3-4 June 2014 Current Affairs

1) The fifth Indo-French bilateral air exercise named ‘Garuda-V’ began on 2 June 2014. This exercise is aimed at enhancing operational cooperation and validating capabilities. The exercise will involve the assets of Indian Air Force (IAF’s) main operational formations, including the Gandhinagar-based South Western Air Command and the Allahabad-based Central Air Command. Where is ‘Garuda-V’ being held? – Jodhpur Air Base, Rajasthan (Frontline fighter aircraft of the IAF, including the SU 30, Mig-27 (UPG), MIG- 21 Bison, and force multipliers such as the AWACS and Flight Refueller Aircraft IL 78 are participating while the French have fielded their frontline Rafale Fighter aircraft along with the KC 135 Refueller. The exercise, whose previous edition was held at Istres, France, in 2010 will end on 13 June 2014) ……………………………………………. 2) Congress President on 2 June 2014 nominated whom as party’s leader in the Lok Sabha? – Mallikarjun Kharge, the Lok Sabha member of Congress from Karnataka (Kharge is the former Rail Minister and was nominated after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was apparently reluctant to take on the responsibility of leading his party in the Lok Sabha) ……………………………………………. 3) King Juan Carlos, who on 2 June 2014 announced his decision to abdicate his throne, is the head of which country’s royal family? – Spain (Juan Carlos announced abdication in favour of his son, the 46-year-old Crown Prince Felipe.King Carlos has been on the throne for 39 years and led Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy. However, in the recent years his popularity has taken a big blow following numerous royal scandals and controversies) ……………………………………………. 4) Which international airlines for the first time introduced regular commercial services of Airbus’ mega passenger aircraft A-380 in India recently? – Singapore Airlines (Singapore Airlines on 30 May 2014 became the first to operate the world’s largest passenger carrier aircraft to India. Regular operations of A-380 in India became a reality after the government in January 2014 allowed Airbus A380 to fly into the country. The civil aviation ministry had lifted the ban imposed in 2008 on the ground that operation of A-380s could work against the interest of Indian passenger carriers. At present only four airports – Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore – have the required infrastructure for handling A-380 operations. The A-380 super jumbo can accommodate up to 853 passengers in a single- class configuration and a capacity of 525 passengers in a three-class configuration) ……………………………………………. 5) What is the name of the US Army soldier who was in the captivity of the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network in Afghanistan from June 2009 until his release on May 31, 2014? – Bowe Robert Bergdahl (Bergdahl was the only known US prisoner of war in Afghanistan. His release was brokered by the American, Qatar and Afghanistan governments with the Taliban, in exchange for five detainees) ……………………………………………. 6) Which port overtook Kochi port to become the largest marine exporting port of India (in terms of value) during 2013-14? – Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (Vishakhapatnam, also known as Vizag port, clocked a revenue of Rs. 6,825.64 crore, a growth of 104% vis-a-vis last fiscal. Kochi port registered 37% growth in revenue at Rs. 4,491 crore and stood at second position among all the major ports of India. It is understood that export of vannamei shrimps, a high value aquaculture product mainly farmed in Andhra Pradesh, have contributed substantially to the higher earnings of Vizag port) ……………………………………………. 7) Which port belonging to the private sector continued to retain the foremost position in marine exports among the major ports in terms of quantity during 2013-14? – Pipavav Port (During 2013-13 Pipavav Port’s share of exports was 25.27 per cent out of the total 9,83,756 tonnes seafood exported from the country. The port handled 2,48,621 tonnes of marine products during 2013-14 against 2,33,738 tonnes in the previous fiscal, an increase of 6.37%. Kochi handled 1,60,798 tones whereas the figure of Vizag was 1,02,146 tonnes)