Davis has vast experience in accounting, auditing, management, and IT Consultancy, and his company is one of the top 10 audit firms in the Sultanate of Oman. A Fellow of the ICAI, he was co-opted to the International Affairs Committee of the ICAI Council, New Delhi (2007–08). He also served as the Founding Chairman of the Muscat Chapter of the Institute from 2008 to 2009 and is a certified member of the Institute of Certified Fraud Examiners.

A regular columnist for The Times of Oman on tax-related affairs, Davis has co-authored a book on taxation of NRIs and has represented his firm at several global conferences. In recognition of his outstanding global contributions, he was bestowed with the Pinnacle Award — the highest recognition from Crowe Horwath, one of the top ten accounting networks in the world.

Among the top 10 chartered accountants in Kerala, the late CA P A Nair’s name appears in the first position, and it was he who signed the membership certificate of Davis in 1986. The other names include the late T Velu Pillai, K Raghavan Nair, Varma & Varma. Venugopal C Govind, Sreejith Kuniyil, P D Vijayrajan, M V Korah, and S Prabhakaran.

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The event was virtually graced by HE GV Srinivas, Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman, and HE Mahboob Issa Alraisi, Consul General of the Sultanate of Oman in Mumbai. The dignitaries underscored the historic Indo-Omani bilateral relationship and sought to explore strategic trade and investment opportunities under the CEPA framework.

Board Member of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) and Chairman of the Foreign Investment Committee, Abdul Latheef Uppala, emphasised the Sultanate’s investor-friendly regulatory environment and expanding opportunities across logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, and infrastructure sectors.

Davis Kallukaran, Deputy Chairman, Foreign Investment Committee, OCCI, moderated the panel discussion on ‘India–Oman Trade and Investment Opportunities under CEPA. The distinguished panelists included Dr P Mohamed Ali, Founder, Galfar Group; Dr MI Sahadulla, Group Chairman & Managing Director, KIMS Health; Dr Siddeek Ahmed, Chairman & Managing Director, Eram Group; Abdul Latheef Uppala; Sheraz Anwar, Director, Abad Group; and Anirudh Sankar, Senior Official, DGFT Kochi.

The panel deliberated on sector-specific collaboration in infrastructure development, healthcare services, industrial partnerships, export facilitation, and regulatory alignment. It also highlighted practical pathways for strengthening private-sector engagement between both countries.

There were presentations by Dr Yousuf Hamad Al-Balushi, Economic Advisor & Research Analyst, Oman, and  Yarub Nasser Al Siyabi, Specialist at OPAZ. They highlighted priority sectors under Vision 2040 and significant investment potential within Duqm and other strategic economic zones. Technical presentations by experts Dr James Nedumpara, Professor and Head CTIL; Ridhish Rajvanshi, Senior Research Fellow; and Tathagata Choudhury from the Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India; provided clarity on tariff concessions, market access for services, digital trade provisions, and export promotion mechanisms that come under the pact.

Dr P Mohamed Ali, Chancellor of the National University of Science and Technology, Oman, in his message, emphasised the need for continuous engagement on CEPA to understand the terminologies to ensure a quantum jump in bilateral trade, services, and investments.

The seminar concluded with an interactive question-and-answer session followed by a business networking engagement.

The programme was jointly organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Kerala State Council, the Indo Gulf and Middle East Chamber of Commerce (INMECC), The foreign investment committee of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Centre for Trade and Investment law (CTIL) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.

The Oman delegation was headed by Abdul Latheef Uppala, and it included Ahmed Ali Al Akkak, CEO SEZD; Yaqub Nasser Khamis Al Siyabi from OPAZ; Dr Yousuf Hamad Al Balushi; Al Yaqadhan Al Shukaili from Smart Investment Gateway, Davis Kallukaran; and Jim Joseph, Partner, Audit and Corporate Finance from Crowe Oman.

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India Union Budget was sector diversified and considering the increasing global economic challenges, the India Government has attracted industries, private sector business class and investors to join hands including Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and focusing to reach the target of “Vikasit Bharat” in the year of 2047. The Budget touched from the Micro Industry level (MSME) to the Infrastructure Development level and that will support to make self-sustainable growth of India.

