Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2019

Notes:
The Tea Board of India is a state agency of the Government of India (GoI) established to promote the cultivation, processing, and domestic trade as well as export of tea from India. It was established by the enactment of the Tea Act in 1953 with its headquarters in Kolkata. The Tea Board India is responsible for the assignment of certification numbers to exports of certain tea merchants. Recently, it is in news because the Union Ministry of Commerce has reappointed P K Bezbaruah as the chairman of Tea Board for a period of three years. Bezbaruah, the owner of Bokahola Tea Company in Assam, was earlier appointed as chairman of Tea Board as its first non-IAS officer. He was also instrumental in initiating a revamp of the old electronic auctioning system.

Notes:
The government policy think tank, Niti Aayog has recently released Delta ranking report. In it, the Hailakandi district of Assam has been ranked first among the 112 aspirational districts of India, followed by Kondagaon district of Chhattisgarh. Hailakandi has made a giant leap from 52nd position to no. 1 position on the basis of its performance during November-December 2018 and January 2019. For securing the first rank as an aspirational district, Hailakandi will be given an allocation of Rs. 10 crore.

Notes:
‘The New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos 2019’ has recently signed by the five rhino range nations – India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia – for the conservation and protection of the species at the recently held 2nd Asian Rhino Range Countries meeting in New Delhi. The declaration was signed to conserve and review the population of the Greater one-horned, Javan and Sumatran rhinos every four years to reassess the need for joint actions to secure their future. The declaration includes undertaking studies on health issues of the rhinos, their potential diseases and taking necessary steps; collaborating and strengthening wildlife forensics for the purpose of investigation and strengthening of transboundary collaboration among India, Nepal and Bhutan for the conservation and protection of the Greater one-horned rhino. The meet was organized by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in collaboration with IUCN Asian Rhino Specialist Group, WWF- India and Aaranyak.

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 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:
Thanga Darlong, the 99-year old tribal musician and music guru, has been conferred the first Atal Behari Vajpayee Life Time Award for preserving the musical form during the 37th Agartala Book Fair in Tripura. Darlong is the last tribal musician to play Rosem – a bamboo made a flute-like musical instrument. Earlier, in January 2019, he was conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award for his contribution to the field of music. Born on 20th July 1920 at Muruai village of Tripura, Thanga Darlong was initially trained in folk music from his father Hakvunga Darlong. He was later taught and groomed in the nuances of playing Rosem – a traditional musical instrument of the Darlong community by traditional music maestro Darthuama Darlong. In 2016, he was also showcased in ‘Tree of Tongues in Tripura’, directed by the National Awards winner Joshy Joseph Josy Joseph.

Notes:
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has recently said that five candidates have been presented by FAO member countries for the post of Director-General, to be elected in June 2019. The 194 members will cast their vote on a ‘one country, one vote’ basis in a secret ballot that requires a simple majority for a valid outcome. In it, India has nominated NITI Aayog member and agricultural economics and policy expert Ramesh Chand to lead a specialised agency of the United Nations focussed on achieving food security for all. The other candidates are Qu Dongyu of China, Medi Moungui of Cameroon, Catherine Geslain-Laneelle of France and Davit Kirvalidze of Georgia. The next Director-General of FAO will be appointed for the period August 1, 2019 to July 31, 2023 and will be eligible for only one additional mandate of four years.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has constituted a 5-member committee to examine the issues related to framing of a proper, structured scheme for providing insurance cover to advocates and suggest modalities for its implementation. The committee, under the chairmanship of Legal Affairs Secretary Alok Srivastava, will recommend a comprehensive insurance scheme for the welfare of advocates all over the country to address concerns relating to untimely death and medical insurance. The committee will submit its reports within 3 months.

Notes:
Krishna Kumari Kohli has become the first-ever Thari Hindu woman to be elected to the Senate of Pakistan in March 2018 and chaired the session of the Upper House of Parliament on the occasion of the International Women’s Day (IWD-2019). She is known for her campaigns for women’s rights, against bonded labour, and against sexual harassment in the workplace. Her election to Senate represented a major milestone for women and minority rights in Pakistan. Krishna belongs to the Kohli community from the remote village of Dhana Gam in Nagarparkar area of Sindh province where a sizeable number of Hindus live. Hence, Krishna became the first Hindu Dalit woman and the 2nd Hindu woman elected to the Senate after Ratna Bhagwandas Chawla.

Notes:
On March 8, the European Union and the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) inaugurated the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence for European Union Studies in India at the varsity. The Centre of Excellence for European Union Studies in India (CEEUSI) at JNU will provide greater visibility to EU studies in India and South Asia. After Manipal Academy for Higher Education, JNU is one of only two Centers of Excellence awarded EU funds in India. The new Centre of Excellence at JNU will provide additional opportunities to students and researchers to work on EU studies in India.