About Molluscs:

• Molluscs are extremely diverse invertebrate animals.
• Habitat: They are found in nearly all freshwater and marine environments, and some are found also on land. 
• They come in all shapes and sizes, and some of them grow external shells to protect their soft bodies.
• These are a quarter of all living marine species and also have importance as food sources.
• The molluscs include many familiar animals, including clams, snails, slugs, and squid, as well as some less familiar animals, like tusk shells and chitons.
• Major groups within the Mollusca
• Polyplacophora: It consists of chitons, snail-like molluscs with eight-part overlapping scale shells
• Gastropoda: These are true snails and slugs. They represent the most diverse class within phylum Mollusca with 60,000 to 80,000 extant species in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats.
• Bivalvia: These are molluscs with hinged two-part shells. Examples include clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops.
• Cephalopoda: These are molluscs with large heads, large eyes, and grasping tentacles
• Examples include octopus, squid, cuttlefish, and nautiloids.

About Cyanobacteria:

• These are also called blue-green algae, microscopic organisms found naturally in all types of water.
• They have the distinction of being the oldest known fossils, more than 3.5 billion years old.
• Habitat: These single-celled organisms live in fresh, brackish (combined salt and fresh water), and marine water.
• Characteristics of cyanobacteria:
• Autotrophs: All cyanobacteria are autotrophs, meaning they produce their own energy by photosynthesizing sunlight. Cyanobacteria are a very old group of organisms. 
• Reproduction in Cyanobacteria: Cyanobacteria also reproduce asexually and the commonest mode of reproduction in them is transverse binary fission.
• Some are solitary others are colonial and few cyanobacteria produce toxins.
• Cyanobacteria blooms can form in warm, slow-moving waters that are rich in nutrients from sources such as fertilizer runoff or septic tank overflows.
• In warm, nutrient-rich environments, microscopic cyanobacteria can grow quickly, creating blooms that spread across the water’s surface and may become visible.

About Samriddh Gram:

• It is a flagship rural digital transformation initiative of the Department of Telecommunications built on the BharatNet network. 
• Objective: It is envisaged as a pioneering phygital (physical + digital) Services model integrating on-ground presence with robust digital infrastructure to empower rural citizens.
• It is aimed at transforming rural India through a seamless integration of physical and digital services.
• At the heart of the initiative are Samriddhi Kendras, established as one-stop village-level hubs delivering integrated phygital services by combining reliable telecom connectivity, digital platforms and assisted physical service delivery.
• The Samriddhi Kendras will deliver a comprehensive suite of services
• Education & Skilling: Smart classrooms, AR/VR-based learning, and digital skilling aligned with government schemes/initiatives.
• Agriculture: IoT-based soil testing, drone support, and smart irrigation systems.
• Healthcare:  Teleconsultations, Health ATMs, and emergency care.
• e-Governance: Assisted access to citizen services, documentation, and grievance redressal.
• E-Commerce: Integration with ONDC and digital marketplaces for local entrepreneurship.
• Financial Inclusion: Digital banking and payments
• Connectivity Backbone: Strengthened BharatNet FTTH with a Village Area Network and public Wi-Fi hotspots.

About Financial Intelligence Unit–India:

• It was set by the Government of India in 2004.
• It is the central national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions.
• FIU-IND is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC) headed by the Finance Minister.
• Function of Financial Intelligence Unit-India:
• Collection of Information: It acts as the central reception point for receiving Cash Transaction reports (CTRs), Non-Profit Organisation Transaction Report (NTRs), Cross Border Wire Transfer Reports (CBWTRs), Reports on Purchase or Sale of Immovable Property (IPRs) and Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) from various reporting entities.
• Analysis of Information: Analyze received information in order to uncover patterns of transactions suggesting suspicion of money laundering and related crimes.
• Sharing of Information: It shares information with national intelligence/law enforcement agencies, national regulatory authorities and foreign Financial Intelligence Units.
• Central Repository: It establishes and maintains a national database on the basis of reports received from reporting entities.
• Coordination: It coordinates and strengthens collection and sharing of financial intelligence through an effective national, regional and global network to combat money laundering and related crimes.
• Research and Analysis: Monitor and identify strategic key areas on money laundering trends, typologies and developme

About Helium:

