up to 16 service centres nationwide, with a potential transition timeline beginning July 1, subject to operational readiness.

The scope of services includes passport renewals, visa applications, OCI services, police clearance certificates and attestation—core services used by millions of Indian expatriates in the UAE.

Heriot-Watt University’s multi-campus model delivers real-time insight into global shifts like AI and sustainability.
Its presence across regions enables comparative research and stronger policy and industry relevance.

Rooted in Scottish academic tradition, it maintains global quality standards while adapting locally. Its programmes focus on digital innovation, sustainability, and applied, career-ready learning. The university aims to deepen its impact across GCC research, education, and workforce development.

In this interview Professor Angus Laing, Executive Dean, Edinburgh Business School and School of Social Sciences at Heriot-Watt University speaks about how the university’s multi-campus model enables a truly global perspective on key challenges like AI and sustainability.

He explains how operating across regions allows comparative research that strengthens both academic insight and real-world policy relevance.

Heriot-Watt University has been a pioneer in transnational education, with campuses across continents, including its longstanding Dubai campus. What strategic advantages does this multi-campus model offer in responding to global shifts such as artificial intelligence and sustainability?

Being anchored in different locations around the globe provides the University, and the academic community, with exposure to different thinking, different policies and different responses from businesses to the key global trends we are witnessing today.

While the rapid emergence of AI, the multidimensional environmental challenges, migration and demographic change are global phenomena, they play out differently in different locations. Having academics undertake research into organisational responses to AI, into the decarbonisation of the transport infrastructure across the UAE, the UK, and Malaysia, provides invaluable comparative insights. Insights which in turn feed into our teaching, offering all our students, as well as the policy makers with whom we work, a global perspective on these critical issues.

Moving from its Scottish origins to becoming a truly global university has its challenges. How does Heriot-Watt University maintain academic quality and identity while locally adapting to the needs of regions like the UAE?

Ultimately, we are both a global and a local institution. A global institution firmly rooted in the intellectual heritage of Scotland, of the enlightenment and the centrality of education to societal progress. The Scottish anchoring provides an incredibly strong and globally recognised academic quality infrastructure that has been developed over the past century and more.

Yet working with the CAA in the UAE offers us a healthy challenge to any assumptions we make about the delivery of high-quality university education. That challenge is health, along with the scrutiny of the QAA in the UK it ensures we continue to evolve and enhance our educational offering. Globalisation ultimately benefits all sides, to the long-term advantage of students and, in turn, employers and society.

With digital transformation now a business imperative, how does HWUD equip students with practical skills and digital fluency that industry partners in the UAE and region are actively seeking?

Focusing on Edinburgh Business School within HWUD, we have three core themes running across all the School’s programmes. These are technological innovation, digital literacy, and sustainability. We see these as key to the long-term relevance of our students’ education. Moreover, they are anchored within an educational experience that places practice, specifically fostering opportunities for students to apply the knowledge they have gained. It is this combination that makes our graduates sought after by employers not just within the UAE but internationally.

The UAE has been investing heavily in skills development and workforce transformation. What role do international campuses like HWUD play in supporting regional upskilling and lifelong learning initiatives?

As noted already, possessing campuses in the UAE, the UK, and Malaysia allows HWUD to draw on our global expertise to support our educational offerings, including executive education, in the UAE. An example of such cross-fertilisation would be the work we do with SMEs in the UK in delivering the government-supported Help to Grow scheme. Building on this expertise and experience, we are now delivering the equivalent government-backed programme in Malaysia.

Ultimately, we would look to deliver this in the UAE, bringing global expertise to bear. In this regard, HWU globally is distinctive in the strength of our online educational provision, which, with over 6000 students, enables the University to deliver flexible lifelong education that supports organisations and individuals navigate the challenges we face over the coming decade.

As the UAE and wider Gulf region’s higher education landscape continues to evolve, what aspirations does Heriot-Watt University have for its role and contribution over the next decade?

For HWU globally, our campus in the UAE is already a very significant part of the overall university. We are confident that it will continue to grow in importance to the institution, not just in terms of student numbers and revenue, but also as a part of our global research ecosystem. Our world-class Global Research Institutes in robotics, industrial decarbonisation and health technology already integrate academics from HWUD. However, the scale of their footprint in Dubai is set to grow as we engage ever more closely with governments and businesses across the GCC region.

