Monthly Defence Current Affairs and Updates October 2020

SECTION A – MILITARY EXERCISES

Indian Navy (IN) – Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX-20 at Trincomalee

• The Eighth Edition of this exercise is scheduled off Trincomalee, Sri Lanka from 19 to 21 October 2020.
• Sri Lankan Naval Ships:
• SLN Sayura (Offshore Patrol Vessel)
• SLN Gajabahu (Training Ship)
• Sri Lankan Navy Leader: Rear Admiral Bandara Jayathilaka, the Flag Officer Commanding Naval Fleet, Sri Lanka Navy.
• Indian Naval Ships:
• INS Kamorta (Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette)
• INS Kiltan (Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette)
• Indian Navy Leader: Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, Indian Navy.
• Indian Navy Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and Chetak helicopter embarked onboard IN ships, and Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft will also be participating.

Exercise Bongosagar & CORPAT: Bilateral Exercise Between Indian Navy and Bangladesh Navy

• Bongosagar commenced in Northern Bay of Bengal on 03 October 2020.
• Exercise Bongosagar, whose first edition was held in 2019, is aimed at developing inter-operability and joint operational skills through conduct of a wide spectrum of maritime exercises and operations.
• CORPAT or Coordinated Patrol commenced from 4 to 5 October 2020.
• Indian Ships include:
• Indigenously built Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette INS Kiltan
• Indigenously built Guided Missile Corvette INS Khukri
• Bangladeshi Ships include:
• Guided Missile Frigate BNS Abu Bakr
• Guided Missile Corvette BNS Prottoy
• Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both navies and integral helicopter(s) have also participated in the exercise.

Myanmar army launches Operation Sunrise-3 to crackdown insurgent groups at Indo-Myanmar border

• National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), led by Yung Aung, is consolidating its position inside Myanmar and various NSCN groups are planning to attack Indian security forces at vulnerable points in the North East region.
• Indian foreign secretary Harsh Shringla and Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane were on a two-day visit to Myanmar this month.
• Last year, Myanmar and Indian Army had carried out the first phase of ‘Operation Sunrise -1’ between February 17 and March 2 and a three-week-long coordinated operation named ‘Operation Sunrise 2’ on May 16 in its own territory along the Indo-Myanmar border. It is said to have destroyed many camps of insurgent groups. However, the Myanmar Army is also reported to have suffered a loss in the second phase of ‘Operation Sunrise 2’.

SECTION B – INTERNATIONAL MILITARY DEALS

BECA: The deal that will make Indian missiles deadlier has finally been signed

• The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation or BECA will enable India to gain access to extremely accurate geo-spatial data.
• Previously signed agreements were:
• General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) in 2002
• Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016
• Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018
• How does BECA help?
• Signed on 28^th October 2020, it will give India access to military-grade data “that can help draw up target coordinates”.
• These military-grade coordinates can help direct missiles of air-launched bombs to a terror location in the neighbourhood with high accuracy.
• Helps in long-range navigation and missile-targeting

India – UAE agree to further defence co-operation through joint production and mutual trade

• When this took place? – India–UAE Webinar of ambassadors and senior MoD officials on 27^th October 2020
• Theme of webinar: “Indian Defence Industry Global Outreach for Collaborative Partnership: Webinar and Expo India – UAE Defence Cooperation”
• Organized by: Department of Defence Production & Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers.
• This webinar was part of the series of webinars which are being organized with friendly foreign countries in order to boost defence exports and to achieve defence export target of $5 Billion in the next five years.
• The webinar was attended by more than 180 participants and more than 100 virtual exhibition stalls were set up in the Expo.

India, Morocco plan to sign defence MoU riding on emerging strategic partnership

• This was decided when External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had a virtual meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates of the Kingdom of Morocco Nasser Bourita on 22 October 2020.
• Both sides agreed that bilateral relations have acquired considerable depth and vitality following the landmark visit of His Majesty Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco in October 2015 for the third India-Africa Forum Summit.

Cochin Shipyard, Italy’s Fincantieri sign deal for business development

• Both the companies, on 22 October 2020, have signed an agreement to cooperate in shipbuilding, repairs and training.
• Cochin Shipyard, with facilities on the East and West coasts of India, is a leader in commercial and defence shipbuilding and repairs.
• Fincantieri is one of the world’s largest shipbuilders, by virtue of building more than 7,000 vessels and operating 18 shipyards in four continents.

