INDIAN ARMY YEARLY REVIEW 2021

Swarnim Vijay Varsh: 

• To commemorate 50 Glorious Years of the 1971 War and the creation of a new state, Bangladesh, Swarnim Vijay Varsh was celebrated all across the country. On 3rd December 1971, Pakistan launched unprovoked surprise air attacks on several Western sector airbases.
• On 16 December 1971, nearly 93,000 Pakistani military and government officials, led by Lt Gen. A.A.K. Niazi, commander of East Pakistan, surrendered before the Indian Army, ending the war that began on 3 December. This was the largest surrender by an army since World War II.

Swarnim Vijay Varsh: War Hero’s

• It is the only war that India fought with heavy fighting in both the eastern and western sectors.
• In fact, the four Param Vir Chakras awarded for the 1971 war went to Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, Major Hoshiar Singh, Lance Naik Albert Ekka, and Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, who fought in the western sector & Ekka in the eastern sector.

• Lt Colonel Zahir has been conferred with the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards in India, in recognition of his sacrifices and contribution to India’s success in the 1971 war against Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

Swarnim Vijay Varsha: Generals of India in 1971 War

• Air Chief Marshal Pratap Chandra Lal was the Chief of Air Staff of the IAF during the War of 1971.
• Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda was an Indian Navy admiral during the War of 1971. Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was the Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army during the War of 1971.
  

Implementation Of Jointness Among Three Services

• Studies on tailor-made Theatre Commands are progressing satisfactorily to enhance jointness and integration amongst the three Services.
• The integrated maritime theatre command (MTC), air defense command (ADC), and two land-based commands for Pakistan and China will all take concrete shape.
• The western theatre command (WTC) will have its headquarters at Jaipur, while the MTC will come up in Karwar. The eastern theatre command (ETC) will be based either at Kolkata or Lucknow, with the ADC at Gandhinagar or Allahabad.
• At present, India has as many as 17 single-service commands (Army 7, IAF 7, and Navy 3), which have very little synergy in planning and operations.

Cooperation With Armies of Friendly Countries

• Army to Army relations with other friendly countries are deeply valuable and well established. It permeates all interactions and exchanges with officers and men of both Armies. High-level visits from both sides are an upshot of such relations.
• The spectrum of cooperation with these countries has expanded to include technical cooperation and training in niche areas.
• The Indian Army is committed to supporting the armies of the neighborhood in the areas of cooperation requested by them.
• Owing to the Indian Army’s standards of training, professional expertise, and reliable Defense technology, cooperation is being sought by these countries with the Indian Army and associated services.
• When necessary, we have walked that extra mile to accommodate the requests of our neighbors.  Defense cooperation with India’s strategic partners is focused on the field of Defense technology to support the ‘Make in India’ program and the capability development of the Indian Army.

UN Peacekeeping Operations

• The Indian Army currently has approximately 5,300 personnel deployed in eight United Nations (UN) Missions and is currently the third-largest troop contributor to the UN.

HADR Efforts of The Indian Army

• The Indian Army’s expertise in HADR Operations is well established and appreciated within India and abroad.
• The Army recently conducted PANEX 21 (Pandemic Exercise) for BIMSTEC countries in Dec 2021 and Ex KONKAN SHAKTI with the UK in November 2021 on HADR.

Modernization Of the Indian Army

• AKASH System, Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missiles (QRSAM), Main Battle Tank Arjun, BrahMos Missiles system, Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), and Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) helicopters are fine examples of Indian industry’s indigenously designed Hi-Tech and modern equipment.
• A total of 62 contracts valued at Rs 93,253 crore were signed during the last 3-4 years. In addition to the contracts concluded, currently, 94 schemes valued at Rs 1,52,387 crores are at various stages of the procurement process.

Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

• Several indigenous design and development projects have been completed with exclusive proprietary rights with the Indian industry.
• The focus areas are multi capacity drones/UAVs, counter-drone/UAV systems with various capacities, more accurate small arms, better protective equipment, longer reach, and advanced Artillery weapon systems, Air Defence systems covering the entire range of threat spectrum, more potent and futuristic Electronic Warfare measures and better communication.

Increase in Proportion of Award of Honorary Commission

• An increase in the proportion of Award of Honorary Commission (Hony Lt and equivalents ranks in other services) from 12 per thousand candidates to 15 per thousand candidates has been undertaken as of 13 Aug 2021.
• This has led to the larger number of Junior Commissioned Officers retiring with higher ranks and financial benefits.

Permanent Commission to Women

• To provide equal opportunities to women, the Indian Army has granted Permanent Commission (PC) to women officers at par with their male counterparts.
• PC to Women Officers in junior batches has also commenced, in which they are considered for PC in their 10th year of service.
• A total of 1,700 women soldiers are planned to be inducted into the Corps of Military Police at the rate of 100 women per year (for 17 years). The first batch of women soldiers has successfully joined their units.

Women Candidates At NDA

• Government has now allowed girls to appear in NDA Exam.
• The necessary administrative training and policy changes have been made. The NDA June 2022 course will have the first batch of women cadets.

Setting Up Of 100 New Sainik Schools

• Government has approved a scheme for the setting of Sainik Schools in partnership with NGO’s/Private schools/State Governments, etc. on an affiliation basis.
• In the first phase, it is proposed to have 100 Sainik Schools with 2-3 Schools from each State/UT, in a graded manner class-wise, starting from Class 6 onwards

Admission Of Girl Cadets In Sainik Schools

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced during his Independence Day speech 2021 that all Sainik Schools will now be open for girls.
• Following the announcement, all the Sainik Schools have admitted to girls and more than 350 girls have been admitted so far.

Making India Proud In Tokyo Olympics

• The Indian Army constantly endeavored to encourage young sporting talent as part of ‘Mission Olympics’ and the effort paid off with one Gold Medal bagged by Subedar Neeraj Chopra.

Important Inductions By Indian Army

Handing over & Supply order of Main Battle Tank Arjun Mk-1A

• The MBT Arjun Mk-1A is incorporated with many versatile & improved features over Mk-1, which makes it a much more superior battle tank. Crew comfort, advanced land navigation system & enhanced night vision capabilities for both tank commander & driver are some of the progressions, highly potent and dependable war-fighting machine.
• The MBT ‘Arjun’ Mk-1A was handed over to the Indian Army by Prime Minister on 14 Feb 2021 and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) placed an order with Heavy Vehicles Factory (VHF), Avadi, Chennai for the supply of 118 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) Arjun Mk-1A for the Indian Army on September 23, 2021.

Handing over of DRDO developed products to Armed Forces

• Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh handed over five Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed products to the Armed forces and other security agencies at an event held at DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi on 14 December 2021, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations and iconic week of Ministry of Defence.

Handing over of DRDO developed products to Armed Forces

• He also handed over six Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreements to seven public and private sector companies. Products handed over to the Armed Forces & Ministry of Home Affairs are the Anti-Drone system, Modular Bridge, Smart Anti Airfield Weapon.

Production lot of 12 Short Span Bridging System (SSBS) -10m inducted into Indian Army

• The SSBS-10 m plays a crucial role in bridging the gaps as a single span providing a wide, fully decked roadway, ensuring faster movement of the troops. This bridging system is compatible with Sarvatra Bridging System. The system will help in the quick movement of troops and enhance the mobilization of resources.

Man-Portable Anti-tank Guided Missile (MPATGM)

• In a major boost towards Atmanirbhar Bharat and strengthening of Indian Army, DRDO flight-tested the indigenously developed low weight, fire and forget Man-Portable Antitank Guided Missile (MPATGM).
• The missile incorporates a state-of-the-art Miniaturized Infrared Imaging Seeker along with advanced avionics.

Enhanced Range 122mm Caliber Rocket

• DRDO) successfully test-fired enhanced range versions of indigenously developed 122mm Caliber Rocket from a Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) on 25 June 2021.
•  These rockets have been developed for Army applications & can destroy targets up to 40 km. It is developed jointly by the Pune-based Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL).

Flight Trials of ABHYAS -High-Speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT)

• ABHYAS is an expendable high-speed unmanned aerial target, being developed by DRDO.
• Three successful flight trials of ABHYAS were conducted from ITR Balasore, Odisha.

