ICG seizes Indian fishing boat for 'smuggling' betel nuts from Bangladesh
New Delhi (PTI): Indian Coast Guard authorities stationed in West Bengal have confiscated an Indian fishing boat for "smuggling betel nuts from Bangladesh," officials said on Saturday.
Based on intelligence inputs, an ICG boarding team was immediately deployed to the reported spot, where the abandoned fishing boat -- 'Laxminarayan' -- was located and confiscated, they said.
"The boarding party carried out a thorough rummaging of the vessel and recovered 52 bags of betel nuts, each weighing 50 kg, amounting to a total seizure of 2,600 kg," the Indian Coast Guard said in a statement.
The ICG Station, Fraserganj, "successfully conducted an operation on January 22," leading to the seizure of an Indian fishing boat for "smuggling betel nuts from Bangladesh to India," it said.
The seized boat was subsequently escorted to Fraserganj and berthed at Benfish Fishing Jetty, officials said.
The boat, along with the seized contraband, has been handed over to the Coastal Police Station, Fraserganj, for further legal proceedings, they said.
The Indian Coast Guard, in close coordination with other maritime security agencies, maintains a high state of alert along the coastline and in maritime areas to prevent illegal activities and smuggling by anti-national elements, the ICG said.
The ICG remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding the nation's security and economic interests, it added.
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ISRO successfully conducts second integrated air drop test for Gaganyaan mission
New Delhi (PTI): Space agency ISRO has successfully conducted the second integrated air drop test (IADT-02) for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission at the space station in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.
The system is essential to ensure a safe recovery of the crew module -- the capsule in which astronauts sit during a human flight -- during re-entry and landing.
Union minister Jitendra Singh congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for successfully conducting the test.
"Congratulations #ISRO for the successful accomplishment of Second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) for #Gaganyaan, India's first Human Space flight scheduled next year. The second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) was successfully conducted at Satish Dhawan Space Station Sriharikota," Singh said in a post on X.
The IADT-02 follows the successful completion of the first IADT, which took place on August 24, 2025, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Air drop tests recreate the last leg of a spacecraft's return to Earth. An aircraft or helicopter drops the spacecraft from a height to test various systems under different scenarios.
These are the deployment of the parachute system in case the mission is aborted mid-flight, system performance when one parachute fails to open and the spacecraft's orientation and safety during splashdown etc.
In the IADT-02 test, a simulated crew module, weighing about 5.7 tonnes, was lifted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter to an altitude of about three kilometres and released over a designated drop zone in the sea, near the Sriharikota coast.
In a statement, the ISRO said, "Ten parachutes of four types were deployed in a precise sequence during the descent of the crew module, gradually reducing the velocity for safe touchdown. Subsequently, the simulated crew module was successfully recovered in coordination with the Indian Navy."