Trump administration and Russia near deal to freeze nuclear warheads, extend New START pact

• The United States and Russia edged toward an arms control deal on 20 October 2020 after Moscow agreed to a freeze on the number of nuclear warheads on each side and to extend the accord known as New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) for one year.
• The breakthrough came days after the two sides appeared to have nearly given up on finding a compromise and as President Trump urges his aides to bring him foreign policy wins in the final stretch of the U.S. presidential campaign.
• Russia’s Foreign Ministry put forward the proposal Tuesday, and within hours, the State Department expressed gratitude for the offer and requested an immediate meeting of negotiators.
• “We appreciate the Russian Federation’s willingness to make progress on the issue of nuclear arms control,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. “The United States is prepared to meet immediately to finalize a verifiable agreement. We expect Russia to empower its diplomats to do the same.”

SECTION C – INDIAN MILITARY REVIEWS

Army Commanders’ Conference 2020

• Army Commanders’ Conference #ACC-20 is scheduled from 26 – 29 October 20. It is an important event in planning & execution process of Indian Army.
• To ensure due diligence, decisions are taken through collegiate system comprising Army Commanders & Senior Officers.

Army officials celebrate Vigilance Awareness Week

• The Vigilance Awareness Week 2020 is being celebrated from 27 October to 2 November 2020. The is observed every year by the Central Vigilance Commission during the week in which the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (31 October) falls.
• Theme: Vigilant India, Prosperous India (Satark Bharat, Samriddh Bharat).
• COAS along with VCOAS & Army Commanders took “Integrity Pledge” to underscore the core values of honesty & integrity of the organisation.

Indian Army launches a Software for Infrastructure Management called IMS

• “Infrastructure Management System (IMS)” software was inaugurated by the COAS on the side-lines of the Army Commanders Conference on 28 October 2020.
• Objectives of the software:
• To automate works initiation, preparation of list and its approval by the MoD.
• To accord administrative approval and monitoring of execution by the CFA.
• To automate availability of CAO pool accommodation, plan vacation, re-allocation and undertake maintenance.
• To automate approval of accommodation allocation/extention for children education ground, special children and Battle/Physical casualty.
• Manage cantonment roads including emergency closure.
• Make land, works and quartering policies available online.
• Monitor land encroachment, Old Grant Bungalows, VIP references and transfer/exchange of land.

Army launches Secure Application for Internet (SAI)

• In the quest for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, Indian Army has developed a simple and secure messaging application named the “Secure Application for Internet (SAI)”.  The application supports end to end secure voice, text and video calling services for Android platform over internet.  The model is similar to commercially available messaging applications like WhatsApp, Telegram, SAMVAD and GIMS and utilises end to end encryption messaging protocol. 
• SAI scores over on security features with local in-house servers and coding which can be tweaked as per requirements.
• The application has been vetted by CERT-in empanelled auditor and Army Cyber Group.  The process for filing Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), hosting the infrastructure on NIC and working on iOS platform is currently in progress.  SAI will be utilised pan Army to facilitate secure messaging within the service.
• The Raksha Mantri after reviewing the functionalities of the App complimented Col Sai Shankar for his skill and ingenuity for developing the application.

COAS Annual Flight Safety Trophy Awarded to Army Aviation Unit Deployed in Jammu and Kashmir

• For the year 2019-20, 663 Army Aviation Squadron deployed in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir has been adjudged first. COAS awarded the Flight Safety Trophy to Commanding Officer & Subedar Major of the unit on the concluding day of the Army Commanders’ Conference.
• Chief of Army Staff (COAS) flight safety trophy has been instituted to promote the efforts towards flight safety among Indian Army aviation units.