This year marks 20 years since the launch of Heriot-Watt University’s MBA programme. How has the MBA evolved over the past two decades to remain relevant in a rapidly changing global business environment, particularly in areas such as leadership, sustainability, and digital transformation?

The MBA has flourished over the decades precisely because it has evolved to reflect the challenges confronting contemporary organisations. For high-quality MBAs, such as those offered by Edinburgh Business School, maintaining the currency of content is critical. Consequently, issues of AI, cybersecurity, decarbonisation, and demographic change are continually being integrated into our MBA, ensuring the programme is commercially and socially relevant.

How does the Heriot-Watt MBA differentiate itself and support leadership growth in the UAE and region?

Core to our MBA portfolio is our flexible, accessible, career-aligned online MBA programme. Available for students to study independently, around this, we scaffold a range of variants, including our full-time face-to-face MBA with Professional Practice. This flexibility and pedagogical innovation within our MBA portfolio, along with its contemporary content, means that Edinburgh Business School provides learners with an MBA that supports professionals in fostering the skills and expertise required to thrive in the modern business environment.

Dubai Taxi Company (DTC) has secured 600 new taxi plates through the latest auction by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), pushing its market share to 47 per cent and reinforcing its position as the emirate’s largest taxi operator.

The expansion will take DTC’s taxi fleet from 6,217 to 6,817 vehicles, with a phased rollout of the new additions scheduled to begin in July 2026.

The company said the structured introduction is aimed at maintaining operational efficiency and service standards while meeting rising demand for mobility services across Dubai, as population growth and urban development continue to drive transport usage.

“The acquisition of 600 new taxi plates is a meaningful step forward for Dubai Taxi Company and reflects our confidence in the continued growth of Dubai’s mobility sector,” said Mansoor Rahma Alfalasi, group CEO of DTC.

“As demand for transport services rises alongside the emirate’s urban development, we remain focused on scaling our operations to address our customers’ demand,” he said, adding that the expansion would support long-term shareholder value and contribute to Dubai’s ambition of building a world-class mobility ecosystem.

Alfalasi said the phased deployment strategy would help optimise asset utilisation and enhance financial performance, while further improving service quality.

The move aligns with the Dubai government’s broader push to develop a smart, integrated transport network, as outlined by the RTA, and supports the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which aims to strengthen the emirate’s global competitiveness across key sectors.

DTC, which became a public joint stock company under Law No. 21 of 2023, operates a fleet of more than 11,000 vehicles across taxis, VIP limousines, buses and last-mile delivery bikes. In 2025, its taxis and limousines completed 53 million trips, underscoring the scale of demand in the city’s mobility sector.

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG), Montenegro’s national power utility company, have agreed to form a 50/50 joint venture to develop large-scale renewable energy projects in Montenegro.

The venture, to be headquartered in Nikšić, will focus on deploying and operating projects across solar photovoltaic, wind, hydropower, pumped-hydropower energy storage, and battery storage technologies, according to A WAM report.

The collaboration is intended to support Montenegro’s domestic energy needs and explore opportunities to supply renewable electricity to regional markets, including through an existing subsea interconnection with Italy.

The deal follows an announcement in January during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026 that the two parties were exploring a joint venture, after a UAE-Montenegro energy cooperation agreement was signed in November 2025.

Masdar inks JV with Total Energies

Separately, earlier this month, Masdar signed a binding agreement with TotalEnergies to establish a $2.2bn 50/50 joint venture focused on onshore renewable energy projects across Asia.

The new entity will serve as the companies’ exclusive vehicle for developing, building, owning and operating solar, wind and battery storage projects in nine countries, including Indonesia, Japan and Uzbekistan.

The joint venture will have a combined portfolio of 3 gigawatts of operational assets and a further 6 gigawatts in advanced development, expected to come online by 2030.

It will be headquartered in Abu Dhabi Global Market and staffed by around 200 employees from both companies.

A surge in jet fuel prices, driven by the US-Israeli war on Iran, is rippling through the global aviation sector, forcing airlines to raise fares and revise financial outlooks.

Jet fuel prices have jumped from around $85–$90 per barrel to between $150 and $200 in recent weeks — a significant hit for an industry where fuel accounts for up to a quarter of operating costs.

Below is how airlines are responding:

Aegean Airlines
The Greek airline expects suspended Middle East flights and higher fuel costs to have a “notable impact” on first-quarter results.

AirAsia X
The Malaysian carrier has cut 10 per cent of flights across the group and introduced a fuel surcharge of about 20 per cent.

