September 2020 Bank Holidays : State Wise

Google launched new app "Bolo"

Smartphone penetration expands in rural India, Google is hoping to piggyback on it to help the children with their reading skills. Company on Wednesday unveiled its new Bolo Android app that is a speech-based reading-tutor app aimed at rural kids, who would otherwise may not have access to a good education support system. Being released in India first, the Bolo app is now available for free via Google Play and can work offline. There is no word on when the app will be released in other markets.

As the government-back school system in most Indian states leaves a lot to be desired and it is often the only available avenue for getting an education in rural areas as well as for children from financially struggling families. Google is hoping to change that by using smartphones, which are increasingly becoming a common sight, even in rural areas.

Google says “We believe technology has the power to help transform teaching and learning, and have been actively directing our products, programs and philanthropy to ensure that all students are able to benefit from it,”

Bolo app helps the children improve their Hindi and English reading skills by encouraging them to read aloud. Comes with a large number of engaging stories, which the company hopes, will help the children in improving their comprehension skills. App has been designed to make sure that children don't need any help in using it and can read all by themselves. Google notes that all the reading material on the app is free and it is working with other companies to bring more content to Bolo. App relies on Google's speech recognition and text-to-speech technology.

Google has added in-app rewards and badges to Bolo as well as word games.

Google says the app includes an animated digital assistant called Diya. This assistant can read the text out loud for the children and even explain the meaning of the English text. Diya can speak English as well as Hindi, and will encourage the kids by giving them compliments when they finish a task.

App can be shared among many kids and provides a personalised experience to all. So, if a family has two siblings, they can both use the app and track their individual progress.

As per Google, the Bolo app is still in beta and the company will be working with its partners like Kaivalya, Room to Read, Saajha, and Pratham to further refine it and take the app to more children. Company has already carried out a controlled pilot for three months in 200 villages of Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district and it says that the initial results were encouraging.

This Bolo app can be downloaded from Google Play and works with all Android phones running KitKat or above. It comes with 16 preloaded stories and more can be downloaded. Overall size of the app is less than 50MB, which includes the speech modules and the entire experience.

TN Govt public exam time table 2019 +2, +1, SSLC

71st Independence day | 20 Things to Know About Independence day

India celebrates 71 years of independence from the British rule. Here are some things you should know about the country’s bid for freedom:

1. The British East India Company came to India in 1600 to trade items including cotton, silk and tea. From a trade company, it gradually became a political ruler in the country.

2. India’s first independence movement against the British started in 1857 and is widely regarded to have been instigated by Mangal Pandey, an Indian soldier in the British East India Company. After quashing the rebellion, the British government took over the rule of India from the British East India Company.

3. The British established the Cellular Jail in Port Blair, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands off India’s eastern coast. Indian freedom fighters were deported there for punishment.

4. During British rule, India had more than 560 princely states. A princely state was autonomous but had to give allegiance to the British authorities. Some of the largest princely states were Hyderabad, Gwalior, Baroda, Mysore, Cochin, Jammu and Kashmir.

5. Kolkata, which was then known as Calcutta, was the capital of India until 1911 when the administration moved to Delhi.

6. Khudiram Bose, one of the youngest freedom fighters, was hanged by the British in 1908 when he was 19.

7. Mahatma Gandhi started his strategy of non-cooperation against British rule in 1920 in a bid to win freedom through non-violent resistance.

8. In March 1930, Gandhi, who later became known as the father of the nation, marched in protest against the British rule from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat across the state to Dandi, covering a distance of around 250 miles.

9. India’s national song “Vande Mataram,” which means “I bow to thee mother,” was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1882 in his novel “Anandamath.”

10. India also has a national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana,’ which was first sung on Dec. 27, 1911, during a meeting of the Indian National Congress party in Calcutta. The song’s title translates to, “Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people.”

11. Rabindranath Tagore, who wrote India’s national anthem, is the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize. He won it for literature  in 1913. He was the first Asian to win a Nobel Prize for Literature.

