UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Need to operate with long-term strategic vision and remain equally prepared to respond to immediate & emerging challenges: Raksha Mantri to Army Commanders

Q1. With reference to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The CDS is the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
  2. The CDS exercises military command over the Chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
  3. As principal military adviser to the Raksha Mantri, the CDS also replaces each Service Chief as adviser on matters that concern only that Chief's own service.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. The Andaman and Nicobar Command is regarded as a model for the planned theaterisation of India's armed forces.
  2. The Andaman and Nicobar Command is the only command in India in which Army, Navy and Air Force assets for a defined geographical area operate under a single Commander-in-Chief.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. An army that was organised mainly for single-domain operations is restructured to fight multi-domain integrated operations. Consider the following statements about what this shift implies: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Land forces lose their relevance, since decisive effects pass wholly to the air, space and cyber domains.
  2. Land operations must now be planned with the cyber and electromagnetic domains in mind, because disrupting an adversary's networks can shape outcomes on the ground.
  3. Command structures that put the assets of different services under one plan, such as joint or theatre commands, become more important.
  • A. 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q4. With reference to the relationship between India's tri-service joint doctrines and the Indian Army's Land Warfare Doctrine, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Land Warfare Doctrine applies only to the Army, whereas joint doctrines lay down principles for the three services operating together.
  2. Amphibious operations are a natural subject for a joint doctrine rather than a service doctrine, because they need naval and land forces to act together.
  3. A service doctrine can be issued after joint doctrines on related themes already exist, since the two work at different levels rather than replacing each other.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q5. In FY 2025-26, India's defence production was valued at about ₹1.78 lakh crore and its defence exports at about ₹38,000 crore. Which of the following inferences can be validly drawn from these two figures alone?

  1. Most of the defence output produced in India that year was used domestically rather than sold abroad.
  2. India no longer needed to import any defence equipment that year.
  3. The growth in defence production that year was driven mainly by demand from foreign buyers.
  4. The value of defence exports was less than one-fourth of the value of defence production.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4 only

Q6. With reference to United Nations peacekeeping, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Peacekeeping is not explicitly provided for in the UN Charter, though operations are authorised by the Security Council.
  2. The principle of impartiality requires peacekeepers to stay neutral in carrying out their mandate.
  3. In recent years the Security Council has tended to invoke Chapter VII of the Charter when authorising peacekeeping deployments into volatile settings.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q7. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. UN peacekeeping operations are deployed with the consent of the main parties to the conflict.
  2. UN peacekeepers may use force in self-defence and in defence of their mandate.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct