Defence Affairs Questions for SSC GD

Structure of Indian Armed Forces

India has three main wings of the armed forces: Army, Navy, and Air Force. Each is headed by a Chief. The overall head is the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), a post created in January 2020. The Supreme Commander of all armed forces is the President of India. The Ministry of Defence handles policy and is led by the Defence Minister.

• President of India is the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces
• Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) created on 1 January 2020 — first CDS was General Bipin Rawat
• Army HQ: New Delhi, Navy HQ: New Delhi, Air Force HQ: New Delhi
• Indian Army has 7 Commands — the largest being Southern Command (Pune)
• Integrated Theatre Commands are being planned to merge tri-service operations
• Defence Minister is currently heading the Ministry of Defence under the Cabinet

Major Defence Organisations and PSUs

India has several key defence bodies that produce weapons, conduct research, and manage procurement. DRDO is the most important one for exams. Defence PSUs like HAL, BEL, BDL are frequently asked. DRDO works under the Ministry of Defence and has over 50 labs across India.

• DRDO: Defence Research and Development Organisation — headquartered in New Delhi
• HAL: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited — makes Tejas fighter jet, Dhruv helicopter — HQ Bengaluru
• BEL: Bharat Electronics Limited — makes radars and communication systems
• OFB was dissolved in 2021 and replaced by 7 new Defence Public Sector Undertakings
• GRSE: Garden Reach Shipbuilders — builds Navy ships — located in Kolkata
• Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders — builds submarines and warships — located in Mumbai

Missile Systems of India

India has a strong missile arsenal developed mostly by DRDO. The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) was launched in 1983 under Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Remember the five original missiles by the mnemonic PANAG. These come up repeatedly in SSC GD exams.

• Prithvi: Surface-to-Surface missile — short range — used by Army
• Agni: Long-range ballistic missile — Agni V has range over 5000 km — intercontinental class
• Nag: Anti-tank missile — called Helicopter launched version HELINA
• Akash: Surface-to-Air missile — air defence — inducted in Army and Air Force
• Trishul: Short-range Surface-to-Air missile — now retired
• BrahMos: Supersonic cruise missile — joint venture of India (DRDO) and Russia — fastest cruise missile in the world

India's Nuclear Policy and Doctrine

India became a declared nuclear power after Pokhran-II tests in May 1998 under Operation Shakti. India follows a No First Use (NFU) policy, meaning India will not use nuclear weapons first. India is not a member of NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) but is part of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) discussions.

• Pokhran-I: 1974 — called Smiling Buddha — under PM Indira Gandhi
• Pokhran-II: 1998 — called Operation Shakti — under PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee
• No First Use (NFU): India will only use nuclear weapons in retaliation
• India does not sign NPT — considers it discriminatory
• Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) controls nuclear weapons — PM heads it
• INS Arihant is India's first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine — completes nuclear triad

Major Joint Military Exercises

India conducts military exercises with many countries. These are trilateral or bilateral and involve Army, Navy or Air Force. SSC GD frequently asks the name of exercise and the country involved. Remember by associating the exercise name with the country flag or a keyword.

• Yudh Abhyas: India and USA — Army exercise
• Malabar: India, USA, Japan — Naval exercise (Australia added in 2020)
• Shakti: India and France — Army exercise
• Indra: India and Russia — tri-services exercise
• Surya Kiran: India and Nepal — Army exercise
• Tasman Saber: India, USA, Australia — held in Australia
• Dharma Guardian: India and Japan — Army exercise

Important Defence Schemes and Initiatives

The Indian government has launched several schemes to boost domestic defence manufacturing and reduce imports. These are asked in SSC GD as current affairs GK. Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence is a key theme since 2020.

• Make in India in Defence: Push to manufacture weapons domestically
• Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020: New policy replacing DPP 2016
• Positive Indigenisation List: List of items that cannot be imported — must be made in India
• iDEX: Innovations for Defence Excellence — startups given funding for defence innovation
• Defence Corridors: Two corridors — Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow-Aligarh-Agra belt) and Tamil Nadu
• AGNIPATH Scheme 2022: Short-term military recruitment for 4 years — recruits called Agniveers

• Confusing Pokhran-I (1974, Smiling Buddha) with Pokhran-II (1998, Operation Shakti) — both are different events under different PMs
• Mixing up exercise names and countries — students often say Shakti is with Russia but it is with France; Indra is the Russia exercise
• Thinking CDS is the Supreme Commander — President is the Supreme Commander, CDS is only the top military advisor
• Confusing BrahMos as purely Indian — it is a joint venture with Russia, named from Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers
• Saying India signed NPT — India has never signed NPT and considers it discriminatory to non-nuclear weapon states

• PANAG mnemonic for IGMDP missiles: Prithvi, Agni, Nag, Akash, (Trishul) — think of a PANAG tree growing in India's defence field
• BrahMos name trick: BRAHmaputra + MOSkva = India + Russia partnership — the two rivers give away the two countries
• For joint exercises remember FRY RUN: France-Shakti, Russia-Indra, USA-Yudh Abhyas — these three are the most asked
• Nuclear Triad memory: Land (Agni missiles) + Sea (INS Arihant submarine) + Air (Rafale/Jaguar aircraft) — think LSA: Land Sea Air

• SSC GD 2021, 2022, and 2023 papers all had at least one question on joint military exercises — always check which country is paired with which exercise name before the exam
• Questions on AGNIPATH Scheme and Agniveers are very likely in upcoming papers since it is recent and defence-related — know the 4-year tenure and 25 percent retention rule
• Missile range questions appear in a tricky way — they give ranges and ask which missile it is. Remember Agni V has 5000 plus km range, Prithvi is short range under 300 km
• CDS creation date (1 January 2020) and first CDS name (General Bipin Rawat) is a confirmed PYQ type — also note he passed away in December 2021 in a helicopter crash
• Defence Corridors locations are frequently asked — remember UP corridor and Tamil Nadu corridor — do not confuse with industrial corridors