The budget is also supportive for India-Gulf and India-Europe newly signed Agreements in 2026. Accordingly, the budget is emphasizing more on Innovations, MSME and Startups Businesses in villages and cities across India. The budget is targeting to empower young entrepreneurs and create more jobs in different industries and sectors by integrating AI and Engineering Technologies.

Indian Expats are getting benefits from Tax exemptions, decriminalizing the non-declaration of foreign Assets and filing extensions, buying properties and investments in India more easily. The Budget aims to support NRIs to bring their foreign savings to India and this will be helpful for long term growth of India.

NRIs will get more investment opportunities to Indian Stock Markets through RBI regulated Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) Account. The Budget has increased the NRI investment limit of each company from 5% to 10% in the Stock Market.. The limit of various investments to India from PROI category Indians has increased to more than doubled. Now Indian expats can invest to India and repatriate easily through the Budget announcement. Indian expats can also own land and houses easily.

India expats will get opportunity to start MSME and STARTUP business in India and Internationally based on the India – Gulf and India – Europe agreements..

Budget is also taken measures to reduce unwanted speculations in the Stock Markets by increasing Securities Transaction Tax (STT) for Futures & Options Traansactions. It was not supportive for Investors and the Indian Stock Markets went down after the Budget Session.

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The charges plunge Adani Group deep into crisis for the second time in two years. It was sent reeling last year when a bombshell report from US investment firm Hindenburg Research claimed the conglomerate had engaged in a “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades”.
Adani, Asia’s second-richest man, and seven other defendants were charged in an indictment by federal prosecutors on Wednesday on multiple counts. None of the defendants have been taken into custody, the prosecutors confirmed.

Who all are indicted?
According to the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, “A five-count criminal indictment was unsealed in federal court charging Gautam Adani, Sagar R. Adani, and Vneet S. Jaain.” Sagar, who is Adani’s nephew, and Vneet, are both senior executives of Adani Green Energy Limited,

The indictment also charges Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former executives of a renewable-energy company with securities that had traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra, former employees of a Canadian institutional investor, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the alleged bribery scheme.
What are the charges?
“The defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars,” said Breon Peace, US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which brought the case.
The US Attorney’s Office lists out allegations such as “conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions on the basis of false and misleading statements.”
In other words, they have been charged with misleading US and international investors about the company’s adherence to antibribery and anticorruption standards when raising over $3 billion to finance energy projects from them. including a promise to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials in return for solar energy contracts that could generate more than $2 billion in profits over roughly 20 years.
What the charges mean
In addition to being a monolithic presence in India, with ports, airports, power lines and highway developments, Adani Group attracts capital from around the world, including the US.
US law allows federal prosecutors to pursue foreign corruption allegations if they involve links to American investors or markets. The Adani probe is now at an advanced stage, according to multiple reports. The US DOJ can choose to pursue its investigations without notifying the parties.

Prosecuting the case would take months, if not years, meaning that it will fall to the incoming Trump administration’s Justice Department to determine how to proceed. Peace, the Brooklyn US attorney who was appointed during the Biden administration, is expected to step down and be replaced by whomever Donald Trump picks to lead the office, which is known as EDNY.

Although the US and India have an extradition treaty, it’s likely that India would fight to protect its citizens from being forced to stand trial in the US. If convicted the defendants could face years behind bars, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Adani’s reponse to allegations
The Adani Group on Thursday strongly refuted bribery allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of the Adani Green as baseless. The Adani Group spokesperson in an official statement said all legal recourse will be taken.

“The US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied,” the statement read.

The group further highlighted a key aspect of the legal proceedings, noting, “As stated by the US Department of Justice itself, ‘the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.’ All possible legal recourse will be sought.”
Wider implications seen
The New York court’s jurisdictional reach over an Indian company comes from Adani entities having tapped debt funds from the US. The group first withdrew their proposed 20-year debt fund raise of $600 million after this action by the US courts. The conglomerate’s several dollar notes listed overseas alo saw heavy losses.

