NATIONAL
1. Indian Coast Guard, UAE counter parts to take part in joint exercise
2. AP’s first Smart Police Station to be inaugurated tomorrow.
BUSINESS
3. Bank of Maharashtra ties up with Cigna TTK
4. N Chandrasekaran elected as Chairman of Tata Steel Board
5. 21 crore LED bulbs distributed, to save Rs 11,000 crore: PM Narendra Modi
6. Axis Bank ties up with Earthport
SPORTS
7. Alastair Cook resigns as England Test captain
8. India to host World Billiards Championship for next four years
NATIONAL
1. Indian Coast Guard, UAE counter parts to take part in joint exercise
•The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and their UAE counter parts will take part in a joint exercise and sharing of operational expertise•Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Samudra Pavak has arrived on a goodwill visit to Dubai and has anchored itself at Port Rashid.
•Samudra Pavak, the third of the Pollution Control Vessel series of the Indian Coast Guard, was indigenously designed and commissioned in January 2016.
•Samudra Pavak or "Purifier of the Seas" has 15 officers and 99 other personnel under the Command of Deputy Inspector General Satish Kumar.
•ICGS Samudra Pavak has been extensively deployed along the northwest maritime frontier to safeguard the maritime interests of India.
•The ship has been tasked with EEZ surveillance, search and rescue, pollution response and such other duties as enshrined in the Coast Guard charter.
•Later, the Indian ship will sail to Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia
2. AP’s first Smart Police Station to be inaugurated tomorrow
•Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will inaugurate the State’s first Smart Police Station at Nagarampalem in Guntur city in the capital region Amaravati•The fully air-conditioned station has a staff room, dormitory, mini control room, a reception chamber and individual enclosures for the Station House Officer and three Sub-Inspectors.
BUSINESS
3. Bank of Maharashtra ties up with Cigna TTK
•Under the agreement, the bank will offer the all of Cigna TTK’s superior health insurance products to its 2 crore customers through its network of over 1,896 branches, its 14,000 bank employees across the country as well as through its digital platforms.
•Bank of Maharashtra’s tie-up with Cigna TTK will bolster penetration of health insurance in the country, which is currently between 5-7%.
•Additionally, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Sustainable Development Goals 2030 include ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, with a specific focus on India.
•Bank of Maharashtra enjoys great visibility in a large number of tier III and tier IV cities, helping expand Cigna TTK’s footprint across previously unchartered territories, helping to offer affordable health insurance solutions to an increasing number of people
4. N Chandrasekaran elected as Chairman of Tata Steel Board
•N Chandrasekaran, chairman-designate of Tata Sons and currently the CEO and Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services, was today elected as Chairman of Tata SteelBSE Board.•"The Board of Directors today elected N Chandrasekaran as the Chairman of the Board. Chandrasekaran was appointed as a Member of the Board on January 13, 2017,"
•On January 17, Tata MotorsBSE had appointed Tata group chief to designate Chandrasekaran as its Chairman with immediate effect.
• Tata Steel Board on November 25 last year had removed ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry as the steel giant's chairman and appointed independent director O P Bhatt in his place.
5. 21 crore LED bulbs distributed, to save Rs 11,000 crore: PM Narendra Modi
•Under the government's energy efficiency programme, 21 crores LED bulbs were distributed in the country which resulted in saving of Rs 11,000 crore for the consumers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Lok Sabha today.•government had reduced the prices of LED bulbs, which were hovering over Rs 350 earlier, to ensure affordability of these less energy-consuming units.
•State-run Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), implementing the UJALA scheme for distributing LED bulbs to the consumer, has reduced the procurement price of these lights to Rs 38 per unit.
• "The government has distributed 21 crore LED bulbs and due to this power bills have been reduced and Rs 11,000 crore was saved.
6. Axis Bank ties up with Earthport
•India's third largest private bank, Axis Bank has tied up with Earthport Plc, a cross-border payment network,•To enable faster outbound cross-border payments for its customers through Earthport’s state-of-the-art global payments network.
•Axis Bank has become the first bank in India to connect with Earthport’s global payments network, which spans over 60 countries.
• The Bank joins a growing number of major banks across the globe that can, through a single connection with Earthport,
•send payments seamlessly to almost any bank account in the world on behalf of their clients, while delivering a faster, more efficient and cost-effective service.
•This agreement also marks Earthport’s entry into India, the world’s fastest growing major economy in line with its strategy to become the preferred provider of cross-border payment services to major banks, financial institutions, ecommerce companies and other payment aggregators globally.
SPORTS
7. Alastair Cook resigns as England Test captain
•Cook tendered his resignation to England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves yesterday, but intends to continue playing Test cricket.
•Cook, England's leading scorer in Tests with 11,057 runs, became captain in August 2012
•He has led England in a record 69 one-day internationals between 2010 and 2014.
• He has been the country's most capped Test skipper and has scored more Test centuries than any previous captain.
•A left-handed opening batsman, Cook was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2012 and ICC World Test Captain in 2013.
8. India to host World Billiards Championship for next four years
•India will host the World Billiards Championship for the next four years, the Billiards and Snoooker Federation of India (BSFI) announced•The premier event was held in Bengaluru last year when champion cueist Pankaj Advani had triumphed in the 150-UP format beating Peter Gilchrist of Singapore.
•"We are pleased to announce that the IBSF has allotted the World Billiards Championship to India for the next four years.
•This will be the only World Championship recognised by all as the earlier one being held by the World Billiards Limited will not take place now.
•The World Billiards Limited will only have ranking events
