Gallantry and distinguished service awards for the armed forces are announced on which two occasions each year?

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.