12. In 1943, Subhash Chandra Bose formed the Indian National Army to attempt to drive the British out of India.

13. The British agreed to a peaceful transfer of power, which came into effect in 1947.

14. The border between India and the newly-formed Pakistan was established by the Boundary Commission, a body appointed by Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India. The commission was headed by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, a British lawyer. Pakistan was created to provide a homeland for Muslims, but the partition led to an estimated one million deaths in communal violence after the two nations became independent.

15. On Aug. 15, 1947, the first day of India’s independence, crowds reportedly a million-strong thronged central Delhi. There were many sightings of a rainbow forming in the sky as a salute was fired to the newly-hoisted Indian tricolor. “I had never noticed how closely a rainbow could resemble the new Dominion flag of saffron, white and green,” Lord Mountbatten wrote in his official report of the event to the British government.

16. Lord Mountbatten read out a message in Delhi from Britain’s King George VI. “Freedom-loving peoples everywhere will wish to share in your celebrations,” the message said. “For with this transfer of power by consent comes the fulfillment of the great democratic ideal to which the British and Indian peoples alike are firmly dedicated.”

17. Rajendra Prasad was the first president of India.

18. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was closely working with Gandhiji and so, he was called Frontier Gandhi. Pandit Nehru writes: “There were many Muslims in the Congress. Their numbers were large and included many able men and the best-known and the most popular Muslim leaders in India were in it.

19. The Republic of Congo, Bahrain and South Korea also celebrate gaining independence on Aug 15.

20. The official Indian flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya. It initially had a spinning wheel in the middle, later replaced by the “Dharma Chakra,” which represents a wheel of law.

Facts- Learning new words2

Facts- Learning new words

Knowledge in a point - 10

Knowledge in a point - 9

Knowledge in a point - 8

• Striking up your head against a wall consumes 150 calories in 60 minutes.
• In the UK, it is unlawful to eat mince pies on Christmas Day!
• At the point when hippos were disturbed, their sweat turns red.
• "Facebook Addiction Disorder" is a mental issue recognized by Psychologists.
• 29th May is formally "Put a Pillow on Your Fridge Day".
• Cherophobia is the dread of fun.
• Human salivation has a breaking point three times that of general water.

Knowledge in a point - 7

• Water boiled in a microwave can Explode.

• Your body creates 2.4 Million red blood cells every second.

• Arthur Wynne, England invented cross word puzzle in Dec 21,1913.

Invention and Inventors :

• Cycle = Mac Millan.

• Generator = Piciontti.

• Helicopter = D’Ascanio.

• Motor Car = Karl Benz.

• Cinema(talkie) = Warne Brothers.

• Telescope = Galileo

• Gramophone = Thomas Alva Edison.

• Cement = Joseph Aspdin.

• Cinema(Film) = Lumiere Brothers.

Knowledge in a point - 6

• Leonardo Da Vinci could write with the one hand and draw with the other simultaneously.


• The Human body has about 100 trillion cells.


• An Octopus's testicles are located in its head.


• O.K stands for “oll korrect”.


• Only one satellite has ever been destroyed by a meteor.


• Queen Elizabeth of Britain sent her first Email in 1976.


• The bones of a Pigeon weigh less than its Feather.


• Japanese people don't have Middle Names.


• 80% of the World's food crops are pollinated by insects.


• 10% of with World's food supply is consumed by insects.


• A Banana contains 75% water.

Knowledge In a point - 5

• Name the country which has no cinema theatre = Saudi Arabia.

• The word ‘Pakistan’ was invented by a Cambridge student namely? = Rahmat Ali.

• Sugar bowl of India = Uttar Pardesh.

• Scotland of the East = Shilong.

• Queen of Himalayas = Darjeeling.

• City of 7 Islands = Mumbai.

• National Emblem of Germany = Cornflower.

• National Emblem of Iran = Rose.

• National Emblem of USA = Golden Rod.

• National Emblem of Sri Lanka = Lion.

