Defence & Internal Security MCQs for UPSC Prelims — February 2026
Q1. Consider the following milestones of INS Anjadip and their years:
1. Signing of the ASW-SWC project contract with GRSE — 2019
2. Launch of Anjadip at Kattupalli — 2023
3. Delivery of Anjadip to the Indian Navy — December 2025
4. Commissioning of INS Anjadip at Chennai — 2024
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly matched?
- Signing of the ASW-SWC project contract with GRSE — 2019
- Launch of Anjadip at Kattupalli — 2023
- Delivery of Anjadip to the Indian Navy — December 2025
- Commissioning of INS Anjadip at Chennai — 2024
- A. 1 only
- B. 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 4 only
Q2. With reference to the island after which INS Anjadip is named, consider the following statements:
1. Anjadip Island lies off the coast of Karnataka in the Arabian Sea.
2. It lies in the vicinity of the Indian Navy's Karwar base developed under Project Seabird.
3. It lies off the coast of Tamil Nadu, close to the Chennai Port where the ship was commissioned.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Anjadip Island lies off the coast of Karnataka in the Arabian Sea.
- It lies in the vicinity of the Indian Navy's Karwar base developed under Project Seabird.
- It lies off the coast of Tamil Nadu, close to the Chennai Port where the ship was commissioned.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q3. The Eastern Naval Command, headquartered at Visakhapatnam and into which INS Anjadip has been inducted, came into being in which year?
- A. 1968
- B. 1961
- C. 1971
- D. 1975
Q4. INS Anjadip has been inducted into the Eastern Naval Command. The Indian Navy is organised into how many operational commands in all?
- A. Two
- B. Three
- C. Four
- D. Five
Q5. With reference to the indigenisation of INS Anjadip, consider the following:
1. The ship has an indigenous content of over 80%.
2. The entire quantity of special-grade steel for the ship was supplied by SAIL.
3. This special steel was sourced from SAIL's integrated plants at Bokaro, Bhilai and Rourkela.
4. The special steel was imported and only fabricated within India.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- The ship has an indigenous content of over 80%.
- The entire quantity of special-grade steel for the ship was supplied by SAIL.
- This special steel was sourced from SAIL's integrated plants at Bokaro, Bhilai and Rourkela.
- The special steel was imported and only fabricated within India.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1, 2 and 3
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q6. In the classification of INS Anjadip, the abbreviation 'ASW-SWC' stands for:
- A. Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft
- B. Anti-Ship Warfare Surface Water Corvette
- C. Advanced Surveillance Warship – Shallow Water Class
- D. Anti-Submarine Warfare Surface Warfare Cruiser
Q7. The commissioning ceremony of INS Anjadip at Chennai Port on 27 February 2026 was presided over by the holder of which of the following offices?
- A. Chief of the Naval Staff
- B. Chief of Defence Staff
- C. Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister)
- D. President of India
Q8. With reference to the construction arrangement of the eight ASW-SWC ships, consider the following statements:
1. Four ships are built at GRSE, Kolkata while the remaining four were sub-contracted to L&T Shipbuilding, Kattupalli.
2. INS Anjadip itself was launched at the L&T Shipbuilding facility at Kattupalli, Tamil Nadu.
3. All eight ships of the project are being constructed entirely within GRSE's own Kolkata yard.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Four ships are built at GRSE, Kolkata while the remaining four were sub-contracted to L&T Shipbuilding, Kattupalli.
- INS Anjadip itself was launched at the L&T Shipbuilding facility at Kattupalli, Tamil Nadu.
- All eight ships of the project are being constructed entirely within GRSE's own Kolkata yard.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q9. Under the contract signed in April 2019 for the ASW-SWC project, the designated lead shipyard (design and lead construction) is:
- A. Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata
- B. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai
- C. Goa Shipyard Limited, Vasco da Gama
- D. Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam
Q10. With reference to the Arnala-class ships of the ASW-SWC project, consider the following:
1. They are intended to replace the in-service Abhay-class ASW corvettes of the Indian Navy.
2. They are designed for anti-submarine operations in coastal waters and Low Intensity Maritime Operations.
3. They are the largest Indian naval warships propelled by waterjet propulsion.
4. They are designed primarily for blue-water, open-ocean anti-submarine operations far from the coast.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- They are intended to replace the in-service Abhay-class ASW corvettes of the Indian Navy.
- They are designed for anti-submarine operations in coastal waters and Low Intensity Maritime Operations.
- They are the largest Indian naval warships propelled by waterjet propulsion.
- They are designed primarily for blue-water, open-ocean anti-submarine operations far from the coast.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1, 2 and 3
- C. 3 and 4 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q11. The Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) project, under which INS Anjadip was built, provides for the construction of how many ships in total under the 2019 contract with GRSE?
- A. Six
- B. Eight
- C. Ten
- D. Twelve
Q12. Which one of the following is the nodal agency exclusively responsible for the protection of notified Critical Information Infrastructure in India?
- A. CERT-In
- B. NCIIPC
- C. National Informatics Centre (NIC)
- D. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
Q13. CERT-In, which co-released the 2026 space cyber security guidelines, functions under which Union Ministry?
- A. Ministry of Home Affairs
- B. Ministry of Defence
- C. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
- D. Department of Space
Q14. The 2026 Space Cyber Security Guidelines were jointly released by SIA-India together with which government agency?
