Alert keyman averts Malabar-Mangaluru Express train accident

Udupi, Mar 1: Acting on credible information, Udupi district police arrested five persons and seized 1.35 kg of crude gold worth Rs 56.99 lakh from the possession of the accused, custom department said on Sunday.

A case has been registered against four people at Kundapur and one at Byndoor on charges of gold smuggling. The accused were transporting gold from Calicut to Bhatkal, informed Joannes George, joint Commissioner of Customs.

Off these five accused, four persons were held at Kundapur, while other at Byndoor on Saturday evening.

India on Sunday witnessed annual solar eclipse or 'surya grahan' 2020, the third eclipse even for this year after first two lunar eclipses took place in January and June and the last annual solar eclipse of this decade.

The solar eclipse started from around 9 a.m. across the Indian map as the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth came in a straight line, and the country witnessed the 'deepest' annular solar eclipse in over a century.

Astrologers said it a fourth super rare hybrid eclipse which is a mix between an annular and total solar eclipse.

Areas like Hyderabad, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi, Patna, Shillong and more witnessed a partial phase of the annular solar eclipse from 9 a.m.

In the eclipse, the distance of the Moon and Earth will be larger than usual which means the moon will not be able to cover up the sun fully and will leave out the borders of the sun - giving an appearance of a "Ring of Fire".

Press Information Bureau in a tweet informed that it is the last annular solar eclipse in India of this decade.

People can catch glimpse of the partially covered sun between 10 a.m. and 2.28 p.m. as per the time differing as locations in India. The eclipse will continue for over three hours covering 84 per cent Sun.

There are three types of solar eclipses - total, partial, and annular.

Mar 5: The government on Thursday asserted that there is no shortage of raw ingredients or medicines in the country as it has taken various initiatives to tackle the challenge posed by the coronavirus outbreak.

All initiatives are also being taken to ensure that there is no impact of the disease in India, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers D V Sadananda Gowda said.

"There is no shortage of any APIs in the country. We have sufficient APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) and medicines in the country," he said.

Gowda was addressing the 5th international exhibition and conference on the pharmaceutical and medical industry organised by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Gujarat government and industry chamber Ficci here.

For another three months there is no shortage for undertaking production in the pharma sector, he added.

"Our government has taken all initiatives to ensure that as far as our country is concerned the coronavirus should be stopped, and there is no hazard as far as this issue is concerned," Gowda reiterated.

Coronavirus is a challenge and "we should make all efforts that need to be taken..., " he added.

On Tuesday, India, the world's largest maker of generic drugs, restricted the export of common medicines such as paracetamol and 25 other pharmaceutical ingredients and drugs made from them, as it looks to prevent shortages amid concerns of the coronavirus outbreak turning into a pandemic.

Besides over-the-counter painkiller and fever reducer paracetamol, drugs restricted for exports included common antibiotics metronidazole, and those used to treat bacterial and other infections as well as Vitamin B1 and B12 ingredients.

A notification by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) had said the export of 26 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and formulations would require licence.