First indigenous 9mm Machine Pistol jointly developed by DRDO and Indian Army

• Infantry School, Mhow, and DRDO’s Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune jointly designed and developed the 9 mm Machine Pistol in a record time of four months.
• The weapon has huge potential as a personal weapon for heavy weapon detachments, commanders’ tanks, and aircraft crews, drivers/dispatch riders, radio/radar operators, closed quarter battle, counterinsurgency, and counter-terrorism operations, etc. The weapon is named “Asmi” meaning “Pride”, “Self-Respect” and “Hard Work”.

Light Weight Bullet Proof Jacket

• To make the soldiers more comfortable, a lightweight Bullet Proof Jacket (BPJ) weighing 9.0 kilogram, has been developed for the Indian Army.
• The importance of this vital development lies in the fact that each gram of BPJ weight reduction is crucial in enhancing soldier comfort while ensuring survivability. This technology reduces the weight of the medium-sized BPJ from 10.4 to 9.0 kg.

Important Exercises by Indian Army

Indo-Maldives Joint Military Exercises Codenamed ‘Ex-Ekuverin’

• Indian Army’s contingent and the Maldives contingent participated in the Indo-Maldives joint military exercises codenamed ‘Ex-Ekuverin’. 11th Edition of Exercise EKUVERIN between India & Maldives conducted at Kadhdhoo Island, Maldives from 06 to 19 December 2021.

Indo France Joint Military Exercise “Ex Shakti 2021” Culminates In France

• 6th Edition of biennial Indo – France military exercise “Ex SHAKTI- 2021” culminated on 25 November 2021.

Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Military Exercise ‘Mitra Shakti’ Culminates In Ampara, Sri Lanka

• The 8th Edition of the joint military exercise between the Indian Army and the Sri Lankan Army, Exercise MITRA SHAKTI which was conducted from 04 – 16 October 2021, culminated at Combat Training School, Ampara.

Indo-US Joint Military Exercise “Ex Yudh Abhyas 2021”

• Indo-US Defence Cooperation, the Joint Military Training Exercise “Ex Yudh Abhyas 2021” will be conducted at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska (USA) from 15 to 29 October 2021.

Indo – Kazakhstan Joint Military Exercise Kazind-21

• India – Kazakhstan joint military exercise “KAZIND-21” commenced at Training Node Aisha Bibi, Kazakhstan. This is the 5th Edition of the Annual bilateral joint exercise.
• The fourth edition of the exercise was held at Pithoragarh, India in Sep 2019.

Indo-Russia Joint Military Exercise INDRA 2021

• 12th Edition of Indo-Russia joint military Exercise INDRA 2021 held at Volgograd, Russia from 01 to 13 August 2021.

Indian Army Participated In Multinational Military Exercise ‘Shanti Ogroshena 2021’

• Multinational Military Exercise SHANTIR OGROSHENA 2021 (Front Runner of the Peace) was held in Bangladesh to commemorate the birth centenary of Bangladesh ‘Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and mark glorious 50 years of liberation.

Exercise Ajeya Warrior

• The 6th Edition of India – UK Joint Company Level Military Training EXERCISE AJEYA WARRIOR has commenced at Chaubatia, Uttarakhand, and culminated on 20 Oct 2021.

SCO Exercise Peaceful Mission 2021

• Joint Counter Terrorism Exercise PEACEFUL MISSION  is a Multilateral Exercise conducted biennially as part of military diplomacy between SCO member states.
• The 6th edition of Exercise PEACEFUL MISSION is being hosted by Russia in the Orenburg Region of southwest Russia from 13 to 25 September 2021.

Exercise Dakshin Shakti

• Conducted by the Southern Command of Indian Army to ensure integrated application of forces in Multi-Domain Operations and upholding the Nation’s military aims over the entire spectrum of conflict.

Indo – Nepal Joint Exercise Surya Kiran

• 15th Edition of Indo – Nepal Joint Military Training, Exercise Surya Kiran between Indian Army and Nepali Army commenced from 20 September 2021 at Pithoragarh (UK).

Exercise ZAPAD-2021 Culminated At Novgorod, Russia

• Exercise ZAPAD-2021, a seven-day long Multilateral ‘Joint Strategic Exercise’ which saw participation from seven countries culminated today at Mulino in the Novgorod Region of Russia.

