Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
Union Ministry of Education is all set to launch Bhasha Sangam mobile application. The app aims to introduce users with common daily conversations in scheduled Indian languages.
The app has 100+ sentences, designed on different themes that allow people to learn basic sentences in 22 Indian languages, attend self-test and generate online certificates. It also enables people to learn different languages of different states of India.

Notes:
Bangalore-based Byju’s is an Indian multinational educational technology (ed-tech) company. It is the world’s most valuable ed-tech company with the m-cap of $18 billion.
Byju’s has acquired Austria-headquartered GeoGebra and the value of the transaction is about $100 million. GeoGebra is an interactive mathematics learning tool. This is also the ninth major acquisition of Byju’s.

Notes:
The USA recently announced a new bill named ‘Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA)’.
The bill establishes new rules which could compel social media platforms to share data with “Qualified researchers”. They are defined as university-affiliated researchers pursuing projects that have been approved by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Notes:
Human Rights Day is observed on December 10, every year. This year, the theme is ‘Equality, Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights’.
United Nations General Assembly in 1948 adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This day is celebrated to raise awareness about people’s social, cultural and physical rights and to ensure the welfare of everyone.

Notes:
The Log4j vulnerability is a software flaw as reported by cyber-security researchers that could allow attackers to have uncontrolled access to computer systems.
Dubbed CVE-2021-44228, it could impact several products from those of Apple to Microsoft. US government’s cyber-security agency has also issued a warning on the same. The issue was discovered in Microsoft-owned Minecraft.

Notes:
The Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor project in Varanasi connects the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple and the ghats along the river Ganga.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the project, which has been built at a cost of ₹ 339 crore. The project aims to provide easy movement of pilgrims and devotees between the ghats and the temple.

Notes:
India’s Harnaaz Sandhu won the new Miss Universe title. The 21-year-old contestant from Punjab won the title 21 years after Lara Dutta won the title in 2000.
Harnaaz Sandhu represented India today at the 70th Miss Universe 2021, held in Eilat, Israel. Ms Sandhu claimed the crown edging out Paraguay’s Nadia Ferreira and South Africa’s Lalela Mswane. Only two Indians have won the title of Miss Universe – Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.

Notes:
Chief Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose inaugurated the digital platform named LokpalOnline, which enables people to file corruption complaints with the Lokpal.
At present, complaints are being sent by post, e-mail or hand-delivered. The new portal can be accessed by the citizens of the country and complaints can be filed from anywhere, anytime at lokpalonline.gov.in. In 2019, Justice Ghose was appointed as the country’s first Lokpal.

Notes:
The Delhi government launched the “Dilli Ki Yogshala” programme, under which it will offer free yoga classes to people within their housing societies, colony parks or community centres.
Under the scheme, 400 certified yoga instructors from Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University (DPSRU) and Delhi TTE Team will teach yoga lessons to people at their doorsteps in the city.

Notes:
Scientists at the Himalayan Research Group NGO, a part of Department of Science and Technology Programme of Science for Equity Empowerment and Development (SEED) Division devised a customized solar water and space heating system.
Named the ‘Solar hamam’, the system is a cost-effective alternative to fuelwood. In the higher Himalayan region, 50% of fuelwood is consumed for the purpose of heating and is also a main reason for forest degradation.