Current Events, Sports, Personalities & Defence Awareness

Current affairs cannot be written into a chapter and left there — anything dated goes stale. So this chapter does something more durable: it gives you the permanent scaffolding that current affairs hangs on. Which organisation does what, what the ranks and commands of the three services are, which awards exist and in what order of precedence, which trophy belongs to which sport. Fill in the year's news around that frame using the app's Current Affairs module, and a headline you read in the morning attaches itself to something instead of floating loose.

The Armed Forces — Ranks, Commands & Academies

Equivalent ranks across the three services
ArmyNavyAir Force
GeneralAdmiralAir Chief Marshal
Lieutenant GeneralVice AdmiralAir Marshal
Major GeneralRear AdmiralAir Vice Marshal
BrigadierCommodoreAir Commodore
ColonelCaptainGroup Captain
MajorLieutenant CommanderSquadron Leader
Lieutenant (entry rank)Sub LieutenantFlying Officer
⚠️ The same word means different things in different services
A Captain in the Army is well below a Captain in the Navy — the naval rank is equivalent to an Army Colonel. Similarly a Lieutenant is an entry-level officer in the Army but a Naval Lieutenant is senior to a Sub Lieutenant. Read the service before the rank. Also note the rank of Field Marshal (Army) is honorary and rare: only Sam Manekshaw and K. M. Cariappa have held it.
  • NDA, Khadakwasla (Pune) — the tri-service academy you are preparing for; three years, then service-specific training.
  • IMA Dehradun (Army), INA Ezhimala (Navy), AFA Dundigal (Air Force) — where NDA cadets go next.
  • OTA Chennai trains Short Service Commission officers.
  • The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) post was created in 2019; General Bipin Rawat was the first holder.
  • Army has seven operational commands (including a Training Command); the Andaman & Nicobar Command is India's only tri-service command.

Gallantry Awards & Civilian Honours

Gallantry awards in order of precedence
WartimePeacetime equivalent
Param Vir Chakra (highest)Ashoka Chakra
Maha Vir ChakraKirti Chakra
Vir ChakraShaurya Chakra
🧠 PVC for the enemy, Ashoka Chakra otherwise
The Param Vir Chakra is for conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy; the Ashoka Chakra is the exact peacetime counterpart, awarded for the same degree of valour away from a battlefield — for instance against terrorists inside the country. Major Somnath Sharma was the first PVC recipient (1947, Badgam, Kashmir), and it is most often awarded posthumously. On the civilian side the order is Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri.

Also worth knowing: Sena Medal / Nao Sena Medal / Vayu Sena Medal for distinguished service, and the Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal for distinguished service of the highest order during war. Days to remember: Army Day 15 January, Navy Day 4 December, Air Force Day 8 October, Kargil Vijay Diwas 26 July, Armed Forces Flag Day 7 December.

Organisations — What Each One Actually Does

Bodies whose full form and work are both asked
BodyWork / headquarters
UNFounded 1945; HQ New York; 5 permanent Security Council members with veto
WHO / UNESCO / ILOGeneva / Paris / Geneva
IMF & World BankBoth Washington DC
NATOMilitary alliance, 1949; HQ Brussels
SAARCSouth Asia, 1985; HQ Kathmandu
ASEANSouth-East Asia; HQ Jakarta
DRDO / ISRO / HALDefence R&D (New Delhi) / space (Bengaluru) / aircraft manufacture (Bengaluru)
BSF / CRPF / ITBP / Assam RiflesBorder guarding / internal security / Indo-Tibetan border / oldest paramilitary force
🎯 Missiles and platforms — group them by job, not alphabetically
Agni is the long-range ballistic family; Prithvi is short-range surface-to-surface; BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed with Russia; Akash is surface-to-air; Nag is anti-tank; Astra is air-to-air. On platforms: INS Vikrant is India's first indigenously built aircraft carrier, Tejas the indigenous light combat aircraft, and Arjun the indigenous main battle tank. Grouping by role means a new name in the news slots into a category you already hold.