- A. IN-SPACe
- B. NCIIPC
- C. CERT-In
- D. ISRO
Q15. The CERT-In Directions of 28 April 2022 (mandating 6-hour incident reporting and 180-day log retention) were issued under which provision of the Information Technology Act, 2000?
- A. Section 69A
- B. Section 70A
- C. Sub-section (6) of Section 70B
- D. Section 79
Q16. Under the CERT-In Directions of 28 April 2022, within how many hours of noticing a cyber incident must a covered entity mandatorily report it to CERT-In?
- A. 2 hours
- B. 6 hours
- C. 24 hours
- D. 72 hours
Q17. Which one of the following is designated as the national nodal agency for responding to cyber-security incidents in India?
- A. National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC)
- B. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)
- C. National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO)
- D. National Informatics Centre (NIC)
Q18. INS Vikrant, India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, is designed to operate an air wing of approximately how many aircraft?
Q19. In the official description of MILAN 2026, the abbreviation 'FFC' (as in '18 ships from FFCs') stands for which one of the following?
- A. Friendly Foreign Countries
- B. Forward Fleet Contingent
- C. Fleet Formation Command
- D. Foreign Frigate Coalition
Q20. The very first (1995) edition of Exercise MILAN was hosted exclusively at which one of the following?
- A. Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam
- B. Western Naval Command, Mumbai
- C. Andaman & Nicobar Command
- D. Southern Naval Command, Kochi
Q21. How many foreign navies participated in the inaugural (1995) edition of Exercise MILAN?
- A. Four
- B. Seven
- C. Nine
- D. Twelve
Q22. In its present form, Exercise MILAN is hosted under which one of the following commands of the Indian Navy?
- A. Western Naval Command
- B. Eastern Naval Command
- C. Southern Naval Command
- D. Andaman & Nicobar Command
Q23. With reference to the 'PRAHAAR' policy of 2026, consider the following as components of its doctrine:
1. Attenuation of conditions that enable terrorism and radicalisation
2. Reduction of India's overall defence expenditure as a share of GDP
3. Alignment and shaping of international efforts to counter terrorism
4. Human rights and rule-of-law based approach while responding to threats
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly identified as a pillar of PRAHAAR?
- Attenuation of conditions that enable terrorism and radicalisation
- Reduction of India's overall defence expenditure as a share of GDP
- Alignment and shaping of international efforts to counter terrorism
- Human rights and rule-of-law based approach while responding to threats
- A. 2 only
- B. 1 and 3
- C. 2 and 4
- D. 3 only
Q24. The acronym 'PRAHAAR', adopted for India's National Counter-Terrorism Policy & Strategy released in 2026, is formed from how many guiding pillars?
- A. Five
- B. Six
- C. Seven
- D. Nine
Q25. The PRAHAAR National Counter-Terrorism Policy & Strategy (2026) describes India's counter-terror approach as being primarily guided by which one of the following?
- A. Kinetic-response-led, prioritising rapid deployment of special forces
- B. Legislation-led, prioritising new statutes over operational doctrine
- C. Intelligence-Guided, according primacy to intelligence gathering and dissemination to executive agencies
- D. Diplomacy-led, prioritising bilateral extradition treaties over domestic disruption
Q26. With reference to the 'PRAHAAR' policy released by the Government of India in 2026, consider the following as its stated pillars:
1. Prevention of terror attacks
2. Response to threats in a swift and proportionate manner
3. Aggregating Internal Capacities through a whole-of-government approach
4. Recovery and Resilience through an inclusive, whole-of-society approach
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Prevention of terror attacks
- Response to threats in a swift and proportionate manner
- Aggregating Internal Capacities through a whole-of-government approach
- Recovery and Resilience through an inclusive, whole-of-society approach
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1, 2 and 3 only
- C. 2, 3 and 4 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q27. With reference to recent developments, the 'PRAHAAR — National Counter-Terrorism Policy & Strategy', made public in February 2026, was released by which one of the following?
- A. Ministry of Defence
- B. Ministry of Home Affairs
- C. Ministry of External Affairs
- D. Cabinet Secretariat through the National Security Council Secretariat
Q28. Exercise MILAN 2026 was conducted by the Indian Navy, which functions under the administrative control of which Union ministry?
- A. Ministry of Defence
- B. Ministry of External Affairs
- C. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
- D. Ministry of Home Affairs
Q29. With reference to INS Sumedha, consider the following statements:
1. It is a Saryu-class Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel built by an Indian defence public-sector shipyard.
2. It is affiliated to the Eastern Naval Command and based at Visakhapatnam.
3. It is India's first indigenously built aircraft carrier.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- It is a Saryu-class Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel built by an Indian defence public-sector shipyard.
- It is affiliated to the Eastern Naval Command and based at Visakhapatnam.
- It is India's first indigenously built aircraft carrier.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q30. INS Sumedha belongs to the Saryu class of 'Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels' (NOPVs). Which one of the following best describes the intended role of such a vessel?
- A. A long-endurance patrol ship for EEZ surveillance, anti-piracy and support to fleet operations, independently or with the fleet
- B. A submerged nuclear-powered platform for sustained undersea deterrent patrols
- C. A large-displacement carrier whose primary role is launching and recovering fixed-wing combat aircraft
- D. A shallow-draft riverine craft dedicated to inland waterway and harbour defence