UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Raksha Mantri flags-in first-ever Tri-service all-women circumnavigation sailing expedition
Q1. 'Samudra Pradakshina', flagged off in September 2025 aboard IASV Triveni, holds which one of the following distinctions?
- A. India's first all-women naval circumnavigation of the globe
- B. India's first double-handed all-women circumnavigation of the globe
- C. The world's first tri-service all-women circumnavigation sailing expedition
- D. India's first solo all-women circumnavigation of the globe
Q2. The prefix 'IASV' in 'IASV Triveni', the vessel used for Samudra Pradakshina, denotes that the yacht is which one of the following?
- A. An Indian Armed Services Vessel operated jointly by all three Services
- B. An Integrated Armed Services Vessel of the tri-service command
- C. An Indian Auxiliary Sailing Vessel of the Coast Guard
- D. An Indian Army Sailing Vessel owned by the Indian Army
Q3. Under which Union Ministry was the Samudra Pradakshina circumnavigation organised and flagged in on its completion in July 2026?
- A. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
- B. Ministry of Defence
- C. Ministry of Earth Sciences
- D. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Q4. Of the three Great Capes rounded during Samudra Pradakshina, which one is the southernmost and was rounded by passing through the notoriously stormy Drake Passage?
- A. Cape Horn
- B. Cape Leeuwin
- C. Cape of Good Hope
- D. Cape Agulhas
Q5. How many women officers were aboard IASV Triveni when Samudra Pradakshina was flagged off from the Gateway of India in September 2025?
- A. Nine
- B. Ten
- C. Twelve
- D. Six
Q6. Consider the following statements comparing the crew of Samudra Pradakshina at its flag-off with that at its flag-in:
1. The crew flagged off in September 2025 numbered ten officers, with the Army contributing the largest contingent of five.
2. The crew that completed the return voyage and was flagged in during July 2026 numbered nine officers.
3. In the flag-off crew, the Air Force officers outnumbered the Army officers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The crew flagged off in September 2025 numbered ten officers, with the Army contributing the largest contingent of five.
- The crew that completed the return voyage and was flagged in during July 2026 numbered nine officers.
- In the flag-off crew, the Air Force officers outnumbered the Army officers.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q7. With reference to the 'Samudra Pradakshina' preparatory voyage from Mumbai to Seychelles and back, consider the following statements:
1. It was flagged off in April 2025 as a preparatory training run for the round-the-world expedition.
2. Its crew of twelve women officers was drawn exclusively from the Indian Navy.
3. The round trip covered about 4,000 nautical miles.
4. The voyage lasted about 55 days.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?
- It was flagged off in April 2025 as a preparatory training run for the round-the-world expedition.
- Its crew of twelve women officers was drawn exclusively from the Indian Navy.
- The round trip covered about 4,000 nautical miles.
- The voyage lasted about 55 days.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 only
- C. 2 and 4
- D. 3 and 4
Q8. The 'Samudra Pradakshina' Mumbai-to-Seychelles-and-back preparatory voyage of April 2025 covered approximately how many nautical miles?
- A. 1,800 nautical miles
- B. 26,000 nautical miles
- C. 4,000 nautical miles
- D. 23,400 nautical miles
Q9. Which one of the following was the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew?
- A. Navika Sagar Parikrama II (2024-25)
- B. Samudra Pradakshina (2025-26)
- C. The Sagar Parikrama solo voyage
- D. Navika Sagar Parikrama (2017-18)
Q10. Consider the following pairings relating to Indian all-women sailing expeditions and their vessels:
1. Navika Sagar Parikrama II — first Indian circumnavigation by women in double-handed mode.
2. Navika Sagar Parikrama (2017-18) — crew led by Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi.
3. INSV Tarini — a 56-foot indigenously built sailing vessel.
4. IASV Triveni — a 56-foot vessel inducted into the Indian Navy in 2018.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Navika Sagar Parikrama II — first Indian circumnavigation by women in double-handed mode.
- Navika Sagar Parikrama (2017-18) — crew led by Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi.
- INSV Tarini — a 56-foot indigenously built sailing vessel.
- IASV Triveni — a 56-foot vessel inducted into the Indian Navy in 2018.
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1 and 4
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q11. As articulated by the Raksha Mantri at its flag-off, which one of the following statements about the symbolism of Samudra Pradakshina is correct?
- A. It was declared the only military expedition ever to embody Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
- B. It was projected as making India entirely self-sufficient in all sailing-yacht construction.
- C. It was described as a symbol of Nari Shakti and the jointness of the three Services.
- D. It was hailed as the largest sailing expedition undertaken by any navy in the world.
Q12. In the framework of tri-service jointness that Samudra Pradakshina symbolises, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), besides being Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs, also functions as which one of the following?
- A. Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
- B. Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces
- C. Secretary of the Department of Defence
- D. Rotational Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee based on seniority