·       The NCI is a data-driven analysis assessing each country’s progress in balancing conservation and development.

·       It is aimed at helping governments, researchers, and organisations identify concerns and enhance conservation policies for long-term biodiversity protection.

·       Managing protected areas, addressing threats against biodiversity, nature and conservation governance, and future trends in a country’s natural resource management.

·       India’s rank at the bottom is mainly attributed to inefficient land management and rising threats to its biodiversity.

·       The assessment highlighted multiple threats to India’s biodiversity, including habitat loss and fragmentation caused by agriculture, urbanisation and infrastructural development, with climate change posing an additional risk.

·       The top-ranking countries were Luxembourg, Estonia, and Denmark, with others including Zimbabwe and Costa Rica finding their way into the top 10.

·       The Coral Triangle, often referred to as the ‘Amazon of the seas’, is a huge marine area spanning over 10 million square kilometres.

·       It includes countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, and the Solomon Islands.

·       Significance: This region is home to 76 per cent of the world’s coral species and supports more than 120 million people who rely on its resources for their livelihoods.

·       Threats: Unsustainable fishing practices, pollution from coastal development, and climate change-induced coral bleaching pose significant risks to the health and resilience of these ecosystems.

·       It is a Ugandan rebel group currently operating in the border region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), and South Sudan.

·       It was established by Joseph Kony in 1988 with the claim of restoring the honor of his ethnic Acholi people and to install a government based on his personal version of the Ten Commandments.

·       It has been one of central Africa’s cruelest and most enduring armed groups over the past 30 years.

·       The LRA has abducted over 67,000 youth, including 30,000 children, for use as child soldiers, sex slaves, and porters, and has brutalized communities since its inception in 1987.

·       It was designated as a terrorist group by the United States and prompted the first ever set of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the LRA’s leader, Joseph Kony, and other top commanders.

·       The group draws income from elephant ivory, gold, and diamonds and has received support from the Government of Sudan since 1994.

·       It is located in the districts of Nagaur and Jaipur in Rajasthan.

·       This saline wetland is elliptical in shape, with a length of 35.5 km and a breadth varying between 3 km and 11 km.

·       It covers an area in excess of 200 sq.km., surrounded on all sides by the Aravalli hills.

·       It was designated as a Ramsar site in the year 1990.

·       Along with Phulera and Deedwana, the wetland is the most important wintering area for flamingoes (both Phoniconaias minor and Phoenicopterus roseus) in India outside the Rann of Kachchh.

·       The other winged visitors to the area include pelicans, common shelduck, redshank, and common sandpiper, black-winged stilt, Kentish plover, and Ringed plover, Ruff, and Sociable lapwing.

·       Top 5 Largest Salt Production States of India: India is the third largest producer of salt in the world, Major salt producing states of India are Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha. Gujarat is the largest salt producer state of India and third largest in the world.

·       The election expenditure limit for candidates is Rs 95 lakh per Lok Sabha constituency in larger States and Rs 75 lakh in smaller States.

·       The election expenditure limit for the Legislative Assemblies is Rs 40 lakh and Rs 28 lakh for larger and smaller States respectively.

·       There are no limits on the expenditure of political parties during elections.

·       Elections across the world democracies have become very expensive.

·       Such increased expenditure that is met primarily through large donations creates an unholy nexus between the elected representatives and donors who seek favours.

·       This acts as an entry barrier into electoral politics for many well-meaning citizens.

·       In India, candidates from all major political parties breach the election expenditure limits by a wide margin.