CNS Reviews Operational Readiness at Sea

• CNS Admiral Karambir Singh, accompanied by FOC-in-C Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar, arrived at Karwar Naval Base where he interacted with personnel and emphasised key issues of repairs, maintenance, spares support, etc. on 22 October 2020.
• Thereafter departed by helicopter to embark the Carrier Battle Group, comprising Vikramaditya, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, fleet support ships and integral swing-role fighters and helicopters.
• On embarking indigenous guided-missile destroyer Chennai, he was given an operational readiness briefing by the Fleet Commander, after which weapon firings, air-to-air combat operations, anti-submarine drills and fleet manoeuvres were demonstrated under realistic conditions. CNS thereafter embarked Fleet Support Ship Deepak to interact with the ship’s crew, followed by embarkation on aircraft carrier Vikramaditya, where he witnessed the Carrier Battle Group’s capabilities for integral fleet air defence and strike.
• Addressing the combatants of the Carrier Battle Group over broadcast from Vikramaditya, CNS complimented them for continuously maintaining peak combat-readiness and high tempo of operations over the past months, in spite of COVID-19 related challenges.  The Indian Navy has remained mission-deployed and combat-ready across the IOR, even though rough seas during the monsoon period, towards maintaining the maritime security of the nation.
• He highlighted the nation’s appreciation for the Navy’s contributions in ‘Op Samudra Setu’ towards for repatriation of our distressed citizens from IOR countries and towards providing medical and logistics assistance to our friendly neighbours in the IOR, as part of ‘Mission SAGAR’. He expressed satisfaction at the high levels of motivation and reiterated that the Indian Navy has the best human capital manning our platforms.
• Giving an overview of the prevailing security situation, he stated that the Navy would continue maintaining a high-tempo of operations in coming months. He also complimented the Carrier Battle Group and its combatants for accurate and effective weapon firings, which left no doubt about the Navy’s readiness to meet any emergent contingencies. 
• CNS highlighted that tri-service synergy and coordination has peaked with establishment of the Department of Military Affairs as was visibly demonstrated in the joint response of the three Services to recent events.
• CNS also advised continued compliance of protocols by naval personnel and their families, in regard to COVID-19 pandemic.
• CNS returned to Goa on completion of activities at sea and visited the Naval Aircraft Yard.  He thereafter departed for New Delhi and was seen off by the FOC-in-C West.
• Concurrent with CNS’s review of combat readiness on the Western seaboard, the Indian Navy’s Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capability was further augmented by commissioning of ASW Corvette Kavaratti by General Manoj Mukund Naravane, Chief of the Army Staff, at Visakhapatnam, on the Eastern seaboard. Designed by the Indian Navy and built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd, Kolkata, the ship is a fine example of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• Indian Navy continues to maintain a high tempo of operations and combat-readiness despite the COVID-19 pandemic by adhering to stringent protocols onboard warships, submarines and aircraft squadrons and bases, and is fully prepared to tackle challenges in the maritime domain, in coordination with Sister Services.

Navy Operationalizes First Batch of Women Pilots

• The first batch of women pilots of Indian Navy have been operationalized on Dornier Aircraft by the Southern Naval Command (SNC) at Kochi.
• They were part of the six pilots of the 27th Dornier Operational Flying Training  (DOFT) Course, who graduated as ‘Fully operational Maritime Reconnaissance (MR) Pilots’ at a passing out ceremony held at INS Garuda, Kochi on 22 Oct 20.
• The three women pilots of first batch are Lieutenant Divya Sharma (from Malviya Nagar, New Delhi), Lieutenant Shubhangi Swaroop (from Tilhar, Uttar Pradesh) and Lieutenant Shivangi (from Muzaffarpur, Bihar).
• Rear Admiral Antony George, VSM, NM, Chief Staff Officer (Training) of SNC was the chief guest of the event and presented awards to the pilots.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police deputes first officer to head eastern command along LAC

• Additional Director General Amrit Mohan Prasad, posted at the ITBP headquarters, has been transferred and posted as the ADG of the eastern command at Guwahati.
• The command overlooks ITBP battalions posted along the LAC with China in states like Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam with frontiers at Itanagar (northeast) and Lucknow (east) and sector offices at Likabali, Tezpur, Dibrugarh, Gangtok, among others.
• The command also supervises ITBP battalions deployed for anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh.