Exercise DUSTLIK II

• In the Indo-Uzbek Joint Exercise Dustlik-ll was conducted at the Foreign Training Node, Chaubatia, Ranikhet, India. The exercise is based on counter-terrorist operations and aims at enhancing military cooperation.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

• What is the rank of Neeraj Chopra in the Indian Army? 
• Subedar
• Havildar
• Lance Naik
• Subedar Major

 ANSWER: A

• ARMY DAY Parade every year held on
• 12 January
• 13 January
• 14 January
• 15 January

ANSWER: D

• The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is a notional demarcation line that separates
• India-China Border
• India-Pakistan Border
• India-Bhutan Border
• India-Afghanistan Border

ANSWER: A

• Indigenously developed next-generation Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance Vehicle developed by
• HAL
• DRDO
• ISRO
• None of the above

ANSWER: B

• To commemorate 50 Glorious Years of 1971 War and the creation of a ___state, Swarnim Vijay Varsh was celebrated across the country.  
• Bangladesh
• Pakistan
• Bhutan
• India

ANSWER: B

• Tri-Services command of India is located at__  
• Kerala
• Andhra Pradesh
• New Delhi
• Andaman & Nicobar

ANSWER: B

• Current Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee 
• Bipin Rawat
• M N Naravane
• R Hari Kumar
• V R Chaudhary

ANSWER: B

• Ex KONKAN SHAKTI is held b/w
• India-China
• India-Sri Lanka
• India-Bhutan
• India-U. K

ANSWER: B

• Who was The Defence Minister of India In The Year Of 1971?
• Swaran Singh
• Indira Gandhi
• Jagjivan Ram
• V.K Krishnan Menon

ANSWER: C

• Akash is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile system developed by the___
• HAL
• TATA
• Mahindra
• DRDO

ANSWER: D

• Which Indian won the gold medal in Tokyo Olympics 2021
• Sania Nehwal
• Neeraj Chopra
• Sunil Chhetri
• Rani Rampal

ANSWER: B

• Current Defence Secretary of India is ___
• Ajay Kumar
• B. Anand
• Subhash Garg
• Sanjeevanee Kutty

ANSWER: A

• National War Memorial is located at?
• Gurugram
• Ladakh
• New Delhi
• Mumbai

ANSWER: A

• Indian Army has recently established the Quantum Lab at
• Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Mhow (MP)
• Dholpur Military School
• Indian National Defence University
• Army Air Defence College

ANSWER: A

• What is the code name of the first nuclear test of India?
• Smiling Buddha
• Project 596
• Shakti 1 – 1
• Chagai 1¬-1

ANSWER: A

• General _______ has served as the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army?
• General Sam Manekshaw
• General Arjan Singh
• General K. M. Cariappa
• General Maharaj Rajendra Sinhji

ANSWER: C

• Name the security force which does not fall under the Union Home ministry
• Sashastra Seema Bal
• Border Security Force
• Railway Protection Force
• Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force

ANSWER: C

• Indra Exercise held b/w India &
• Japan
• THE USA
• China
• Russia

ANSWER: C

• Yudha Exercise held b/w India &
• Japan
• THE USA
• China
• Russia

ANSWER: C

• Khanjar Exercise held b/w India &
• Kyrgyzstan
• THE USA
• China
• Russia

ANSWER: A

• KazInd Exercise held b/w India &
• Kyrgyzstan
• Kazakhstan
• China
• Russia

ANSWER: B

• ‘Ex- Ekuverin’ held b/w India &
• Kyrgyzstan
• Kazakhstan
• Indonesia
• The Maldives

ANSWER: D

• With which country does India conduct a joint military exercise named “Exercise SAMPRITI”?
• Indonesia
• Bangladesh
• Sri Lanka
• Nepal

ANSWER: D

• Nomadic Elephant’ is a joint military exercise between India and
• China
• Mongolia
• Vietnam
• Bhutan

ANSWER: B

• S-400 Air defense missile system is designed & developed by
• Turkey
• Russia
• North Korea
•  China

ANSWER: B

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