DAY – 24 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2020

Solution: D

Census of Asiatic Lion

Context: Census of Asiatic lion was recently conducted by the Gujarat government and the details have been released.

About the lion census:

The census is conducted once every five years. This year it was delayed due to lockdowns.

The first Lion Census was conducted by the Nawab of Junagadh in 1936; since 1965, the Forest Department has been regularly conducting the Lion Census every five years.

The 6th, 8th and 11th Censuses were each delayed by a year, for various reasons.

Key figures this year:

28% rise in population of Lions: Total estimated Lions in Gir region is 674. It was 523 in 2015.

36% Expanse in distribution: Today, Asiatic lions are present in Protected Areas and agro-pastoral landscapes of Saurashtra covering nine districts, over an expanse of about 30,000 sq. km. It was 22,000 sq. km in 2015.

How was the census carried out this year? How is it different from previous census?

Reduced participation: Every year, the state Forest Department invites NGOs, experts and wildlife enthusiasts to join the Census for transparency and augmenting manpower. But this time, it was not advisable to send so many people inside the forest as the Bronx Zoo in New York had reported a case of transmission of novel coronavirus from a human to a tigress.

So, this year, the count was estimated not from a Census, but from a population “observation” exercise called Poonam Avlokan.

How it was carried out?

• Poonam Avlokan (developed in 2014) is a monthly in-house exercise carried out every full moon.
• Field staff and officers spend 24 hours assessing the number of lions and their locations in their respective jurisdictions.
• Unlike previous census, which had nearly 2000 participants, this census had around 1400 staff and a few experts.
• These staff kept moving in their respective territories and made their estimates based on inputs provided by lion trackers and on chance sightings.

What is Block counting method?

India uses this method to estimate the numbers.

In this method, census enumerators remain stationed at water points in a given block and estimate abundance of lions in that block, based on direct sighting of lions who need to drink water at least once in 24 hours during the summer.

There are inherent issues with this method. So, newer methods should be adopted- such as camera trapping and identifying lions based on permanent marks on their body, and statistical estimates based on the animals’ predatory patterns and numbers of their prey base.

Concerns over the estimates:

Few experts are doubtful about the estimated numbers. They say it could be an overestimation. It is because:

1. 12 lions were killed in a flash flood in Amreli just a month after the 2015 census.
2. More than two dozen lions in an outbreak of canine distemper virus (CDV) and babesiosis in 2018.
3. A babesiosis outbreak was reported this summer too, and around two dozen lions are reported killed.

Why we need to relocate the lions to other regions?

Presently, Asiatic lions are confined only to Gujarat. A single epidemic could wipe the entire population and the species might become extinct. Hence, introduction of species to new areas and states might be a good idea.

Solution: C

What is the name of butterfly recently recorded as the largest in India?

A Himalayan butterfly named Golden Birdwing is now India’s largest.

• While the female Golden Birdwing was recorded from Didihat in Uttarakhand, the largest male was from the Wankhar Butterfly Museum in Meghalaya capital Shillong.

So far, the record was held by the Southern Birdwing, recorded in 1932.

The only measurement used in the study of Lepidoptera is wingspan — a simple concept with various interpretations of the term.

• The wingspan of female Golden Birdwing is 194 mm, marginally larger than the Southern Birdwing (190 mm).

The smallest is the Quaker (Neopithecops zalmora) with a wingspan of 18 mm and forewing length of 8 mm.

Solution: B

Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve:

• Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve is a National Park and a Biosphere Reserve located in Sikkim, India. The park is named after the mountain Kangchenjunga, which with a height of 8,586 metres (28,169 ft), is the third-highest peak in the world.
• The Biosphere Reserve is one of the highest ecosystems in the world, reaching elevations of 1, 220 metres above sea-level. It includes a range of ecolines, varying from sub-tropic to Arctic, as well as natural forests in different biomes, which support an immensely rich diversity of forest types and habitats.
• The core zone – Khangchendzonga National Park was designated as a World Heritage Site in 2016 under the ‘mixed’ category.

Solution: B

Fishing cats:

Why in News?