SECTION D – SPECIAL INDUCTIONS AND ACQUISITIONS

INS Kavaratti commissioned into Indian Navy

• The last of four indigenously built Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes “INS Kavaratti” under Project 28 (Kamorta class) is commissioned into the Indian Navy by General Manoj Mukund Naravane, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC, Chief of the Army Staff at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam on Thursday, 22 October 2020.
• Touted as a potent Stealth ASW Corvette, Kavaratti is indigenously designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house organisation, Directorate of Naval Design(DND), and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, and portrays the growing capability of the Indian Navy.
• The ship has up to 90% indigenous content and the use of carbon composites for the superstructure is a commendable feat achieved in Indian shipbuilding.
• Kavaratti takes her name from erstwhile INS Kavaratti which was an Arnala class missile corvette. The older Kavaratti distinguished herself by operating in support of was Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971.

India gifts a submarine to Myanmar

• The 3,000 diesel-electric submarine INS Sindhuvir, which has been renamed UMS Minye Theinkhathu, was showcased during the Myanmar Navy’s Bandoola fleet exercise on October 15, the same day the external affairs ministry announced that India had gifted the submarine to the neighbouring country.
• “Cooperation in the maritime domain is a part of our diverse and enhanced engagement with Myanmar,” Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said while announcing earlier this month that India is giving its neighbor its first submarine — a 3,000-ton diesel-electric, Kilo class Russian-built submarine that has been refitted.
• Renamed UMS Minye Theinkhathu, a historical hero in Myanmar, the attack submarine was showcased in a naval exercise conducted by the Myanmar navy in mid-October. It can operate at a depth of up to 300 meters.
• The submarine, the first supplied by India to any country, is part of an effort by New Delhi to step up its defense engagement with Myanmar as it tries to contain China’s looming presence in a country that is a gateway to the Bay of Bengal, a strategic waterway located in the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean.
• India and Myanmar share a 725-kilometer maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. India’s decision to give an underwater vessel to its eastern neighbour comes four years after Bangladesh, which shares a border with both India and Myanmar, acquired two submarines from China. Beijing is also helping Bangladesh build a submarine base, funding the development of its Chittagong port and developing a deep-sea port in Kyaukpyu in Myanmar on the Bay of Bengal.
• Analysts say that for New Delhi these projects represent yet another bid by China to expand its naval presence in countries that ring India, prompting it to strengthen its own partnerships in the region.
• “Myanmar wants to reduce its military and economic dependence on Beijing, but in order to do that they have pointed out that they need options,” according to Pankaj Jha, a professor of defense and security studies at India’s O.P. Jindal Global University.
• “We have given them defence equipment earlier, such as naval surveillance aircraft and communication equipment which was nonlethal in nature. But recently they have been seeking more advanced equipment. So, giving a submarine is part of India’s decision to engage Myanmar much more cohesively, to build goodwill,” he said.
• Myanmar’s acquisition of a submarine comes amid a spree in recent years by small Asian countries, from Bangladesh to Vietnam, to acquire underwater capability as they seek to modernize their navies — viewed as an effort by the export-dependent countries to ensure open sea lanes.

SECTION E – ANNIVERSARIES

88^th Indian Air Force Day – 08 October 2020

• A scintillating air display by various aircraft were the hallmarks of the Air Force Day Parade cum Investiture Ceremony at Air Force Station Hindan (Ghaziabad). 
• Rehearsals for the air display commenced from 01st October 2020 (Thursday).
• Gallantry medals were awarded to IAF’s three air warriors, who participated in the Balakot operation last year.
• With the IAF’s frontline warplanes including Rafale, Su-30MKI, Apache, Tejas, ‘Gajraj’ also showcased its lethal firepower.  The general area over which the aircraft flew at low levels are Wazirpur bridge – Karwalnagar – Afjalpur –  Hindan, Shamli – Jiwana – Chandinagar – Hindan, Hapur – Philkua – Ghaziabad – Hindan.
• Indian Air Force is also known as “Bhartiya Vayu Sena” and is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. This day is celebrated for the inception of the Air Force in India to aid the Army that was fighting on the land.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated all the brave warriors of the Indian Air Force on Air Force Day.

71^st Raising Day of Territorial Army – 09 October 2020

• The modern Territorial Army was inaugurated by the first Indian Governor-General of India, C. Rajagopalachari, on 9 October 1949 after the Independence Territorial Army Act was passed in 1948.
• The annual Prime Minister’s Territorial Army Day Parade takes place on 9 October.

