Army Day in India is observed on 15 January to mark which event?

The correct answer is C, the President of India. Article 53 of the Constitution vests the supreme command of the defence forces of the Union in the President, and the exercise of that command is regulated by law; commissions to officers are granted in the President's name. Option A is wrong because the Prime Minister heads the government and the Cabinet Committee on Security, and the President acts on ministerial advice, but the Prime Minister is not the Supreme Commander. Option B is wrong because the Defence Minister heads the Ministry of Defence, which is the administrative department for the forces, not the commander of them. Option D is wrong because the Chief of Defence Staff, a post created in 2019, is the principal military adviser to the Defence Minister and head of the Department of Military Affairs. The constitutional office is the answer examiners want.

The correct answer is B, Operation Trident. On the night of 4 December 1971 Indian missile boats attacked Karachi harbour in Operation Trident, sinking Pakistani vessels without loss, and the Navy marks the date as Navy Day. Option A is wrong because Operation Vijay is the name used both for the liberation of Goa in 1961 and for the Kargil operation of 1999, neither of which is a naval action of 4 December. Option C is wrong because Operation Cactus was the Indian intervention in the Maldives in 1988, in which the armed forces put down a coup attempt. Option D is wrong because Operation Meghdoot was the occupation of the Siachen glacier by the Army in 1984. Naval operations of 1971 are asked in pairs, so also note Operation Python, the follow up strike on Karachi.

The correct answer is B, Khadakwasla near Pune. The National Defence Academy is the only academy in which cadets of the Army, Navy and Air Force undergo joint training before moving to their own service academies for pre commission training. Option A is wrong because Dehradun is the seat of the Indian Military Academy, where Army cadets complete their training, and of the Rashtriya Indian Military College. Option C is wrong because Ezhimala in Kannur district of Kerala is the Indian Naval Academy. Option D is wrong because Wellington in the Nilgiris houses the Defence Services Staff College, a mid career institution for officers of all three services, not a cadet academy. The Air Force Academy at Dundigal near Hyderabad completes the list that examiners use for matching.

The correct answer is C, Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme was approved in 1983 and run under his leadership at the Defence Research and Development Laboratory, which is why he is called the Missile Man of India; it produced Prithvi, Agni, Trishul, Akash and Nag. Option A is wrong because Homi Bhabha was the architect of the Indian atomic energy programme and the first chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. Option B is wrong because Vikram Sarabhai founded the Indian space programme and is remembered as the father of ISRO. Option D is wrong because Raja Ramanna led the team that carried out the first nuclear test at Pokhran in 1974. Papers mix these four names in one option set, so tie the missile programme to Kalam alone.

The correct answer is A, the Brahmaputra and the Moskva. BrahMos is built by a joint venture of India and Russia, and its name joins the Brahmaputra of India with the Moskva of Russia; it is a supersonic cruise missile that flies at nearly three times the speed of sound and can be launched from land, ships, submarines and aircraft. Option B is wrong because the Mosel is a river of France and Germany and has no part in the name. Option C is wrong because the Brahmani flows in Odisha and is not the Indian half of the name, even though it sounds close. Option D is wrong because the Mahanadi is an Indian river, so it could not supply the Russian half of a joint name. Also remember that BrahMos was not one of the five IGMDP missiles.