US Dollar 10,000 seized from passenger at Mangaluru Airport

Kozhikode, Feb 28: Nearly 200 Umrah pilgrims from Kerala were deboarded from their flights to Saudi Arabia from Calicut international Airport here on Thursday after the gulf nation enforced a temporary ban on foreigners seeking to visit the holy cities of Makkah and Madina, following coronavirus scare.

Saudi Arabia halted travel to the holiest sites in Islam over fears about a viral epidemic just months ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage, a move that came as the Mideast has over 240 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus.

According to Airports Authority of India officials, as many as 84 of passengers from the Saudi Airlines and 104 from the Spice Jet Airlines were denied permission to board the flights and travel to Saudi Arabia.

However, other passengers bound to Jeddah were permitted to fly, they said.

A private tour operator here said two batches of 40 pilgrims each were denied permission to travel to Makkah to perform Umrah on February 27.

Umrah is an Islamic pilgrimage that can be performed at any time of year.

"The pilgrims were denied entry by the two airlines, Spice Jet scheduled at 05.30 hrs and Saudi Airlines at 1130 hrs," Naiful Akbar, a travel agent said.

The Airport Authority of India sources said, "the passengers were asked to alight by the Spice Jet airline staff following an instruction received by them."

Bengaluru, Mar 8: The economic slowdown in the country had a cascading effect on Karnataka, as its growth rate for outgoing fiscal 2019-20 is projected to be 6.8 per cent against 7.8 per cent in the last fiscal (2018-19), a senior official said on Saturday.

"The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is estimated to be 1 per cent less at 6.8 per cent for this fiscal from 7.8 per cent in the last fiscal due to slowdown in manufacturing (industry) and services sectors," an official of the state finance department told media.

Though the agriculture sector has revived from 1.6 per dent in the drought-hit last fiscal (2018-19) to register 3.9 per cent this fiscal, growth rates of industries and services will be 4.8 per cent and 7.9 per cent for 2019-20 against 5.6 per cent and 9.8 per cent respectively in 2018-19.

"The GSDP is projected to grow at 6.3 per cent in the ensuing fiscal of 2020-21 due to continued slowdown in the national economy," the official hinted.

According to the state's economic survey for 2019-20, the farm sector grew more than double to 3.9 per cent from 1.6 per cent a year ago due to increase in the production of foodgrains, dairy products and fish catch.

Foodgrain production across the state rose to 136 lakh tonnes from 128 lakh tonnes a year ago, the survey revealed.

"In line with the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate decline, Karnataka's GSDP has declined from a high of 13.3 per cent in 2016-17 to a low of 6.8 per cent in 2019-20.

"The GSDP has declined from a double-digit growth of 10.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 7.8 per cent in 2018-19 and 6.8 per cent in 2019-20," the survey pointed out.

The survey has adopted the all-India growth rate for the services sector growth in the state, which reflects the impact of slowdown in the key sector.

At current prices, the southern state's GSDP is expected to be Rs 16,99,115 crore (budget estimates) with a 10 per cent growth rate in the next fiscal (2020-21).

"Real estate, professional services and ownership of dwellings contributed 35.31 per cent to the GSDP in 2019-20, followed by manufacturing with 15.32 per cent, trade and repair services 9.51 per cent and crops 7.44 per cent," said the survey findings.

Per capital income in the state at current prices is estimated to be Rs 2,31,246 in 2019-20, an increase of 8.8 per cent from Rs 2,12,477 in 2018-19.

"The per capita income in the state is 58.4 per cent more than that of all-India rate at Rs 1,35,050 in this fiscal," the survey added.

Bengaluru, Mar 8: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has identified three more locations to open Viral Research Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDL) including in Mysuru, Hassan, and Shivamogga in Karnataka.

According to a statement issued here on Sunday, these laboratories will start functioning shortly in Mysuru Medical College and Research Institute, Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences, and Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences. Besides, the ICMR has also identified sample collection centres in Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Science in Ballari and Kalaburgi Institute of Medical Sciences.

B G Prakash, State Joint Director (Communicable Diseases), said that the new Laboratories will help to ease the load on the two designated laboratories in Bengaluru. Currently, the virology laboratory in Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute and the NIV branch in Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases are doing COVID-19 tests in Karnataka.