15 Emiratis among honourees as nominations open for Annual Health Awards 2025
Dubai: Nominations are now open for the Annual Health Awards 2025, organised by Health Magazine in collaboration with Thumbay Media. The event, scheduled for 9 October 2025 at the Grand Hyatt Dubai, will recognise healthcare professionals and institutions across 46 categories. For the first time, 15 Emirati nationals will be honoured as part of this year’s edition.
The Annual Health Awards, launched by Health Magazine, serve as a recognition platform for contributions to the healthcare sector in the UAE and the wider Gulf region. The 2025 edition includes awards for individuals and organisations in areas such as clinical care, public health, wellness, education, research, and healthcare innovation.
Nominees may include solo practitioners, hospitals, wellness start-ups, and multidisciplinary teams. Submissions are open to UAE-based and regional contributors whose work demonstrates measurable impact and alignment with healthcare advancement.
According to the organisers, the awards aim to provide public visibility to healthcare contributors and facilitate knowledge-sharing within the sector. The nomination process includes documentation of achievements and contributions, which will be evaluated by an independent jury composed of healthcare professionals, academics, and industry leaders. The process, according to Thumbay Media, is designed to be merit-based and transparent.
Vignesh S. Unadkat, Chief Operating Officer of Thumbay Media, stated that the platform offers large-scale exposure to nominees and awardees through associated media campaigns across television, digital, print, and social platforms.
Nominations will remain open until 20 September 2025. Further information, including submission guidelines and category details, is available on the official website: https://www.healthmagazine.ae/awards/.
The award ceremony will announce the final winners at the Grand Hyatt Dubai on 9 October at 11:00 AM.
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India proposes preferential trade agreement with Mexico to deal with high tariffs
New Delhi (PTI): India has proposed a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Mexico to help domestic exporters deal with the steep tariffs announced by the South American country, a top government official said on Monday.
Mexico has decided to impose steep import tariffs - ranging from about 5 per cent to as high as 50 per cent on a wide range of goods (about 1,463 tariff lines) from countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico, including India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that India has engaged with the country on the issue.
"Technical level talks are on...The only fast way forward is to try to get a preferential trade agreement (PTA) because an FTA (free trade agreement) will take a lot of time. So we are trying to see what can be a good way forward," he told reporters here.
While in an FTA two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on maximum number of goods traded between them, in a PTA, duties are cut or removed on a limited number of products.
Trading partners of Mexico cannot file a compliant against the decision on imposing high tariffs as they are WTO (World Trade Organisation) compatible.
The duties are within their bound rates, he said, adding that their primary target was not India.
"We have proposed a PTA because its a WTO-compatible way forward... we can do a PTA and try to get concessions that are required for Indian supply chains and similarly offer them concessions where they have export interests in India," Agrawal said.
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Citing support for local production and correction of trade imbalances, Mexico has approved an increase in MFN (most favoured nation) import tariffs (5-50 per cent) with effect from January 1, 2026 on 1,455 tariff lines (or product categories) within the WTO framework, targeting non-FTA partners.
Preliminary estimates suggest that this affects India's around USD 2 billion exports to Mexico particularly -- automobile, two-wheelers, auto parts, textiles, iron and steel, plastics, leather and footwear.
The measure is also aimed at curbing Chinese imports.
India-Mexico merchandise trade totalled USD 8.74 billion in 2024, with exports USD 5.73 billion, imports USD 3.01 billion, and a trade surplus of USD 2.72 billion.
The government has been continuously and comprehensively assessing Mexico's tariff revisions since the issue emerged, engaging stakeholders, safeguarding the interests of Indian exporters, and pursuing constructive dialogue to ensure a stable trade environment benefiting businesses and consumers in both countries.
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Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai has said that Mexico's decision is a matter of concern, particularly for sectors like automobiles and auto components, machinery, electrical and electronics, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and plastics.
"Such steep duties will erode our competitiveness and risk, disrupting supply chains that have taken years to develop," Sahai said, adding that this development also underlines the little urgency for India and Mexico to fast-track a comprehensive trade agreement.
Domestic auto component manufacturers will face enhanced cost pressures with Mexico hiking duties on Indian imports, according to industry body ACMA.