Air Canada
Canada’s largest airline plans to trim four of its 38 daily flights to New York, with cuts to JFK services from June 1 to October 25, 2026.

Air France-KLM
The group plans to raise long-haul ticket prices, with fares set to increase by €50 per round trip. KLM will also cancel 160 European flights in the coming month.

Air India
The airline is shifting from a flat domestic fuel surcharge to a distance-based model, noting international surcharges no longer offset rising costs.

Air New Zealand
The carrier is cutting flights through May and June, raising fares, and suspending its full-year earnings forecast due to fuel volatility.

Air Transat
The airline will reduce capacity by 6 per cent from May to October, with cuts to Europe and Caribbean routes. Services to Cuba remain suspended until October.

Akasa Air
The Indian carrier has introduced fuel surcharges ranging from 199 to 1,300 rupees on domestic and international flights.

Alaska Air
The airline has withdrawn its full-year profit forecast and warned of a hit to second-quarter earnings, while trimming capacity in some markets.

American Airlines
The carrier is raising checked baggage fees — by $10 for the first and second bags, and $150 for the third — and reducing some economy benefits.

Asiana Airlines
The airline will cut 22 flights between April and July due to rising fuel costs.

Cathay Pacific
The airline has raised HK$2.08bn through three-year fixed-rate notes at a yield of 3.78 per cent.

Cebu Air
The airline said fuel prices remain a key concern and it will continue reviewing pricing and network strategies.

China Eastern Airlines
Fuel surcharges have been increased, with flights under 800km facing a 60 yuan charge and longer routes 120 yuan.

Delta Air Lines
Delta is cutting capacity by around 3.5 percentage points and increasing baggage fees, while forecasting lower-than-expected profits.

EasyJet
The airline expects a wider half-year loss of £540m–£560m, including £25m in additional fuel costs in March.

Frontier Airlines
The carrier is reviewing its full-year outlook due to rising fuel costs.

Greater Bay Airlines
Fuel surcharges are being raised on most routes, except for mainland China and Japan.

Hong Kong Airlines
Fuel surcharges are rising by up to 35 per cent, with the largest increases on routes to the Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal.

IAG
The group has not yet raised ticket prices, citing fuel hedging that covers the short to medium term.

IndiGo
The airline has introduced fuel surcharges, including 900 rupees for Middle East routes and 2,300 rupees for Europe.

JetBlue Airways
JetBlue has secured $500m in financing and said it does not expect to consider bankruptcy this year.

Korean Air
The airline will enter emergency management mode from April as costs rise.

Lufthansa
The group will remove 20,000 short-haul flights through October and has accelerated aircraft groundings.

Pakistan International Airlines
Fares are being increased by $20 domestically and up to $100 internationally.

Qantas Airways
The airline has delayed a A$150m buyback and raised its fuel cost forecast to A$3.1bn–A$3.3bn.

SAS
The carrier is cancelling 1,000 flights in April following earlier cancellations in March.

Spirit Airlines
The airline has reportedly sought emergency funding to offset rising fuel costs.

Spring Airlines
Fuel surcharges on domestic flights are being increased.

Southwest Airlines
The airline expects lower profits and has raised baggage fees.

TAP
Price increases are expected to partially offset higher fuel costs.

Thai Airways
Fares are being increased by 10–15 per cent.

TUI
The company has cut profit guidance and suspended revenue forecasts after incurring around €40m in additional costs.

Turkish Airlines / Lufthansa (SunExpress JV)
A €10 per passenger fuel surcharge will be introduced on Turkey-Europe routes from May 1. Turkish Airlines is also retaining earnings instead of paying dividends.

T’way Air
The airline plans unpaid furloughs for some cabin crew in May and June.

United Airlines
Ticket prices could rise by 15–20 per cent. The airline expects to recover up to 85–100 per cent of fuel cost increases by the fourth quarter.

VietJet
Flight frequencies have been adjusted due to potential fuel shortages.

Vietnam Airlines
The airline plans to cancel 23 weekly domestic flights and has requested tax relief on jet fuel.

Virgin Atlantic
Fuel surcharges are being added, though profitability remains under pressure.

Virgin Australia
Fuel costs are expected to rise by A$30m–A$40m, with a 1 per cent capacity reduction planned.

Volotea
The airline has introduced a pricing model linking fares to fuel costs, including potential post-purchase surcharges.

WestJet
The airline has cut seat capacity and introduced fuel surcharges of around C$60 on some bookings.