Distinguished Service Medals: PVSM, AVSM and VSM

The correct answer is C, the Param Vishisht Seva Medal. It is given for distinguished service of the most exceptional order, and the word Param marks the top step of every Indian series of decorations. Option A is wrong because the Vishisht Seva Medal is the third step of the same series, given for distinguished service of a high order. Option B is wrong because the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal stands in the middle, for distinguished service of an exceptional order. Option D is wrong because the Sena Medal is a separate award of the Army, instituted in 1960 for individual acts of gallantry or exceptional devotion to duty, with the Nao Sena Medal and the Vayu Sena Medal as its counterparts in the Navy and the Air Force. The three-step pattern is the key to the whole topic.

The correct answer is C, 1960. The medal was instituted in that year in three classes, and in 1967 the classes were given the separate names Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal. Option A is wrong because 1950 is the year in which the Param Vir Chakra, the Maha Vir Chakra and the Vir Chakra were instituted, on 26 January, with effect from 15 August 1947. Option B is wrong because 1952 is the year of the peacetime gallantry awards, then called the Ashoka Chakra Class I, Class II and Class III. Option D is wrong because 1980 is the year of the Yudh Seva medals, the wartime counterparts of the Vishisht Seva medals. Papers offer all four years together.

The correct answer is A, distinguished service during war or an operation. The three medals were instituted in 1980 and follow the same three steps as the Vishisht Seva medals, but the word Yudh in the name shows that they belong to wartime service rather than peacetime service. Option B is wrong because gallantry in the face of the enemy brings the Param Vir Chakra, the Maha Vir Chakra or the Vir Chakra. Option C is wrong because saving a life brings a Jeevan Raksha Padak, which is administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs and is open to civilians as well. Option D is wrong because long service is recognised by long service and good conduct medals, not by the Yudh Seva series. The three grades are also distinguished by the words Sarvottam, Uttam and the plain name, exactly as in the peacetime series.

The correct answer is C, a high order. The three grades of the series are worded exactly this way and questions are set on the wording alone: the most exceptional order for the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, an exceptional order for the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and a high order for the Vishisht Seva Medal. Option A is wrong because the most exceptional order belongs to the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, the highest of the three. Option B is wrong because an exceptional order belongs to the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, the middle grade. Option D is wrong because devotion in battle is not the ground for any of the three; the Vishisht Seva medals reward service in peacetime, and their wartime counterparts are the Yudh Seva medals of 1980.

The correct answer is B, the Ashoka Chakra. It is the highest peacetime gallantry award and is given for the most conspicuous bravery or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle, to members of the armed forces and to civilians alike. Option A is wrong because the Param Vir Chakra is the highest gallantry award in the face of the enemy, that is in war. Option C is wrong because the Kirti Chakra stands second in the peacetime line, below the Ashoka Chakra and above the Shaurya Chakra. Option D is wrong because the Param Vishisht Seva Medal rewards distinguished service and not gallantry, which is the distinction this topic turns on. The three peacetime awards were instituted in 1952 and renamed in 1967. Its recipients include soldiers who die defusing a bomb or fighting insurgents away from a declared war.

The correct answer is A, Major Somnath Sharma. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for the action at Badgam in Kashmir in November 1947, during the first conflict after independence, and the medal itself was instituted on 26 January 1950 with effect from 15 August 1947. Option B is wrong because Captain Vikram Batra received the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for the Kargil conflict of 1999. Option C is wrong because Subedar Joginder Singh was honoured for the conflict with China in 1962. Option D is wrong because Major Shaitan Singh was honoured for the battle of Rezang La in the same conflict of 1962. The design of the medal is credited to Savitri Khanolkar. Twenty-one Param Vir Chakras have been awarded, the majority of them posthumously, and the medal carries the state emblem surrounded by four replicas of Indra's Vajra.

The correct answer is B, the Navy. The Sena Medal, the Nao Sena Medal and the Vayu Sena Medal were instituted in 1960 for individual acts of gallantry or exceptional devotion to duty, one for each service, and the word Nao in the name marks the Navy just as Vayu marks the Air Force. Option A is wrong because the Army's award is the plain Sena Medal. Option C is wrong because the Air Force award is the Vayu Sena Medal. Option D is wrong because the medal is not reserved for the Coast Guard, which has its own decorations for gallantry and distinguished service. A question in this shape is answered by translating the name, which is why the Hindi words in these titles are worth learning.

The correct answer is B, saving or attempting to save a life. The series has three grades, the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak and the Jeevan Raksha Padak, and it is administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs and open to civilians, including children. Option A is wrong because distinguished service in an operation is rewarded by the Yudh Seva medals. Option C is wrong because work in literature and art is recognised by the Padma awards and by the awards of the national academies. Option D is wrong because gallantry in captivity is not a separate category; such acts are considered under the gallantry awards themselves. Notice once more the three-step pattern of Sarvottam, Uttam and the plain name. The award is announced by the Ministry and the certificate is signed on behalf of the President.

The correct answer is A, Republic Day and Independence Day. The two lists are announced on 26 January and on 15 August, and the medals are presented later at investiture ceremonies by the President, who is the Supreme Commander of the armed forces. Option B is wrong because Army Day on 15 January and Navy Day on 4 December are service days marked by parades and demonstrations, not the occasions for announcing the awards. Option C is wrong because Gandhi Jayanti on 2 October is not connected with military honours. Option D is wrong because Vijay Diwas on 16 December, kept for the victory of 1971, is a day of remembrance and not an announcement date. Padma awards are announced only on Republic Day. The names of the recipients appear in the Gazette of India along with the citation.

The correct answer is B, the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal for distinguished service in war. It is the second of the three Yudh Seva medals instituted in 1980, below the Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal and above the Yudh Seva Medal. Option A is wrong because the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal rewards distinguished service in peacetime and not gallantry. Option C is wrong because the Shaurya Chakra is the third of the peacetime gallantry awards, below the Ashoka Chakra and the Kirti Chakra, and has nothing to do with distinguished service. Option D is wrong because the Vir Chakra is the third wartime gallantry award, while saving a life brings a Jeevan Raksha Padak. Matching questions of this kind are decided by two words: Chakra or Seva, and Yudh or Vishisht.