• National Emblem of Italy = White Lily.

• India is home to over 200 million cows.

• Only female mosquitoes bite.

• Sharks are immune to all known diseases.

• Horses sleep standing up.

Knowledge In a point - 4

• The 1st cement factory was established in 1904 at Chennai.

• Which state is known as the land of legends? = Gujarat.

• What is the strongest force in the Universe?= Nuclear force.

• Who invented diesel engine? = Rudolf Diesel.

• Who invented Stethoscope ? = Rene Laenec.

• English became India’s official language in the year = 1835.

• All insects have 6 legs.

• Frogs cant swallow with their eyes open.

• Pearls melt in Vinegar.

• EI Nino is a sea storm.

• Which helps the flowering of plants? = Phosphorus.

• Which article is called as the soul of the Constitution = Article 32.

• In which ground did Sachin Tendulkar made his debut in one day cricket = Gujjanwala.

• The land of Humming Bird = Tonga.

• Rain contains Vitamin B12.

• When Alexander Bell passed away in 1922, every telephone served by the Bell system in the USA & Canada was silent for one minute.

Knowledge In a point - 3

• Name of the Army of Vatican = The Swiss Guard.

• The name of the second atom bomb? = Fat Man.

• Who invented Plywood? = Immanuel nobel [Father of Alfred Nobel].

• Who invented the Electrons? = JJ Thomson.

• Name the country which has no Cinema Theatres = Saudi Arabia.

• The word ‘Pakistan’ was invented by a Cambridge Student namely? = Rahmat Ali.

• The gas responsible for Bhopal Gas Tragedy was Methyl Isocynate Chemical name of washing soda is Sodium carbonate ”Black Gold” = Petroleum.

• What is the strongest force in the universe? = Nuclear Force.

• Who invented diesel engine? = Rudolf Diesel.

• Who invented Stethoscope?=Rene Laenac.

• Air consist of 78% Nitrogen , only 21% consists of oxygen. Remaining 1% consists of carbon Dioxide, Argon, Neon, Helium, Krypton, Hydrogen, Xenon & Ozone.

• Why is Nagpur called the zero mile centre? Nagpur is precisely at the Geographical centre – point of India & the zero mile marker located here.

• First person to sail round the world = Ferdinand Magellan.

• First woman to win Olympic gold = Charlotte Cooper.

• First test tube baby = Louise Joy Brown.

Knowlegde In a Point - 2

• Banana’s are the world popular fruit after tomato.

• Orange city = Nagpur.

• Pink city = Jaipur.

• Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukhtha sangha in Hubli is the only organization authorized to produce Indian national flags.

• Lighting strike the earth 100 times every second & there are on average 35 earthquakes per day.

• Longest tunnel = Jawahar Tunnel (J&K).

• Which is the largest man made lake in India = Indira Sagar Lake.

• The cells used in mobile phone are = Lithium ion cells.

• Who coined the word ‘gas’? = J.Van Helmont.

• Biggest star in our galaxy? = Proxima Centauri.

• Who designed the national flag of Italy? = Napoleon Bonapar.

• England’s first great industry was wool.

• Worker ant’s live only for 45-60 days, but queenants have been known to live as long as 29 years.

• Which is the largest Post Office in Asia? = Mumbai.

• Father of Indian Budget = Mahalanobis.

Knowlegde In a Point - 1

• An elephant's trunk contains 40000 muscles.

• Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic.

• Oldest national flag in the world = Denmark's national flag.

• The highest waterfall in India = Gersoppa(Karnataka.

• City of cycles = Beijing.

• Your heart beat 101,000 times a day. During your lifetime it will beat about 3 million times and pump about 400 million litres of blood.

• Pieces of bread were used to erase pencil marks before rubber was invented.

• Human brain uses approximately as much energy as a 20 watt.

• Oldest almost complete manuscript of the Bible still existing is the Codex Vaticanus ,dating from the 1st half of the 4Th Century, now in Vatican.

• Earth Hour is observed all over the world on March 27.