UPSC PRELIMINARY MOCK TEST 165

Spectacled Monkey and Striped Hyenas are naturally found in India.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/an-initiative-to-save-the-striped-hyenas-of-india/article26446129.ece "

Consolidated Fund of India It is a fund to which all receipts are credited and all payments are debited. In other words, (a) all revenues received by the Government of India; (b) all loans raised by the Government by the issue of treasury bills, loans or ways and means of advances; and (c) all money received by the government in repayment of loans forms the Consolidated Fund of India. All the legally authorised payments on behalf of the Government of India are made out of this fund. No money out of this fund can be appropriated (issued or drawn) except in accordance with a parliamentary law.

Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs are more efficient than Compact Fluorescent (CFL) and traditional incandescent bulbs because LED bulbs produce light by running an arc of electrical current between two electrodes. This method of generating light is a more efficient than generating light by the heating of tungsten filaments in incandescent/halogen bulbs and exciting mercury gas by electricity in CFL bulbs.

A first-of-its-kind rehabilitation centre for freshwater turtles will be inaugurated in Bihar's Bhagalpur forest division in January 2020.

Forest department officials said the need to build such a centre was felt after several turtles were found severely wounded and sick when rescued from smuggles by rescue teams.

Eastern Bihar has been an ideal breeding ground for turtles.

"In Bhagalpur, the flow of water in the Ganga is ample. Also, there are many sandbanks in the middle of the river, which are ideal breeding ground for turtles,"

According to environmentalists, the turtles play a significant role in the river by scavenging dead organic materials and diseased fish, controlling fish population as predators and controlling aquatic plants and weeds. They are also described as indicators of healthy aquatic ecosystems.

However, these species are now under severe threats due to habitat fragmentation and loss through dams and barrages, pollution, illegal poaching, accidental drowning through fishing nets and threats to their nesting habitats, a report jointly prepared by the National Mission for Clean Ganga and Wildlife Institute of India has said.

The turtles have come under serious threat primarily for two reasons - food and the flourishing pet trade.

"Turtles are being frequently targeted for meat due to the prevailing belief that it gives an energy boost and keeps various diseases away. Usually, soft-shell turtles are victims of this belief,"

According to a recent study conducted by Traffic India, around 11,000 turtles are being smuggled in India every year. "In the past 10 years, as many as 110,000 turtles have been traded,"

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