The Odisha Government has started a two-year conservation project for Fishing Cats in Bhitarkanika National Park.

Key facts:

The fishing cat is nocturnal (active at night).

State animal of West Bengal.

Habitats: In India, fishing cats are mainly found in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, on the foothills of the Himalayas along the Ganga and Brahmaputra river valleys and in the Western Ghats.

Protection:

    Vulnerable— IUCN Red List.

CITES: Appendix II

Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I.

Fishing Cat Project, launched in 2010 started raising awareness about the Cat in West Bengal.

Solution: B

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB):

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), statutory organisation, was constituted in September, 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.Further, CPCB was entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

Functions:

• To promote cleanliness of streams and wells in different areas of the States by prevention, control and abatement of water pollution.
• To improve the quality of air and to prevent, control or abate air pollution in the country.

Solution: D

Critically Endangered Mammals

1. Pygmy Hog
2. Andaman White-toothed Shrew
3. Jenkin’s Andaman Spiny Shrew
4. Nicobar White-tailed Shrew
5. Kondana Rat
6. Large Rock Rat or Elvira Rat
7. Namdapha Flying Squirrel
8. Malabar Civet
9. Sumatran Rhinoceros
10. Javan Rhinoceros

Critically Endangered Birds

1. Aythya baeri
2. Forest Owlet
3. Great Indian Bustard
4. Bengal Florican
5. Siberian Crane
6. Spoon-billed Sandpiper
7. Sociable Lapwing
8. Jerdon’s Courser
9. White-backed Vulture
10. Red-headed Vulture
11. White-bellied Heron
12. Slender-billed Vulture
13. Indian Vulture
14. Pink-headed Duck
15. Himalayan Quail

Critically Endangered Reptiles

1. Gharial
2. Hawksbill Turtle
3. Leatherback Turtle
4. River Terrapin
5.  Bengal Roof Turtle
6. Sispara day gecko

Solution: A

Globba andersonii:

• It is a rare and critically endangered plant species.
• It is commonly as ‘dancing ladies’ or ‘swan flowers’.
• They are characterised by white flowers, non-appendaged anthers (the part of a stamen that contains the pollen) and a “yellowish lip”. 
• The species is restricted mainly to Teesta River Valley region which includes the Sikkim Himalays and Darjeeling hill ranges.
• The plant usually grows in a dense colony as a lithophyte (plant growing on a bare rock or stone).

Why in News?

Researchers have “rediscovered” this plant species from the Sikkim Himalayas near the Teesta river valley region after a gap of nearly 136 years.

It was thought to have been extinct until its “re-collection”, for the first time since 1875.

Solution: D

DNA Profiling:

DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting, DNA testing, or DNA typing) is a forensic technique used to identify individuals by characteristics of their DNA.  A DNA profile is a small set of DNA variations that is very likely to be different in all unrelated individuals.

Benefits:

• Help to convict serious criminals and possibly even preventing crime.
• Useful in the aftermath of a natural disaster for disaster victim identification.
• Identification of missing persons and human remains
• Medical research purposes
• Establishing parentage or blood relations between individuals.
• DNA fingerprinting is used in the study of animal and floral populations
• To address the issue of thousands of unclaimed dead bodies that are reported annually
• This can also be used in the area of wild life crimes

Solution: D

Biosphere Reserves in India (as on Dec, 2014)

Solution: D

Canine distemper virus (CDV):

A recent study published in Threatened Taxa notes that 86% of the tested dogs around Ranthambhore National Park in Rajasthan carried Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) antibodies in their bloodstream.

• Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) is a viral disease that infects the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and central nervous system
• Canine distemper is caused by a single-stranded RNA virus of the family Paramyxoviridae (the same family of the viruses that causes measles, mumps, and bronchiolitis in humans).
• It affects a wide variety of animal families, including domestic and wild species of dogs, foxes, pandas, wolves, ferrets and large cats as well.
• Dogs who have not been vaccinated for Canine Distemper are the most at-risk. While the disease can also be contracted when improperly vaccinated or when a dog has high susceptibility to bacterial infection, these cases are rare.
• CDV can be spread through direct contact (licking, breathing air, etc.) or indirect contact (bedding, toys, food bowls, etc.), though it cannot live on surfaces for very long. Inhaling the virus is the primary method of exposure. There is no known cure for CDV.

