Police Medals and Civilian Bravery Awards: Jeevan Raksha Padak

The correct answer is B, Three. The series runs as the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak and the Jeevan Raksha Padak, in descending order, the class depending on how great the danger to the rescuer's own life was. Option A is wrong because two classes would leave out the middle grade, Uttam, which is a real and separately notified award. Option C is wrong because no fourth class exists, although candidates sometimes count the Kabir Puraskar as a fourth; that is a different award for courage during communal violence, and it too has three classes. Option D is wrong because five is the number of classes in no award of this family. The three-class pattern is worth noting as a habit of Indian awards: the wartime and peacetime gallantry Chakras also come in threes.

The correct answer is C, Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, given for conspicuous courage where the danger to the rescuer's own life was very great. Option A is wrong because the plain Jeevan Raksha Padak is the third and lowest class, given where the rescuer risked grave bodily injury. Option B is wrong because the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak is the middle class, for a rescue where the danger to life was great but not of the highest degree. Option D is wrong because no award called Param Jeevan Raksha Padak exists; the word Param belongs to the Param Vir Chakra, the highest wartime gallantry award, and it is placed here precisely to tempt a candidate who remembers that series instead. The order to memorise is Sarvottam, then Uttam, then the plain Padak.

The correct answer is C, 1961. The series was instituted that year to recognise acts of a humane nature in saving life from drowning, fire, electrocution, mine accidents and similar danger, and it is administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Option A is wrong because 1950 is the year the wartime gallantry awards, the Param Vir Chakra, the Maha Vir Chakra and the Vir Chakra, were instituted, with effect from 26 January 1950. Option B is wrong because 1954 is the year the Bharat Ratna and the Padma awards were instituted, a date often swapped with this one. Option D is wrong because 1972 belongs to no award of this family. The dates worth holding together in this topic are 1950 for the Chakras, 1954 for the civilian honours, 1951 for the police medals, 1957 for the children's bravery award and 1961 for the Jeevan Raksha Padak.

The correct answer is B, Ministry of Home Affairs, which administers the Jeevan Raksha Padak series along with the police, fire service, home guard and correctional service medals and the Kabir Puraskar. Option A is wrong because the Ministry of Defence deals with the gallantry Chakras and the distinguished service decorations of the armed forces, not with the civilian life-saving awards. Option C is wrong because the Ministry of Women and Child Development runs the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, under which bravery by children is now recognised, which makes it the most plausible wrong answer here. Option D is wrong because the Ministry of Culture handles cultural honours and institutions rather than awards for courage. Grouping the awards by ministry is the quickest way to answer a whole set of questions on this topic.

The correct answer is B, Ashoka Chakra. The peacetime gallantry awards run as the Ashoka Chakra, the Kirti Chakra and the Shaurya Chakra in descending order, and the Ashoka Chakra may be conferred on civilians as well as on members of the armed forces, which is what makes it relevant to a question on civilian bravery. Option A is wrong because the Param Vir Chakra is the highest wartime gallantry award, given for the most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy. Option C is wrong because the Kirti Chakra is the second of the peacetime series and Option D is wrong because the Shaurya Chakra is the third. The distinction the examiner is testing is wartime against peacetime: Param Vir, Maha Vir and Vir Chakra in war, Ashoka, Kirti and Shaurya Chakra in peace.

The correct answer is A, Saving lives of members of another community during communal violence. The Kabir Puraskar, administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs and named after the poet who stood outside sectarian division, is given for conspicuous courage and humanity in saving the lives and property of members of another community during communal riots, and it too has three classes. Option B is wrong because literary honours are given by the Sahitya Akademi and the Jnanpith, and no literary award carries this name and purpose. Option C is wrong because handloom and craft work are recognised by the Sant Kabir Award and similar awards of the textile ministry, a genuinely confusing neighbour since the names are close; read the stem for the field. Option D is wrong because children's bravery is recognised under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.

The correct answer is C, Ashoka Chakra. It is the highest peacetime gallantry award and is expressly open to civilians as well as to service personnel, which is why civilians who have fought armed attackers have received it. Option A is wrong because the Param Vir Chakra, like the rest of its series, is for gallantry in the presence of the enemy and belongs to the armed forces. Option B is wrong for the same reason, the Vir Chakra being the third of the wartime series. Option D is wrong on the nature of the act rather than on the question of civilians: the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak is indeed a civilian award, but it is given for saving a life from drowning, fire or a similar danger, not for gallantry against an adversary. Reading the act correctly, rescue or combat, decides every question of this kind.

The correct answer is A, The Indian Council for Child Welfare, a voluntary organisation that ran the scheme from 1957 and gave within it the Bharat Award as the highest, the Geeta Chopra Award for a girl and the Sanjay Chopra Award for a boy, named after the sister and brother killed in a kidnapping in Delhi in 1978, and the Bapu Gaidhani Awards. Option B is wrong because the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is a statutory body for the protection of child rights and does not confer these awards. Option C is wrong because the Ministry of Home Affairs runs the Jeevan Raksha Padak and the police medals, not the children's award. Option D is wrong because the Bharat Scouts and Guides is a youth movement with awards of its own. Since 2018 bravery by children has been recognised under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.

The correct answer is B, President's Police Medal for Gallantry. In each of the two columns of police awards the medal carrying the President's name is the senior one, so the President's Police Medal for Gallantry, given for a rare and conspicuous act of gallantry, stands above the Police Medal for Gallantry. Option A is wrong for that reason, being the junior gallantry medal. Options C and D are wrong because they belong to the other column altogether: the Police Medal for Meritorious Service and the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service are service awards, given for a record of service rather than for a single brave act, and within that column too the President's medal is the higher. Learning the two columns, gallantry and service, with the President's name marking the senior award in each, answers the whole group.

The correct answer is B, Independence Day. The Ministry of Home Affairs announces the Jeevan Raksha Padak series on 15 August each year, and the medal with its certificate is then presented to the recipient by the state government, union territory administration or ministry concerned rather than at a single investiture in Delhi. Option A is wrong for this series, although Republic Day is the day on which the Padma awards are announced and on which gallantry awards are presented, which is the source of the confusion. Option C is wrong because Gandhi Jayanti, 2 October, carries no award announcement of this kind. Option D is wrong because Constitution Day, 26 November, marks the adoption of the Constitution in 1949 and is an observance rather than an award occasion. Police gallantry medals, by contrast, are announced on both Independence Day and Republic Day.

The correct answer is A, Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, administered by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, in which bravery is one of the categories of the Bal Shakti Puraskar, alongside innovation, scholastic achievement, social service, art and culture, and sport; the Bal Kalyan Puraskar in the same scheme honours adults and institutions working for children. Option B is wrong because the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar recognises organisations that promote sport. Option C is wrong as the scheme for children specifically, because although a child may receive a Jeevan Raksha Padak for saving a life, that series is open to any person and is not a children's award. Option D is wrong because the National Communal Harmony Award recognises work for harmony between communities rather than an act of bravery by a child.