Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit Named 29th Chief of the Air Staff

The correct answer is 29th. The Government has appointed Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, as the twenty-ninth officer to head the Indian Air Force, and he takes charge in the rank of Air Chief Marshal from the afternoon of 31 October 2026. Options A and B name earlier numbers in the line of air chiefs and are therefore wrong, because the outgoing chief, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, retires on the same date and Air Marshal Dixit follows immediately after him rather than before him. Option D is wrong because it names the chief who will come after the present appointment, not this one. For the examination hall, remember the pairing of the name with the number and with the rank of Air Chief Marshal, since appointment questions are usually framed around exactly that pairing.

The correct answer is Vice Chief of the Air Staff. That was the appointment Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit held when the Government named him the next Chief of the Air Staff in the rank of Air Chief Marshal. Options B and C are tempting because both are posts he genuinely held, but both came earlier in his career: he was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command and also Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, before he moved to Air Headquarters as Vice Chief. Option D is wrong because the National Defence College figures in his record as an institution he studied at, along with the National Defence Academy and the Defence Staff Service College in Bangladesh, not as a command he held.

The correct answer is Param Vishisht Seva Medal, the highest of the four distinguished service decorations he holds and the one conferred on him in 2026 in recognition of exemplary service. Option A is wrong because the Vayu Sena Medal came much earlier in his career, in 2006, as a gallantry and distinguished service award of the Air Force. Option B is wrong because the Vishisht Seva Medal was awarded in 2011. Option C is wrong because the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, which sits one step below the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, was awarded in 2023. Aspirants should learn the ladder of these distinguished service awards in order, because papers often ask which of them an officer received most recently.