59^th Raising Day of ITBP – 24 October 2020

• The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is India’s primary border patrol organization with its border with Tibet (China). It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces of India, raised on 24 October 1962, under the CRPF Act, in the wake of the Sino-Indian War of 1962.
• Nickname: Him veers
• Motto: शौर्य – दृढ़ता – कर्मनिष्ठा (Valour, Steadfastness and Commitment)
• DG ITBP: Surjeet Singh Deswal

74^th Indian Army Infantry Day – 27 October 2020

• It was on October 27 in 1947, the troops of the first infantry contingent, 1 SIKH Infantry Battalion, landed at Srinagar Airfield and fought a courageous battle with regular and irregular Pakistani troops to liberate the Kashmir valley from the intruders.
• Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane paid tributes at the National War Memorial.

SECTION F – MISSILE TESTS

No.	Date of Testing	Details of the test	Launch Site
1.	03 October 2020	Another nuclear capable missile Shaurya, which is a land-based version of the Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile Sagarika or K-15 with a range of around 800 km.	Integrated Test Range (ITR) Balasore in Odisha
2.	05 October 2020	Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART) system	Integrated Test Range (ITR) Balasore in Odisha
3.	09 October 2020	India’s first indigenous anti-radiation missile named RUDRAM, developed for the Air Force (IAF), was successfully flight tested from a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet.	Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha
4.	16 October 2020	Indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile blasted off around 7.30 pm from launch complex 3. It has 350 km range.	Integrated Test Range (ITR) Balasore in Odisha
5.	17 October 2020	Naval version of the BrahMos was successfully test fired from Indian Navy’s indigenously-built stealth destroyer INS Chennai hitting a target in the Arabian Sea.	Arabian Sea
6.	19 October 2020	Stand-Off Anti-Tank Missile (SANT)	Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha
7.	22 October 2020	Final trial of the DRDO-Developed Nag ATGM Anti-Tank Guided Missile with a warhead.	Pokhran field firing ranges in Rajasthan

SECTION G – FUTURE PLANS

Indian Navy to get fifth Scorpene-class submarine from Mazagaon Dock in six months

• MDSL is working with French collaborator Naval Group (earlier known as DCNS) on transfer of technology for the submarines under Project 75 (P75) with the deal valued at over Rs 23,000 crore. This submarine is known as INS Vagir.
• Since 2017 MDSL has delivered one submarine every year to the Indian Navy. INS Khanderi was launched in 2017 followed by INS Karanj in 2018 and INS Vela in 2019.
• Due to the Covid-19 disruption, the company suffered a setback of about three months in the development of INS Vagir.
• The PSU believes it can complete deliveries of all the contracted submarines by 2022, with the last of the six, INS Vagsheer, expected to be launched by then.

In big boost to Indian Air Force, 3 more Rafale fighters to arrive in India on November 5

• Five Rafale jets flew to the Ambala airbase via Abu Dhabi on July 29 and have already been inducted into the IAF’s Squadron 17 on 10th September in the presence of French Defence Minister Florence Parly and Defence minister Rajnath Singh.
• Seven Rafale fighters are already being used for IAF fighter pilot training in France.
• The 5 Rafale jets were inducted at the IAF’s Ambala airbase on 10th September in the presence of French Defence Minister Florence Parly and Defence minister Rajnath Singh. Under the 2016 agreement, India will get 36 Rafale jet from France as part of a Rs 59000 crore deal.
• Besides, the induction of 16 additional Rafale fighters by April next year will add to the IAF’s strike capability. The 16 omni-role Rafale jet fighters will be inducted into the Golden Arrows squadron by April 2021, as per sources.
• France’s biggest jet engine maker Safran has said that it is ready to make fighter engines and ancillaries in India, according to people familiar with the matter.
• All the fighters are equipped with Mica and Meteor air-to-air missiles along with Scalp air-to-ground cruise missiles. India has now requested Safran for the air-to-ground modular weapon known as Hammer with a 250kg warhead.
• The development comes even as tensions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China continue. The Chinese build-up at the LAC remains despite a series of diplomatic and military talks.
• Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla is expected to visit France later this week during his European tour. During the visit, he will hold high-level meetings at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs with dedicated consultations on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as India prepares to be on the high table from January.
• Both sides are keen to jointly work at the UNSC when India becomes a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council starting first January 2021. France is a veto-holding permanent member of the UNSC. Shringla will also make a speech at a prominent French think tank.