Sports — Trophies, Terms & Numbers

Trophy to sport — a standard matching question
Trophy / cupSport
Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Irani CupCricket
Durand Cup, Santosh Trophy, Rovers CupFootball
Agha Khan Cup, Beighton Cup, Dhyan Chand TrophyHockey
Thomas Cup, Uber Cup, Sudirman CupBadminton
Davis Cup, WimbledonTennis
Ryder CupGolf
Swaythling CupTable tennis
  • Players per side: cricket 11, football 11, hockey 11, volleyball 6, basketball 5, kabaddi 7, polo 4.
  • India's national sport is not officially declared; hockey won eight Olympic golds, and Major Dhyan Chand is the "Wizard of Hockey" — the National Sports Day is his birthday, 29 August.
  • Highest sporting honour in India is the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna; the Arjuna Award is for consistent performance and the Dronacharya for coaching.
  • Terms placed with the right sport: love, deuce, ace → tennis; bully, penalty corner → hockey; bunker, birdie, eagle → golf; gambit, checkmate → chess.
🧠 How to prepare current affairs for a paper you sit months later
Do not try to remember the news; remember the category and the change. For any item ask three questions: who holds the post now, what changed from before, and which organisation or scheme does it belong to. A new army chief, a new missile test, a new Khel Ratna — each is a slot being refilled, and you already know the slot. Fifteen minutes a day against the frame in this chapter beats three hours of reading in the last week, and the app's Current Affairs module is designed to be used exactly that way.

Key takeaways

  • Army Captain ≠ Navy Captain — the naval rank equals an Army Colonel. Read the service first.
  • NDA Khadakwasla feeds IMA Dehradun, INA Ezhimala and AFA Dundigal.
  • Andaman & Nicobar Command is India's only tri-service command.
  • PVC is for bravery before the enemy; Ashoka Chakra is its peacetime equal.
  • Civilian order: Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri.
  • Agni ballistic, Prithvi short-range, BrahMos cruise, Akash SAM, Nag anti-tank.
  • Army Day 15 Jan, Navy Day 4 Dec, Air Force Day 8 Oct, Kargil Vijay Diwas 26 Jul.
  • For current affairs, memorise the slot and the change — not the headline.

Practice questions (8)

Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.

  1. The Navy rank of Captain is equivalent to which Army rank?

    1. Captain
    2. Major
    3. Colonel
    4. Brigadier
    Show answer

    Answer: C — Colonel

    A Naval Captain equals an Army Colonel and an Air Force Group Captain. The identical word "Captain" in the Army is a far junior rank, which is exactly the confusion this question tests.

  2. The highest peacetime gallantry award of India is the:

    1. Param Vir Chakra
    2. Ashoka Chakra
    3. Kirti Chakra
    4. Shaurya Chakra
    Show answer

    Answer: B — Ashoka Chakra

    The Ashoka Chakra is the peacetime counterpart of the Param Vir Chakra, which is awarded only for bravery in the presence of the enemy. Kirti and Shaurya Chakra rank below the Ashoka Chakra.

  3. India's only tri-service command is located at:

    1. Kochi
    2. Port Blair (Andaman & Nicobar)
    3. Visakhapatnam
    4. Udhampur
    Show answer

    Answer: B — Port Blair (Andaman & Nicobar)

    The Andaman & Nicobar Command, headquartered at Port Blair, is the only joint command of all three services. Kochi and Visakhapatnam are naval commands and Udhampur is the Army's Northern Command.

  4. BrahMos is a:

    1. Surface-to-air missile
    2. Supersonic cruise missile
    3. Intercontinental ballistic missile
    4. Anti-tank guided missile
    Show answer

    Answer: B — Supersonic cruise missile

    BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed jointly with Russia, its name combining the Brahmaputra and the Moskva. Akash is the surface-to-air system, Agni the ballistic family and Nag the anti-tank missile.

  5. The Durand Cup is associated with which sport?

    1. Hockey
    2. Cricket
    3. Football
    4. Badminton
    Show answer

    Answer: C — Football

    The Durand Cup is one of Asia's oldest football tournaments. Hockey has the Agha Khan and Beighton Cups, cricket the Ranji and Duleep Trophies, and badminton the Thomas and Uber Cups.

  6. The first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra was:

    1. Major Somnath Sharma
    2. Captain Vikram Batra
    3. Field Marshal Manekshaw
    4. Lt Arun Khetarpal
    Show answer

    Answer: A — Major Somnath Sharma

    Major Somnath Sharma received the first PVC posthumously for the action at Badgam, Kashmir, in November 1947. Vikram Batra and Arun Khetarpal are also PVC recipients but from 1999 and 1971 respectively.

  7. The headquarters of both the IMF and the World Bank is in:

    1. Geneva
    2. New York
    3. Washington DC
    4. Paris
    Show answer

    Answer: C — Washington DC

    Both are in Washington DC. New York hosts the UN itself, Geneva the WHO and ILO, and Paris UNESCO — the four cities are routinely offered together.

  8. Indian Air Force Day is observed on:

    1. 15 January
    2. 8 October
    3. 4 December
    4. 26 July
    Show answer

    Answer: B — 8 October

    8 October. The others are Army Day (15 January), Navy Day (4 December) and Kargil Vijay Diwas (26 July) — all four are worth knowing as a set.