Solution: D

Solution: B

Namdapha National Park is a 1,985 km2 (766 sq mi) large protected area in Arunachal Pradesh of Northeast India. With more than 1,000 floral and about 1,400 faunal species, it is a biodiversity hotspot in the Eastern Himalayas. It is the fourth largest national park in India.

Because of the elevation range from 300 to 4,500 m and vegetation zones from evergreen, moist deciduous to temperate broadleaved and coniferous forest types to alpine vegetation, the park is home to a great diversity of mammal species. Four pantherine species occur in the park: leopard, snow leopard, tiger and clouded leopard.

Solution: C

Index of Eight Core Industries:

• The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index which details out the growth of various sectors in an economy such as mining, electricity and manufacturing.
• The all India IIP is a composite indicator that measures the short-term changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial products during a given period with respect to that in a chosen base period.
• It is compiled and published monthly by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) six weeks after the reference month ends.
• The eight core industries are: Coal, Crude oil, Natural Gas, Refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity.

Solution: C

Reserved & Protected Forests

As of present, reserved forests and protected forests differ in one important way:

Rights to all activities like hunting, grazing, etc. in reserved forests are banned unless specific orders are issued otherwise.

In protected areas, rights to activities like hunting and grazing are sometimes given to communities living on the fringes of the forest, who sustain their livelihood from forest resources or products.

The first reserve forest in India was Satpura National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

Typically, reserved forests are often upgraded to the status of wildlife sanctuaries, which in turn may be upgraded to the status of national parks, with each category receiving a higher degree of protection and government funding.

Solution: C

Sangeet Natak Akademi has been functioning as the apex body of the performing arts in the country, preserving and promoting the vast intangible heritage of India’s diverse culture expressed in the forms of music, dance and drama.

Akademi’s projects of national importance are in Kutiyattam theatre of Kerala, commenced in 1991. Kutiyattam was recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity in 2001.

Solution: B

Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs) are areas in India notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. The purpose of declaring ESZs is to create some kind of “shock absorbers” to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas. They also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.

What are Eco-sensitive zones?

The Environment Protection Act, 1986 does not mention the word “Eco-sensitive Zones”.

The section 3(2)(v) of the Act, says that Central Government can restrict areas in which any industries, operations or processes shall not be carried out or shall be carried out subject to certain safeguards

Besides the section 5 (1) of this act says that central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes on the basis of considerations like the biological diversity of an area, maximum allowable limits of concentration of pollutants for an area, environmentally compatible land use, and proximity to protected areas.

• The above two clauses have been effectively used by the government to declare Eco-Sensitive Zones or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFA). The same criteria have been used by the government to declare No Development Zones.

Criteria:

The MoEF (Ministry of Environment & Forests) has approved a comprehensive set of guidelines laying down parameters and criteria for declaring ESAs. A committee constituted by MoEF put this together. The guidelines lay out the criteria based on which areas can be declared as ESAs. These include Species Based (Endemism, Rarity etc), Ecosystem Based (sacred groves, frontier forests etc) and Geomorphologic feature based (uninhabited islands, origins of rivers etc).

Solution: A

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) in June 2015 launched the “Global Partnership on Wildlife Conservation and Crime Prevention for Sustainable Development” program also known as the Global Wildlife Program (GWP).

The GWP is a World Bank-led, GEF-funded global partnership that promotes wildlife conservation and sustainable development by combatting illicit trafficking in wildlife. Phase II of the Global Wildlife Program (GWP) was approved by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council in June 2019. The $82 million grant (Phase II) builds on a $131 million grant from Phase I, 2015, allowing the GWP to curb illegal wildlife trade and promote wildlife-based economies in 37 projects across 32 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Solution: C

Global Diplomacy Index Sydney based Lowy Institute. Index visualises the diplomatic networks of 61 G20, OECD and Asian countries and territories, allowing users to compare the most significant diplomatic networks in the world.

