Dubai: based diversified global conglomerate Thumbay Group has become the first business group in the history of the prestigious Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Awards (SKEA) to win four awards in a single assessment cycle.

At the 16th Sheikh Khalifah Excellence Awards (SKEA) ceremony held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, at the at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi on 21st February 2018, the awards were presented by H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, to Dr. Thumbay Moideen, the Founder President of Thumbay Group.

The awards were won by the following entities owned by Thumbay Group

Gulf Medical University, Ajman – Gold Award
Thumbay Hospital, Dubai – Silver Award
Thumbay Hospital, Ajman – Silver Award
Thumbay Hospital, Fujairah – Silver Award

Dr. Thumbay Moideen said that Thumbay Group was proud to be honored at SKEA. “It is a matter of great pride that we have been honored at the prestigious SKEA awards, not once, but with four awards won by our entities in education and healthcare. I thank the SKEA jury for recognizing our efforts and our commitment to quality.

I congratulate my team and I also take this opportunity to thank our customers for the trust they’ve invested in us, during the course of our two decade long journey. We have always striven to set new standards in education and healthcare, two of our core sectors, and ingrained innovation as the underlying function of our operations across all 20 sectors of business that we are involved in.”

Mr. Akbar Moideen Thumbay, the Vice President of Thumbay Group’s Healthcare Division said that the multiple recognitions for the healthcare division recognized not only the high quality of care that is received by patients at Thumbay Hospitals, but “It also emphasizes the fact that our high standards of patient care and service delivery pervade all the departments in all our hospitals.”  He further said, “We take tremendous pride in the fact that people from over 175 countries place their trust in our hospitals in the UAE and Hyderabad-India.”

The SKEA awards are given to both government and private companies and organizations that set and follow best all round business practices in various fields, every year.

About Thumbay Group

Founded by Dr. Thumbay Moideen in 1998, Thumbay Group is a diversified international business conglomerate with operations across 20 different verticals including Education, Healthcare, Medical Research, Diagnostics, Retail Pharmacy, Health Communications, Retail Opticals, Wellness, Nutrition Stores, Hospitality, Real Estate, Publishing, Technology, Media, Events, Medical Tourism, Trading and Marketing & Distribution. Headquartered in Dubai, the group presently employs around 5000 people, which is projected to increase to around 25,000 by the year 2022, with the completion of ongoing and upcoming projects.

Currently, Thumbay Group is focusing on its strategic long-term plans which will see the group scale its businesses almost ten times and expand its operations globally.

The Gulf Medical University (GMU), Ajman is a leading private medical university of the Middle East region, attracting students from over 80 nationalities and employing staff from 25 different countries. The Thumbay network of academic hospitals is now the largest network of private academic hospitals in the Middle East, treating patients from around 175 nationalities.

The hospitals, presently located at Dubai, Ajman, Sharjah and Fujairah in the UAE and in Hyderabad – India, are also among the biggest JCI-accredited private academic hospital networks in the region. Thumbay Group’s healthcare division also operates a chain of family clinics (Thumbay Clinic) and multispecialty day care hospitals (Thumbay Hospital Day Care) in the UAE as well as diagnostic labs (Thumbay Labs) and pharmacies (Thumbay Pharmacy) in the UAE and India.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



London (PTI): Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol huddled under an umbrella on a rainy Thursday in London to unveil their bronze likeness from an iconic ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ scene.

The sculpture of the duo joins Leicester Square’s ‘Scenes in the Square’ trail depicting memorable shots from some of the world’s most famous films, with ‘DDLJ’ marking a Bollywood first and the 30th anniversary of the 1995 box-office hit. It is in this popular London square that SRK as Raj and Kajol as Simran first cross paths unknowingly.

“DDLJ was made with a pure heart. We wanted to tell a story about love, how it can bridge barriers and how the world would be a better place if it had a lot of love in it, and I think this is why 'DDLJ' has had a lasting impact for over 30 years now," said Khan.

“Personally, 'DDLJ' is part of my identity, and it is humbling to see film, and Kajol and me, receiving so much love since it was released,” he said.

He expressed his gratitude to the Heart of London Business Alliance, behind the cinematic trail at Leicester Square, for celebrating ‘DDLJ’ and “immortalising” its lead stars.

“Seeing ‘DDLJ’ become the first Indian film to be honoured in the iconic Scenes in the Square trail is an emotional moment and has brought back so many memories.

"I feel immense pride knowing the film has been embraced around the world, and I want to share this moment with the entire cast and crew of ‘DDLJ’, my friend and director Aditya Chopra and the Yash Raj Films family. This is a moment I will never forget,” added Khan.

Kajol, joined by her daughter Nysa and son Yug, posed with Khan in front of the statue as she braved the rain in a green saree.

“It’s incredible to see ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ continue to receive so much love, even 30 years later. Watching the statue being unveiled in London felt like reliving a piece of our history - a story that has truly travelled across generations,” said Kajol.

“Seeing it find its rightful place in Leicester Square, a location of such enormous significance to ‘DDLJ’, makes this moment even more special. For the film to be honoured in this way in the UK – the first Indian film to receive such recognition – is something that will forever stay in the hearts and minds of all the ‘DDLJ’ fans across the world,” she said.

Their statue, captured in a dancing pose from the hit song ‘Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna’, joins the likes of Harry Potter, Bridget Jones, Mary Poppins, and Batman in what is dubbed as an ever-growing celebration of movie magic in a square packed with multiplex cinema screens.

“When ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, DDLJ, was released 30 years ago, the film became a defining moment for Indian cinema and changed the face of the industry, capturing the hearts of everyone who saw it all over the globe," said Akshaye Widhani, CEO of Yash Raj Films.

“We’re thrilled to be the first Indian film to be represented in ‘Scenes in the Square’. It also marks 30 years of DDLJ, a film that has spread love and joy globally, and shows the cultural impact it has had in UK.

“We are honoured that our superstars and our film are being recognised on the world stage alongside the Hollywood elite, from Gene Kelly to Laurel & Hardy to Harry Potter. This statue will be a great way to express the international appeal of Indian movies and build bridges amongst communities through cinema,” he said.

Since its release in 1995, ‘DDLJ’ has become the longest-running film in Hindi cinema history.

Ros Morgan, Chief Executive at Heart of London Business Alliance, said: “We’re proud to welcome global megastars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol to our Scenes in the Square trail.

"Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is a cinematic phenomenon that has shaped generations, and London’s first tribute to Indian cinema honours a story whose magic continues to captivate audiences worldwide.”

It is a particularly special year for the film, with a musical based on the romance playing to packed houses at Manchester’s Opera House earlier this year. Aditya Chopra reprised his role as director of the English language stage production, ‘Come Fall In Love – The DDLJ Musical’, which revolved around the love story of Simran and Roger.

The script was a nod to the original as it followed Simran as a young British Indian woman who finds herself engaged to a family friend in India in an arranged marriage. However, the plot thickens when she falls in love with a British man named Roger.