US-based GQG Partners LLC, run by emerging market investor Rajiv Jain who has been the most vocal backer of Adani, took a contrarian bet on Adani after a short-seller attack last year and saw its investment in the group balloon to $10 billion. It said it is monitoring the charges.

Kenyan President William Ruto canceled two deals with Adani Group – worth about $2.6 billion to manage the nation’s biggest airport and build high-voltage power-transmission lines – over alleged corruption, hours after the company’s billionaire founder was charged in the US.

Adani stocks crash

A renewable energy entity, Adani Green’s other major shareholder is TotalEnergies. There are 11 Adani entities listed on the leading Indian exchanges, with a combined market cap of nearly Rs14.25 trillion. Today’s crash wiped out Rs2.25 trillion.

Several listed subsidiaries of the Adani empire, which spans coal, airports, cement and media, collapsed in early trade. The losses at units of the Adani Group came as markets in most of Asia retreated. The conglomerate’s flagship Adani Enterprises dived almost 20 percent, while several of its subsidiaries lost between 10 and 20 percent.

India’s general index Sensex seems to have weathered the worst of it. The index dropped 477 points, as investors were trying to come to terms with what the US decision would mean for Adani entities.

After the Group announced its response to the US court verdict, stocks like Adani Power, ACC and Ambuja Cement are off their day’s lows – but ‘key stocks continue to remain painfully down anywhere from 9% to 20%’.

Foreign funds to get hit?

How foreign institutional funds with exposures to Adani Group companies will be decisive in the coming days. Investors are hopeful that a further headlong divestment can still be averted, if the group responds forcefully to the bribery charges.

Milan Vaishnav is an India-based technical analyst and he reckons if this Adani crisis drags on, this would have a bearing on the wider stock market universe in the country.“Indian equities had been largely on a downtrend given the sustained FII (foreign institutional investor) selling after Trump’s election,” said Vaishnav. “The key indices , Nifty and Sensex have been down just over 4% since the November 5 election date.

“Adani Enterprises isn’t the only one dragging the Sensex down. The decline is much broader and top losers include SBI, Indusind Bank, NTPC, ITC, Reliance, etc.”

India’s banks are feeling the heat from all the events that transpired around the Adani stocks. The ones with exposure to the Group – SBI, PNB and Bank of Baroda – are trading with cuts.

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Seeking to ensure welfare of tourism sector employees, an initiative called the Kerala Tourism Fraternity Social Welfare Cooperative Society Limited (KTFCS) was launched on February 21.

Inaugurating the Society at a function here, Minister for Tourism and Co-operation KadakampallySurendran said tourism enterprises should aim to tap the cooperative sector for finance, especially in view of the reluctance of the public sector banks to provide loans to the cash-stressed tourism sector.

“Kerala’s cooperative sector is very large. However, it has not been able to make its presence felt in the tourism sector. KTFCS will be able to bring a change to this,” the Minister said.

KTFCS would be able to revive the tourism sector by coordinating the activities of regional tourist centres and the stakeholders by forming societies to solve their problems, the minister added.

The minister also unveiled the logo of KTFCS at the function.

Although the government had many programmes to support the tourism sector during the pandemic times, KTFCS will be very helpful to those working in the sector, said Smt. Rani George IAS, Principal Secretary, Tourism.

The society was created from the lessons learned from the experience of the pandemic and it will result in bringing a better working atmosphere to the sector, said P. BalaKiran IAS, Director, Tourism.

Anish Kumar PK, Chief Promoter of KTFCS, said the society is being formed keeping in mind the development of the tourism sector and the welfare of those working in it.

KTFCS will take the lead in finding capital, loans and resource mobilization in the tourism sector.

It was when the tourism sector was reeling under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that the idea to start KTFCS was originated and it received much support from the tourism department, said ShriVinod CS, President, Association of Tourism Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI).
Tourism sector should tap potential of Co-op sector: Minister

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb. 21: Seeking to ensure welfare of tourism sector employees, an initiative called the Kerala Tourism Fraternity Social Welfare Cooperative Society Limited (KTFCS) was launched today.

