Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali continues to enjoy certain special privileges, honours and courtesies accorded to him by the Government to the Prince of Arcot since 1870. He was also been accorded a very high protocol by the Government in the Warrant of Precedence, under Article 15-A, and his rank is on par with State Cabinet Ministers.

He was the Sheriff of Madras for two separate terms, in the year 1984-85 and 1988. He is a well known committed social activist, involved in many social, cultural and religious institutions in the country. He is a non-political and non-communal person like his forefathers. The Prince is the Founder Secretary-General of 'Harmony India', a registered Association formed in 1990 to promote communal amity, secularism and national integration. He is the President of All India Muslim Educational Society (AIMES). The Prince is the head of the Carnatic Family Association.

The Hon'ble Prime Minister of India had nominated Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali as a Jury Member of the National Foundation for Communal Harmony, an organisation established by the Central Government, Ministry of Home Affairs, along with His Excellency the Vice-President of India, the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, the Chairman of the University Grant Commission (U.G.C.), and the Union Home Secretary.

The Prince administers his ancestral Endowments, known as "The Prince of Arcot Endowments", and maintains several mosques in the State of Tamil Nadu. The administration of these Endowments is governed by the Madras Act II of 1923. He also manages the Wakfs in the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, known as 'Arcot Wakf', which arranges the stay and arrangements of the pilgrims from our country, particularly the State of Tamil Nadu.

On many occasions, the Prince was the Royal Guest of His Majesty the King of Saudi Arabia, during his visits to the Kingdom. He was nominated as the Deputy Leader of the Indian Goodwill Haj Delegation by the Hon'ble Prime Minister, in the years 1995, 1997 and 1998.

The State Governor and the Tamil Nadu Government have nominated Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali as a member in many high-level State committees. He is the Vice-Chairman, Tamil Nadu Government Urdu Academy. He is the State Chief Scout for Tamil Nadu Branch of the All India Boys Scouts Association and an active member of the Lions Club of Marina Beach, Lion's International District 324-AI. The Prince has been the recipient of many awards for this social service, including the National Unity Award from His Excellency the Governor of Tamil Nadu on many occasions. He was the recipient of "For the Sake of Honour" award from the Rotary Club.

Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, Prince of Arcot, is a patron of music, art and literature and his hobbies are photography, gardening and reading books. He is married to Sayeeda Begum and blessed with two sons, Nawabzada Mohammed Asif Ali and Nawabzada Mohammed Naser Ali and daughters-in-law, Nawabzadi Seema Ahmed and Nawabzadi Aasia Zainab respectively.