SC gives time to Centre for granting permanent commission to women officers in Navy

• The Supreme Court Thursday extended till December 31 the deadline for implementation of its judgement on grant of permanent commission (PC) to women SSC officers in the Indian Navy. The top court had on March 17, maintaining that women and men officers should be treated equally, cleared PC for women in the Navy and asked the Centre to complete the modalities within three months.
• A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee said that it is extending time till December 31 for grant of PC to Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers in the Indian Navy.
• The Centre moved the application in June for extending the deadline by six months citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The bench also asked the Centre to provide Rs 25 lakh compensation each in four weeks to five Naval women officers, who were not considered for the PC besides the pensionary benefits, which had already been given to them.
• Pursuant to the top court’s verdict in February, the Centre has started the process for granting permanent commission to all women SSC officers in Indian Army.
• On March 17, in a major verdict, the top court had paved the way for granting permanent commission to women officers in Indian Navy, saying a level playing field ensures that women have the opportunity to overcome “histories of discrimination”.
• The battle for gender equality is about confronting the battles of the mind and history is replete with examples where women have been denied their just entitlements under law and the right to fair and equal treatment in the workplace, the top court had said.
• “A hundred and one excuses are no answer to the constitutional entitlement to dignity, which attaches to every individual irrespective of gender, to fair and equal conditions of work and to a level playing field,” the top court had said, giving three months to the Centre to work out the modalities.
• It had said the Centre’s contention that certain sea-going duties are ill-suited to women officers is premised on sex stereotypes that male officers are more suited to certain duties by virtue of the physiological characteristics and to accept it would be to “approve the socially ascribed gender roles which a commitment to equal worth and dignity of every individual belies”.
• The top court had quashed the prospective effect of the Centre’s controversial September 2008 policy, which restricted the grant of permanent commission to certain categories only.
• “The stipulation in the policy letter dated September 6, 2008, making it prospective and restricting its application to specified cadres/branches of the Indian Navy shall not be enforced,” the top court had said, while setting aside the implementation guidelines issued on December 3, 2008.
• “The statutory bar on the engagement or enrolment of women in the Indian Navy has been lifted to the extent envisaged in the notifications issued by the Union Government on October 9, 1991 and November 6, 1998 under Section 9(2) of the Navy Act of 1957,” it had held.
• The 1991 notification envisaged that the restriction on the appointment or enrolment of women was lifted for specified cadres/branches of the Navy, while the 1998 notification made women eligible for appointment as officers in all the branches of the Indian Navy.
• The top court said that all the SSC officers in the education, law and logistics cadres of Navy, who are presently in service, shall be considered for the grant of PC.
• The top court said that the period of service after which women SSC officers shall be entitled to submit applications for the grant of PCs shall be the same as their male counterparts.
• “A level playing field ensures that women have the opportunity to overcome their histories of discrimination with the surest of responses based on their competence, ability and performance,” it said, adding that in the context of the Armed Forces, specious reasons have been advanced by decision makers and administrators, which range from physiology, motherhood and physical attributes to the male dominated hierarchies.
• Referring to the verdict of February 17, in which PC was granted to women officers in Indian Army, the top court had said it was held that there was a need to change mindset if equality for women is to be achieved in the Armed Forces.
• It had rejected the submissions of the Centre that certain avenues such as sea-sailing duties are ill-suited for women officers as there is no return to the base, unlike in the Army and the Air Force.
• The top court had also termed as “illusory and without any foundation”, the argument that in vessels of a Russian origin which are deployed by the Indian Navy, no provision has been made for women as sailors and there are no bathrooms to accommodate them.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. The indigenously developed Laser Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) was successfully test fired on 1st Oct 2020 defeating a target located at longer range. The test was conducted from which battle tank?
2. Bhishma
3. Arjun
4. Ajeya
5. Karna

ANSWER: B

• Bongosagar exercise was followed by the 3rd edition of IN – BN Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) in Northern Bay of Bengal from
• 1 to 3 October 2020
• 4 to 6 October 2020
• 4 to 5 October 2020
• 7 to 10 October 2020

