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.

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New Delhi (PTI): Parliament early Friday passed the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, after it was approved by the Rajya Sabha.

The Lok Sabha had on Thursday approved the Bill after over a 12-hour debate.

In Rajya Sabha, the Bill got 128 votes in its favour and 95 against after all the amendments moved by the opposition were rejected.

In the lower house, the bill was supported by 288 MPs while 232 voted against it.

Participating in a debate in the Rajya Sabha, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Bill was brought with a number of amendments based on suggestions given by various stakeholders.

"The Waqf Board is a statutory body. All government bodies should be secular," the minister said, explaining the inclusion of non-Muslims on the board.

He, however, said the number of non-Muslims has been restricted to only four out of 22.

Rijiju also alleged that the Congress and other opposition parties, and not the BJP, were trying to scare Muslims with the Waqf Bill.

"You (opposition) are pushing Muslims out of the mainstream," he added.

He said for 60 years, the Congress and others ruled the country, but did not do much for Muslims and the community continues to live in poverty.

"Muslims are poor, who is responsible? You (Congress) are. Modi is now leading the government to uplift them," the minister said.

According to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Waqf tribunals will be strengthened, a structured selection process will be maintained, and a tenure will be fixed to ensure efficient dispute resolution.

As per the Bill, while Waqf institutions' mandatory contribution to Waqf boards is reduced from 7 per cent to 5 per cent, Waqf institutions earning over Rs 1 lakh will undergo audits by state-sponsored auditors.

A centralised portal will automate Waqf property management, improving efficiency and transparency.

The Bill proposes that practising Muslims (for at least five years) can dedicate their property to the Waqf, restoring pre-2013 rules.

It stipulates that women must receive their inheritance before the Waqf declaration, with special provisions for widows, divorced women and orphans.

The Bill proposes that an officer above the rank of collector investigate government properties claimed as Waqf.

It also proposes that non-Muslim members be included in the central and state Waqf boards for inclusivity.