The 15th edition of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas begins at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh today. Around 6,000 NRIs are expected to take part in the three-day event which is being organised in Varanasi for the first time. The theme this year is, 'Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India'. 

Several world leaders of Indian origin, including Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, will take part in the event and share their insights on the theme. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally inaugurate the event tomorrow, with Mr Jugnauth being the Chief Guest. The valedictory address and Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards will be given by President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday. 

Youth Pravasi Bhartiya Divas and Uttar Pradesh Pravasi Bhartiya Divas will be held on the opening day today. Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore yesterday inaugurated several exhibitions including a digital exhibition on the theme of 'Ek Bharat Swacch Bharat: Sardar Patel and Gandhi ke Sapno ka Bharat. 

“The number four position has been an area which we want solidified but because of the combinations sometimes we have to make changes,” said Virat Kohli in his media interaction after the third ODI. In that match, MS Dhoni played the perfect number 4 and saw India all the way through. Vice-captain Rohit Sharma had said that he would like to see Dhoni bat in that position but Kohli believes Dhoni is best suited for number five. Ambati Rayudu, who got the backing from the captain after his performance against West Indies as the ideal number four, had a forgettable series in Australia but, it seems the team management will be sticking with him in the New Zealand series at least.

HDFC Standard Life Insurance on Friday changed its name to HDFC Life Insurance following the receipt of relevant approvals from regulatory authorities.

The change in name is effective right off the bat and the company will henceforth operate under the name HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd, it said.

"Over the years, specifically after listing of the company on stock exchanges, HDFC Life, as a brand has established itself as one of the most valuable brands in the Indian life insurance sector.

"Hence, with a view to align the corporate name of the company with its brand name, the corporate name has been changed to HDFC Life Insurance," the statement said.

The state government on Friday told the Bombay High Court that 16 per cent reservation has been provided to the Marathas to “alleviate the community from its social and educational backwardness” and considering the inadequacy of its representation in public employment.

The government was responding to three petitions filed by advocates Jaishri Patil, Sanjeet Shukla and Dr Uday Dhople, along with many others, challenging the notification published by the government on November 30, 2018, to provide 16 per cent reservation to the community in jobs and education.

The 38-page affidavit filed by Secretary (General Administration Department) Shivaji Daud stated that the petitions, seeking a stay on the Act at the interim stage, deserves to be rejected. The government also asserted that the ceiling of 50 per cent reservation imposed by the Supreme Court cannot be made applicable to all the states.

The affidavit stated that while the state government has passed the Act based on data, surveys, facts, statistics, records, analysis, investigation and research among others, none of the petitioners have bothered to place any record to substantiate their allegations. The new Act only seeks to “fullfil the constitutional duty of ensuring adequate representation to a socially backward class of citizens in educational institutions and in public services, in order to alleviate the community from its social and educational backwardness”, it added.

The Government has approved setting up of three new naval air squadrons in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu as part of efforts to bolster the Indian Navy's overall strength.

Government has also sanctioned recruitment of manpower for manning additional aircraft in existing Dornier surveillance squadrons in Kerala and Andaman Islands. 
A contract for procurement of 12 Dornier aircraft was signed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited two years back and their delivery is commencing soon. 

The new Dornier 228 maritime surveillance aircraft to be delivered to the Navy are fitted with improved 'state of the art' sensors and equipment which includes glass cockpit, advanced surveillance radar, optical sensors and networking features. 

The aircraft will enhance maritime domain awareness of Indian Navy through round the clock sensor based surveillance and provide targeting data in areas of operation to ward off terror and other threats from sea.

The addition will further strengthen Indian Navy's efforts at Coastal Security of India's vast coastline of over 7 thousand kilometres. 

Peru, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and some countries in the Middle East have expressed interest in importing the Railways'state-of-the-art Train 18, a senior official said on Friday, even as the ambitious project awaits its first commercial run.

Train 18 which has run at a maximum speed of 180 kmph during its trial run will have its debut journey from Varanasi to Delhi.

"Many countries have expressed interest in the train set and we are happy and proud that an indigenously made product is attracting so much interest. The rolling stock market worldwide is worth about 200 billion dollars and we want a significant share of it. Now, the aim is to successfully run the train," said Member, Rolling Stock, Railway Board, Rajesh Agarwal.

Sources said the train sets currently available worldwide at the standard of Train 18 cost around Rs 250 crore, while the Indian version manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai costs around Rs 100 crore.

India, which is the latest entrant into the semi-high speed club, will also host the International High Speed Rail Association (IHRA) conference this February where the Railways is hoping to pitch Train 18 as a mascot of its manufacturing capabilities, sources said.

In Badminton, Saina Nehwal will face three-time world champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the semifinals of the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur today. 

Yesterday, Seventh-seeded Saina defeated former world champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, 21-18, 23-21 in the quarterfinals of Women's Singles to enter the last four. 

However, Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the Men's Singles. He lost to fourth seed Korean Son Wan Ho 23-21, 16-21, 17-21 in the quarterfinals.

US President Donald Trump will hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in late February on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes. 

White House announced yesterday after Mr Trump met top North Korean negotiator Kim Yong-chol in Washington. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said a location will be announced later. She said that Mr. Trump’s talks with the North Korean envoy were productive but added that the United States is going to continue to keep pressure and sanctions on North Korea.

The two leaders had met on June 12 last year in Singapore for the first summit. 

The Uttar Pradesh government Friday approved 10% reservation in jobs and educational institutions for the economically backward in the general category.

The nod was given at a meeting here of the state cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, senior cabinet minister and UP government spokesperson Shrikant Sharma told mediapersons.

Uttar Pradesh became the third state after Gujarat and Jharkhand to approve the legislation which has to be ratified by at least half the state Assemblies in the country.

The Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill, 2019, providing for 10% reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to the economically weaker sections in the general category was passed by Parliament in its recently concluded winter session.

President Ram Nath Kovind has since given his assent to the bill.

“The cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath approved the notification granting 10 per cent reservation to the poor in the general category which has come into effect on January 14,” Sharma said.

Widening the source base for the nuclear fuel, the government Friday exchanged a long- term contract with Uzbekistan for supplying uranium ore concentrates.

The contract was exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who are here for the three-day Vibrant Gujarat summit that began Friday. The two leaders held a bilateral meeting as well.

Modi also had separate bilateral meetings with his counterparts in Denmark, The Czech Republic and Malta. "The department of atomic energy (DAE) and Novoi Minerals & Metallurgical Company of Uzbekistan today exchanged contracts for long-term supply of uranium ore concentrates, "the foreign ministry said in a statement without offering more details.

The contracts were exchanged by DEA secretary KN Vyas and Uzbekistan deputy minister of economy and industry Sohib Saifzazarov, the statement added.