China now has more diplomatic posts across the world than United States in 2019.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/china-now-has-most-diplomatic-posts-in-the-world-india-ranked-12th/story-rtobflHgwEUTmcitMmygQJ.html

Solution: D

Mangroves are salt-tolerant plants of tropical and subtropical intertidal regions of the world. The specific regions where these plants occur are termed as ‘mangrove ecosystem’. These are highly productive but extremely sensitive and fragile. Besides mangroves, the ecosystem also harbours other plant and animal species.

Experiences have proved that the presence of mangrove ecosystems on coastline save lives and property during natural hazards such as cyclones, storm surges and erosion. These ecosystems are also well known for their economic importance. They are breeding, feeding and nursery grounds for many estuarine and marine organisms. Hence, these areas are used for captive and culture fisheries. The ecosystem has a very large unexplored potential for natural products useful for medicinal purposes and also for salt production, apiculture, fuel and fodder, etc.

The distribution of mangrove ecosystem on Indian coastlines indicates that the Sundarban mangroves occupy very large area followed by Andaman-Nicobar Islands and Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.

Rest of the mangrove ecosystems is comparatively smaller.

Solution: D

Irrawaddy dolphins are found in coastal areas in South and Southeast Asia, and in three rivers: the Irrawaddy (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong.

Dolphin distribution in Chilika is considered to be the highest single lagoon population.

It is an endangered species.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/146-irrawaddy-dolphins-sighted-in-chilika/article30600863.ece

Solution: C

The Great Indian Bustard, one of the heaviest flying birds, can weigh up to 15 kg and grow up to one metre in height. It is considered the flagship grassland species, representing the health of the grassland ecology.

Till 1980s, about 1,500-2,000 Great Indian Bustards were spread throughout the western half of India, spanning eleven states. However, with rampant hunting and declining grasslands, their population dwindled. In July 2011, the bird was categorised as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Desert National Park, Rajasthan, India, is situated in the state of Rajasthan near the towns of Jaisalmer and Barmer.

Perhaps the greatest attraction of the park is a bird called the great Indian bustard, a critically endangered species found only in India. Desert National Park is one of the last sites in which this species can be found in good numbers.

Solution: B

Pin Valley National Park is located within the Lahaul and Spiti district, in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

This park is specially renowned for the protection of endangered Snow-Leopard, the estimated population of which is about twelve. Other species are Ibex, Bharal, Red Fox, Marten, Weasel, Pika, Snow Cock, Beareded Vulture, Chukor, Golden Eagle, Griffon, Himalayan Chough, Raven etc.

Solution: A

It is a fraud investigating agency. The SFIO is involved in major fraud probes and is the co-ordinating agency with the Income Tax and CBI. It is a multi-disciplinary organization having experts from financial sector, capital market, accountancy, forensic audit, taxation, law, information technology, company law, customs and investigation. These experts have been taken from various organizations like banks, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Comptroller and Auditor General and concerned organizations and departments of the Government.

It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.

Solution: D

About National Board for Wildlife:

• It is a “Statutory Organization” constituted under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Its roles is “advisory” in natureand advises the Central Government on framing policies and measures for conservation of wildlife in the country.
• Primary function of the Board is to promote the conservation and development of wildlife and forests.
• It has power to review all wildlife-related matters and approve projects in and around national parks and sanctuaries.
• No alternation of boundaries in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries can be done without approval of the NBWL.
• Composition:The NBWL is chaired by the Prime Minister. It has 47 members including the Prime Minister. Among these, 19 members are ex-officio members. Other members include three Members of Parliament (two from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha), five NGOs and 10 eminent ecologists, conservationists and environmentalists.

Solution: B

The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is a flagship initiative set up by the NITI Aayog to promote innovation and entrepreneurship across the length and breadth of the country.

AlM’s objectives are to create and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country at school, university, research institutions, MSME and industry levels.

The Atal Innovation Mission has following two core functions:

• Entrepreneurship promotion through Self-Employment and Talent Utilization, wherein innovators would be supported and mentored to become successful entrepreneurs.
• Innovation promotion: to provide a platform where innovative ideas are generated.