Inaugurating the Society at a function here, Minister for Tourism and Co-operation ShriKadakampallySurendran said tourism enterprises should aim to tap the Co-operative sector for finance, especially in view of the reluctance of the public sector banks to provide loans to the cash-stressed tourism sector.

“Kerala’s cooperative sector is very large. However, it has not been able to make its presence felt in the tourism sector. KTFCS will be able to bring a change to this,” the Minister said.

KTFCS would be able to revive the tourism sector by coordinating the activities of regional tourist centres and the stakeholders by forming societies to solve their problems, the minister added.

The minister also unveiled the logo of KTFCS at the function.

Although the government had many programmes to support the tourism sector during the pandemic times, KTFCS will be very helpful to those working in the sector, said Smt. Rani George IAS, Principal Secretary, Tourism.

The society was created from the lessons learned from the experience of the pandemic and it will result in bringing a better working atmosphere to the sector, said Shri P BalaKiran IAS, Director, Tourism.

ShriAnish Kumar PK, Chief Promoter of KTFCS, said the society is being formed keeping in mind the development of the tourism sector and the welfare of those working in it.

KTFCS will take the lead in finding capital, loans and resource mobilization in the tourism sector.

It was when the tourism sector was reeling under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that the idea to start KTFCS was originated and it received much support from the tourism department, said ShriVinod CS, President, Association of Tourism Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI).
KTM President Shri Baby Mathew and Shri Manu PV, Secretary, ATTOI also spoke.
Baby Mathew, President, Kerala Travel Mart Society and Manu PV, Secretary, ATTOI, also spoke.

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LuLu Mall, Kerala’s most preferred shopping, food and entertainment destination and one of India’s largest malls, has reopened its doors to welcome customers back to the World of Happiness.

LuLu Hypermarket opened at 9 am on August 9 observing all protocols issued by the Government in the wake of COVID-19. The online version of the hypermarket had been kept open throughout the lockdown period. The LuLu Mall was reopened at 10 am on August 9.

Lulu Mall, a division of the much famed Lulu Group headquartered in Abu Dhabi, is one of the largest as well as the first of its kind in India. The Group with its flagship retail chain of LULU hypermarkets and supermarkets has operations spread over 34 countries. Under the dynamic leadership of Yusuffali M.A, Managing Director, the Group has successfully evolved through the supermarket and hypermarket transition to high profile shopping malls. Lulu Group has been ranked third in the prestigious “Forbes Top 100 companies” making an impact in the Arab world.

Currently, in its seventh year of operations, Lulu Mall is the go-to destination in Kerala. In the past five years, Lulu Mall has been visited by 100 million people and has witnessed the entry of 1.5 million vehicles. Spanning 17 acres with a total retail space of 6.2 lakh square feet, LuLu Mall Kochi has over 225 outlets and has brought over 100 top brands to Kerala for the very first time. The mall has one of the largest hypermarkets in India, a 2,500-seater multi-cuisine food court, 11 fine dining restaurants and six cafes.

The mall features a gold class nine-screen multiplex, and a leisure zone including South India’s largest ice skating rink, a trampoline park, amusement rides, and a 12-lane bowling alley. The parking space of the mall is equipped with state-of-the-art automated parking guidance system and accommodates 3800 vehicles. A direct walkway connects the mall with the Edapally metro station.

Located within the campus is Marriot Hotel, offering a remarkable blend of luxury and convenience to the innumerable international and domestic tourists who visit the mall.

With a strong online presence, a successfully run app-based loyalty programme, a lifestyle magazine – Lulu Happiness; year on year, the mall has been able to provide an improved international shopping and entertainment experience along with an unparalleled service benchmark, winning the brand multiple global and national awards, including a Guinness World Record.

With upcoming projects in Trivandrum, Lucknow, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, to name a few, LuLu Group is racing ahead to be the top player in the Indian shopping mall segment.

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The number of visitors will be limited, meanwhile, face mask are compulsory for the children aged over 11. Guests will also have to use the stairs since lifts are out of use until July 1. Only eight people will be allowed into the elevators at a time.