ANSWER: C

• Which among these ships of Bangladesh have recently participated in Bongosagar exercise?
• BNS Abu Bakr
• BNS Ali Haider
• BNS Osman
• BNS Nirmul

ANSWER: A

• On 03 October 2020, India successfully test-fired a new version of nuclear-capable which missile off the coast of Odisha which can strike targets at around 800 km?
• Shaurya
• Agni
• K-5
• K-6

ANSWER: A

• When did Territorial Army celebrate its 71^st Raising Day?
• 07 October 2020
• 08 October 2020
• 09 October 2020
• 10 October 2020

ANSWER: C

• A new Generation Anti-Radiation Missile was successfully Flight tested on 09 October 2020 onto a radiation target located on Wheeler Island. It is named as:
• Roshan
• Diksuchi
• Rudram
• Shauryam

ANSWER: C

• Which among the following is not correct regarding Scorpene class submarines of India?
• They are diesel electric attack submarines
• INS Vela, INS Vagsheer, INS Kalvari are some of them
• INS Vagsheer is not yet commissioned
• INS Kalvari was commissioned in 2013

ANSWER: D

• INS Kavaratti was commissioned under
• Project 26
• Project 27
• Project 28
• Project 29

ANSWER: C

• INS Kavaratti comes under which class of warships in Indian Navy?
• Arihant
• Kalvari
• Kamorta
• Vela

ANSWER: C

1. INS Kavaratti is commissioned into the Indian Navy on
2. 19 October 2020
3. 20 October 2020
4. 21 October 2020
5. 22 October 2020

ANSWER: D

1. START Pact is between which two global nations?
2. India and USA
3. USA and USSR
4. India and USSR
5. France and USA

ANSWER: B

1. The first batch of women pilots of Indian Navy have been operationalized on which Aircraft by the Southern Naval Command (SNC) at Kochi?
2. MiG 29
3. Sukhoi Su-30
4. Dornier
5. P-8I Poseidon

ANSWER: C

1. India gifted which submarine to Myanmar on October 15?
2. INS Sindhurakshak
3. INS Sindhukirti
4. INS Sindhuratna
5. INS Sindhuvir

ANSWER: D

1. Which African nation plans to sign defence MoU with India riding on emerging strategic partnership during the third India-Africa Forum Summit?
2. Somalia
3. Djibouti
4. Nigeria
5. Morocco

ANSWER: D

1. This year’s Army Commanders’ Conference is scheduled from
2. 26 – 29 October 2020
3. 20 – 23 October 2020
4. 21 – 24 October 2020
5. 24 – 27 October 2020

ANSWER: A

1. Which among these deals was signed in 2016 by India with the US?
2. General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA)
3. Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA)
4. Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA)
5. Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA)

ANSWER: B

1. Recently conducted India-UAE webinar was organized by which department of MoD along with SIDM?
2. Department of Defence Procurement
3. Department of Defence Production
4. Department of Defence Exhibition
5. Department of Military Affairs

ANSWER: B

1. Vigilance Awareness Week is observed every year by the Central Vigilance Commission during the week in which whose birth anniversary falls?
2. Mahatma Gandhi
3. Jawaharlal Nehru
4. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
5. Rajiv Gandhi

ANSWER: C

1. Infrastructure Management System (IMS) software was inaugurated by:
2. Union Minister of Defence
3. Minister of State for Defence
4. Defence Secretary
5. Chief of Army Staff

ANSWER: D

• Who developed Secure Application for Internet (SAI)?
• Colonel Sai Shankar
• Major Anoop Mishra
• Lieutenant General R K Jagga
• Major General Sunil Chandra

ANSWER: A

• For the year 2019-20, which Army Squadron deployed in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir has been awarded Annual Flight Safety Trophy?
• 661 Army Aviation Squadron
• 662 Army Aviation Squadron
• 663 Army Aviation Squadron
• 664 Army Aviation Squadron

ANSWER: C

• Recently Cochin Shipyard has signed deal for business development with which shipyard?
• Fincantieri Shipyard of Italy
• Abeking & Rasmussen of Germany
• Almaz Shipbuilding Company of Russia
• Alabama Drydock of USA

ANSWER: A