• It is an inert gas and does not react with other substances or combust.
• It was discovered in 1868 by Jules Janssen and Norman Lockyer via a yellow spectral line during a solar eclipse. 
• Formation: It is a non-renewable resource generated deep in the earth’s crust, where the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium atoms emits alpha particles, which capture electrons to form helium atoms.
• Properties of Helium
• Its atomic number is 2, making it the second lightest element after hydrogen, and it is not manufactured.
• Helium also has a very low boiling point (-268.9° C), allowing it to remain a gas even in super-cold environments.
• It does not participate easily in chemical reactions.
• The gas is non-toxic, but cannot be breathed on its own, because it displaces the oxygen humans need for respiration.
• It is the only element that cannot be solidified by sufficient cooling at normal atmospheric pressure.
• Largest global reserves: United States, Algeria, and Russia.
• India’s Rajmahal Volcanic Basin (Jharkhand) is a significant helium reservoir trapped for billions of years.
• Applications of Helium:
• Used as Coolant: It is used as coolant to cool the magnets in MRI machines, the silicon wafers in the semiconductor fabricating industry, and, increasingly, some of the devices used in quantum computers.
• Leak Detector: Engineers use helium as a leak-detector.
• Optical Fibre Manufacture: It is also used in the process of drawing optical fibres to rapidly and uniformly cool molten glass and to displace oxygen or nitrogen from forming bubbles inside the material.
• Aerospace: Spaceflight organisations like ISRO, NASA, and SpaceX use helium to pressurise fuel tanks in rockets.
• Research and the tourism sector in many parts of the world also use helium to inflate balloons and airships.

About Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) Tobacco:

• Flue-cured Virginia tobacco, which is also known as Virginia Tobacco or Bright Leaf, is a bright, golden-leaf tobacco variety cured using controlled heat from flues — a process that preserves natural sugars and produces a mild, clean-burning leaf.
• It is one of the most widely traded tobacco types in international commerce.
• What is Curing?
  • Curing is a process by which the harvested tobacco leaf is made ready for the market.
  • To create smoking tobacco, the tobacco leaves need to be cured, or dried out.
  • The wet, green tobacco leaves of a tobacco plant initially contain too much moisture to catch fire.
  • They also have higher chlorophyll content. By releasing a certain amount of chlorophyll from the leaves during the drying out process, the natural tannins come out giving the smoked tobacco its flavor and scent.
  • Curing is a well standardized process to achieve the desirable qualities in the cured leaf along with the removal of moisture.
  • There are three types of tobacco curing methods traditionally used: Air-Cured, Fire-Cured, and Flue-Cured.
  • Each of the different curing methods results in a tobacco product that is distinguishable by both its nicotine content and its aroma.
• Key characteristics of Flue Cured Tobacco:
  • Produces primarily cigarette tobacco
  • Contains a high sugar content
  • Contains medium to high levels of nicotine
  • Rich in natural tannins which creates its distinct mild and slightly sweet flavor and aroma.
  • In India Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) Tobacco is mainly produced in India in 2 states, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

About Sharavathi Lion-Tailed Macaque Sanctuary:

• It is located in Shimoga District in Karnataka.
• It lies in the Western Ghats.
• It was formed by combining the existing Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Aghanashini Lion-Tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve, and the adjoining reserve forest blocks.
• The sanctuary shares its southwestern boundary with the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The sanctuary is nourished by the Sharavathi River. The Linganamakki reservoir spread over an area of 128.7 kms, is a part of this sanctuary.
• Terrain: The overall terrain of the sanctuary is highly undulating, with altitude ranging from 94 m to 1102 m.
• The spectacular Jog Falls, where water from the Sharavathi River falls from a height of almost 300 m, is present on the northern boundary of the sanctuary.
• Vegetation: It mainly consists of tropical evergreen to semi-evergreen types of forests, moist deciduous forests, and grasslands and savanna.
• Flora: The sanctuary is immensely rich in species like Dhoopa, Gulmavu, Surahonne, Mavu, Nandi, etc.
• Fauna:
  • It is home to the endangered lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus), tiger, leopard, wild dog, jackal, sloth bear, spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, etc.
  • It is home to approximately 700 lion-tailed macaques — the highest population of the endangered species in any protected area.