GK & Current Affairs Quiz: March 08, 2019

Notes:
Tech giant Google has recently launched a new app ‘Bolo’ that aims to help children in primary school learn to read in Hindi and English. The free app, which is being launched in India first, uses Google’s speech recognition and text-to-speech technology. The app features an animated character ‘Diya’, who encourages children to read stories aloud and helps if the child is unable to pronounce a word. It also lauds the reader when she completes the reading. The Bolo app will be available on Google Play Store in India for all smartphones running Android 4.4 (Kit Kat) and higher, and can also work offline.To ensure safety of the child, all personal information always stays on device. The users are also not asked for details like email ID and gender for logging into the app.

Notes:
The Congress government in Chhattisgarh has recently constituted a high-level committee under a retired Supreme Court judge to review cases against tribals who are in prison for alleged involvement in Left-Wing Extremism (LWE). This marks a shift from the stance adopted by the previous BJP government which was often accused of targeting social rights activists working in Naxal-affected districts. The panel, headed by Justice (retd) A K Patnaik, will review the cases registered against people belonging to Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the naxal-affected area.

Notes:
In Madhya Pradesh, ancient tribal language Gondi will be taught in tribal districts to save it from becoming a thing of the past. The rapid decline in the number of people who speak that tongue is a matter of concern; hence, Chief Minister Kamal Nath has decided to include Gondi in the primary education curriculum of the state’s tribal-dominated districts.

Notes:
The National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) to ensure better utilisation of infrastructure facilities during training programmes. The NCGG has been set up by the Government of India (GoI) under the aegis of DARPG (Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances). It aims to promote good governance through capacity building on public policy and governance both at national and international level and carrying out studies research on issues relating to governance. Its head office is at New Delhi. The IICA, registered as a society, is under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs with the primary objective of establishing, managing, maintaining and running a world class institute.

Notes:
The 3rd edition of the bilateral joint exercise “Al Nagah 2019” is scheduled to be held between India and Oman from 12th to 25th March at Jabel Al Akhdar Mountains in Oman. In the exercise, both the armies will exchange expertise and experience in tactics, weapon handling and firing. The aim of this exercise is to enhance interoperability in counter terrorist operations in semi urban mountainous terrain.