Current affairs 05 November 2023

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurates SBI branch in Sri Lanka.

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s visit to Sri Lanka, marked by the opening of a State Bank of India branch in Trincomalee and the resumption of the 12th round of Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) talks.
• This reflects the commitment of both countries to strengthen economic ties and enhance cooperation.
• These endeavors underscore the importance of fostering collaboration in the region for mutual growth and development.

Manila tops the recently released Prime Global Cities Index.

• Real estate consultant Knight Frank India recently released the Prime Global Cities Index.
• This index has been released for the third quarter of the year 2023.
• A total of 46 cities have been included in this index.
• This index shows how much the average annual prices of prime residential or luxury homes have increased from year to year.
• Manila, the capital of Philippines, tops this index.
• Housing prices in Manila have increased by 21.2%.
• Dubai is at second place and Shanghai is at third place.
• 3 Indian cities have been included in this index.
• These cities are Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.
• Mumbai is ranked fourth in this index, Delhi is ranked 10th and Bengaluru is ranked 17th.
• San Francisco of USA is at the last i.e. 46th position.

India and UAE pen MoU to foster education connect between two countries.

• India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at bolstering their educational cooperation.
• The agreement covers various aspects, including student and faculty mobility, exchange of information, capacity development, and academic collaboration between educational institutions in both countries.

India's 1st international cruise liner "Costa Serena" departs from Mumbai.

• Costa Serena is India's 1st international cruise liner.
• This cruise liner started its journey from Mumbai Port.
• Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal launched this cruise.
• Costa Cruises will carry approximately 45,000 passengers to their destinations over the next two months.
• The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is focusing heavily on putting India on the world cruising map.
• The ministry at the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 has set a target of carrying 50 million cruise passengers in India by 2047.

Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has unveiled his statue at Wankhede Stadium.

• Wankhede Stadium is a cricket stadium located in Mumbai.
• Recently Sachin Tendulkar has unveiled his statue at Wankhede Stadium.
• This statue was unveiled before the India-Sri Lanka match.
• This statue has been created by the famous painter Pramod Kamble of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.
• Sachin Tendulkar played the last match of his cricket career at Wankhede Stadium in November 2013.
• Sachin Tendulkar is the only batsman in the world to score 100 centuries in cricket history.
• Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was present at the unveiling of the statue.