NIACL AO Mains General Awareness | 22nd February 2019

Legendary filmmaker Mrinal Sen passed away at the age of 95 in Kolkata. He was a Padma Bhushan and Dada Saheb Phalke awardee.

Ross island of Andaman and Nicobar has been renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep.

India’s stylish opener Smriti Mandhana has been named as the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Cricketer of the Year. The 22-year-old, who has also been named as the ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year, achieved the feat by giving some exceptional performances throughout the year.

Australia’s wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy voted ICC Women’s T20I Player of the Year.

The Republic of Seychelles launched the world’s first Sovereign Blue Bond, a financial instrument designed to support sustainable marine and fisheries projects. The bond raised USD 15 million from international investors. The bond demonstrates the potential for countries to harness capital markets for financing the sustainable use of marine resources.

The Rs. 100-crore train is the first long-distance train, without a separate locomotive (engine).

India jumped 23 positions in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index 2019 and is now ranked 77 out of 190 countries in 2018, a development that could help the country attract more foreign investments. It was ranked 100 in 2017.

ESAF small finance bank has got RBI approval to operate as a scheduled bank. This makes ESAF small finance bank (SFB) the fifth scheduled bank from Kerala. The headquarters of ESAF SFB is located at Thrissur.

The three renamed islands of Andaman and Nicobar are: 1: Ross renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, 2: Neil renamed as Shaheed Dweep, 3: Havelock renamed as Swaraj Dweep.

Jair Bolsonaro was sworn in as Brazil’s President in a ceremony at Brazil’s National Congress Building. Bolsonaro is a former Army captain and admirer of the country’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship.

The Reserve Bank of India releases India's Financial Stability Report (FSR). The FSR reflects the collective assessment of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on risks to financial stability, as also the resilience of the financial system. The Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) is released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

World Soil Day is celebrated annually on the 5th of December at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome, the regional offices and through national and local events. #StopSoilPollution is the objective of this World Soil Day on 5 December and throughout the year.

India decided to go to space when Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was set up by the Government of India in 1962. With the visionary Dr Vikram Sarabhai at its helm, INCOSPAR set up the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in Thiruvananthapuram for upper atmospheric research. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was formed in 1969, superseded the erstwhile INCOSPAR.

As per the Financial Stability Report, The asset quality of banks showed an improvement with the gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio of SCBs declining from 11.5% in March 2018 to 10.8% in September 2018. Under the baseline scenario, the GNPA ratio may decline from 10.8% in September 2018 to 10.3% in March 2019.