Defence Affairs Questions for AGNIVEER ARMY

Indian Armed Forces — Structure and Commands

India has three wings: Army, Navy, and Air Force. The Supreme Commander of all three is the President of India. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was created in 2020 to integrate the three services. The Army is headed by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). India has seven Army Commands: Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, Central, South-Western, and Army Training Command (ARTRAC). The Andaman and Nicobar Command is India's first tri-service theatre command.

• President of India = Supreme Commander of Armed Forces
• CDS post created on 1 January 2020, first CDS was General Bipin Rawat
• Army has 7 Commands; HQ in Shimla (ARTRAC), Pune (Southern), Lucknow (Central), etc.
• Andaman and Nicobar Command = India's only tri-service operational command
• Integrated Theatre Commands are being planned to merge Army, Navy, Air Force regionally
• Chief of Army Staff current appointment — always check latest before exam

Important Military Exercises — India and Partners

Military exercises are very frequently asked in Agniveer Army CEE. Remember the exercise name, the partner country, and which service conducts it. Joint exercises build interoperability. Tri-service means all three wings participate together. The pattern is: Army exercises use land-warfare names, Naval exercises have sea-themed names.

• Yudh Abhyas — India-USA (Army), conducted alternately in both countries
• Shakti — India-France (Army)
• Hand in Hand — India-China (Army, paused after Galwan tensions)
• Mitra Shakti — India-Sri Lanka (Army)
• Indra — India-Russia (tri-service)
• Tasman Saber — India-Australia-USA (Naval/Air)
• Garuda Shakti — India-Indonesia (Special Forces)
• Surya Kiran — India-Nepal (Army)
• Malabar — India-USA-Japan (Naval, now includes Australia)

Missiles and Defence Systems — India's Arsenal

India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) was launched in 1983 under Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. It produced five main missiles often called PENTEX. India also has hypersonic and anti-satellite capabilities now. For the exam, match the missile to its type and range category.

• PENTEX missiles — Prithvi, Agni, Nag, Trishul, Akash (IGMDP family)
• BrahMos — India-Russia joint venture, world's fastest cruise missile, ~2.8-3 Mach
• Agni-V — intercontinental, range over 5000 km, MIRV capable
• S-400 Triumf — Russian air defence system purchased by India
• Pinaka — Indian multi-barrel rocket launcher system
• ASAT test Mission Shakti — March 2019, India shot down its own satellite

Defence Organisations and Production Bodies

India has shifted from import-dependent to Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence. The Ordnance Factory Board was converted into seven Defence Public Sector Undertakings in 2021. DRDO is the main R&D body. HAL makes aircraft including Tejas, the light combat aircraft. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approves all major purchases.

• DRDO — Defence Research and Development Organisation, under Ministry of Defence
• HAL — Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, makes Tejas, Dhruv helicopter, Hawk trainer
• BEL — Bharat Electronics Limited, makes radar and electronic warfare equipment
• GRSE, MDL, HSL — public sector shipyards for naval vessels
• Tejas Mk1A — latest variant of LCA, IAF is ordering 83 jets
• INS Vikrant — India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, commissioned 2022

Awards, Gallantry and Honours

India's highest wartime gallantry awards are Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, and Vir Chakra in that order. Peacetime gallantry awards are Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra, and Shaurya Chakra. Remember the order: Param Vir Chakra is the highest of all Indian military honours.

• Wartime highest: Param Vir Chakra (PVC) — 21 recipients so far
• Peacetime highest: Ashoka Chakra
• PVC was first awarded for actions in 1947-48 Kashmir war
• Capt Vikram Batra, Capt Manoj Pandey — PVC recipients in Kargil War 1999
• Subedar Sanjay Kumar and Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav also got PVC in Kargil

Recent Defence News — High Frequency Topics

Agniveer CEE always includes 1-2 questions from the past 12-18 months of defence news. Focus on: new inductions into Army and Navy, border infrastructure projects, and India's defence export targets. India has set a target of 35000 crore rupees in defence exports by 2025.

• INS Vikrant — first indigenous aircraft carrier, commissioned September 2022, Kochi
• Agnipath Scheme — launched June 2022, Agniveers serve 4 years, 25 percent retained
• Project Kusha — India's long-range surface-to-air missile programme
• Akash-NG — next gen version of Akash missile with better range and speed
• Defence Corridor — two corridors: Uttar Pradesh (Bundelkhand) and Tamil Nadu
• India's first homemade 155mm artillery gun: Dhanush, inducted into Army

• Confusing wartime and peacetime gallantry awards — Param Vir Chakra is wartime, Ashoka Chakra is peacetime; both are the highest in their category
• Mixing up exercise partners — Yudh Abhyas is India-USA not India-Russia; Indra is India-Russia
• Saying BrahMos is fully Indian — it is a joint venture with Russia under BrahMos Aerospace
• Forgetting that the President, not the Prime Minister, is the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces
• Confusing INS Vikrant (2022, indigenous) with the old INS Vikrant which was decommissioned in 1997

• PENTEX for IGMDP missiles: Prithvi, Agni, Nag, Trishul, Akash — think PANTAX camera but with an E
• For gallantry order: PAV-WAR (PVC, AVC, VC for war) and ACK-PEACE (Ashoka, Kirti, Shaurya for peace) — Highest to lowest in each group
• BrahMos = BRAHmaputra + MOSква (Moscow) — river + city = India + Russia joint venture
• Seven Army Commands = NEWSCTA: Northern, Eastern, Western, Southern, Central, Training (ARTRAC), Army South-Western

• Agniveer Army CEE sets 1-2 questions on current military exercises from the past year — always check the most recent Yudh Abhyas and Malabar exercise news before your exam date
• Static questions on missiles (especially BrahMos, Agni series) appear almost every year — know type, range category, and origin clearly
• Gallantry awards come as direct one-liner questions: which is highest, who received PVC in Kargil — these are free marks if you have memorised the hierarchy
• INS Vikrant commissioning and Agnipath Scheme are hot topics for 2023-2025 batches — expect at least one question combining both since they are landmarks in Indian defence
• Questions are usually single-correct MCQ with simple distractors like swapping country names in exercises or swapping missile types — read all four options before marking