The tower, completed in 1889, receives about seven million visitors every year – approximately three-quarters of them from abroad – according to its website.

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By the end of the project, the Emirates Engineering team would have removed 3,050 seats, which will be safely and hygienically stored away till the time the aircraft are required for passenger services. The seats will be fitted back into the aircraft and tested for passenger safety and comfort.
With its focus on safety of operations, Emirates SkyCargo has implemented strict rules on the type of cargo that can be loaded inside the modified Economy Class cabins. Some of the cargo commodities that can be loaded include general cargo such as PPE and garments, pharmaceuticals that can be maintained within a temperature range of 15 and 25 degrees Celsius and perishables such as cut flowers, and select dry and non-smelling fruits and vegetables. Cargo loaded in the passenger cabins would need to be packaged inside a suitable external container such as a plastic or cardboard box in accordance with the latest regulations outlined by IATA.
Emirates SkyCargo is the freight division of Emirates. The air cargo carrier operates a combination of scheduled and chartered flights to more than 85 global destinations every week. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Emirates SkyCargo has been acting as a global conveyor belt connecting markets across the world to supplies of essential commodities including PPE, pharmaceuticals, food and other perishables, e-commerce goods as well as machinery and other equipment.
Emirates Engineering ensures that Emirates’ wide-body fleet of more than 260 aircraft are maintained in peak condition. The team is conducting regular parking checks on the grounded aircraft and scheduled A-checks, C-checks and operational maintenance on the flying fleet serving a mix of cargo and an increasing number of passenger destinations.

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UST Global announced a strategic investment in London headquartered Ksubaka, a provider of innovative in-store gamified sales, data collection, and marketing tools for retailers. The collaboration combines Ksubaka’s platform to deliver fast-to-market solutions and UST Global’s broad reach for deep system integrations and working with most of the top retailers in the world.

“At UST Global,we are constantly looking for innovative ways to help our clients find their crucial edge in the rapidly shifting and highly competitive retail market. Ksubaka will help us revolutionize the digital landscape for our retail clients globally,”said Sunil Kanchi, Chief Investment Officer, UST Global.“Ksubaka’s vast experience in enhancing customer experience and their unique business strategy has helped them carve a niche in the retail industry.Our clients will now have access to a framework that allows retailers to grow their solution,integrate,and scale,”he said.

Ksubaka has developed a wide range of cutting-edge products that enable retailers to deliver a superior customer experience. The company has launched initiatives like Smiles, a customer research app; Cloudshelf, a powerful offline-to-online aisle for retail stores; and Gamified Experience, a range of custom games to connect with customers, encourage exploration,and promote brands.

“Ksubaka is excited to be at the heart of the digitization of physical space that is underway. Our solutions deliver trackable results via touchscreens, without any of the pain points they are accustomed to,” said Julian Corbett,Co-Founder and Chairman,Ksubaka. “We aim to constantly improve the retail space by helping retailers better engage, communicate with, and understand their shoppers. We are very excited to partner with UST Global and deliver these innovative in-store experiences,”Giles Corbett,Ksubaka’s Co-founder and CEO said.

Adapting to the Covid-19 situation of their clients,Ksubaka has released a suite of products to support their return-to-market, most recently a remote temperature sensing kiosk to reassure and help keep safe staff and visitors as they return to stores.

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For the first time, diesel price in India has surpassed the petrol as fuel rate hiked for the 18th day in a row on Wednesday. The diesel price was hiked by 45 paise while there was not a hike in petrol by price. Diesel will cost Rs 75.62 per litre and petrol Rs 80.69 per litre on Wednesday.In this current hiking, the domestic rates of auto fuels may soon cross the Rs.80 liter. International benchmark Brent crude has surged $42.03.The increase in rates started since June 7.

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Bangkok: India pulled out of a trade pact covering much of Asia, paving the way for 15 other countries to sign the China-backed regional trade deal next year.India conveyed its decision to exit the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, foreign ministry official Vijay Thakur Singh told reporters in Bangkok on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted that he was guided by the impact it would have on the lives and livelihoods of all Indians, especially vulnerable sections of society, she said.

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