Knowledge about India’s defence system, its armed forces, and the security challenges it faces is an important aspect of the General Knowledge paper for the CDS (Combined Defence Services) 2 2025 examination. Questions often test your understanding of military structure, important organizations, and strategic issues.
1. Indian Armed Forces Structure:
- Supreme Command: President of India is the Supreme Commander.
- Ministry of Defence (MoD): Apex body for formulating defence policy.
- Integrated Defence Staff (IDS): Facilitates synergy between the three services.
- Chief of Defence Staff (CDS): Principal military advisor to the Defence Minister.
- Indian Army: Command structure, major formations, important regiments/corps.
- Indian Navy: Commands, fleets, major naval bases, key naval assets (aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers).
- Indian Air Force (IAF): Commands, types of aircraft (fighters, transport, helicopters), major airbases.
- Paramilitary Forces & Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs): Understand the difference between the Armed Forces and these forces (e.g., BSF, CRPF, ITBP, SSB, CISF, Assam Rifles, Coast Guard). Their roles and chain of command.
2. Defence Organizations & Research:
- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO): Role in indigenous defence technology, major projects (missiles, aircraft, radars, etc.).
- Ordnance Factory Board (OFB): (Now restructured into 7 PSUs) Role in manufacturing defence equipment.
- Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs): Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) etc. – their primary functions.
3. Key Defence Equipment & Technologies (Indian Context):
- Missile Systems: Agni, Prithvi, BrahMos, Akash, Nag. Understand their types (ballistic/cruise), ranges, and capabilities.
- Aircraft: Tejas (LCA), Rafale, Sukhoi Su-30 MKI, Apache helicopters, Chinook helicopters.
- Naval Assets: INS Vikrant (IAC-1), INS Vikramaditya, Kalvari-class submarines.
- Indigenisation Efforts: “Make in India” in defence, importance of self-reliance.
4. India’s Security Challenges:
- Border Management: Challenges along LAC (China), LoC (Pakistan), and other land borders.
- Cross-Border Terrorism: State-sponsored and non-state actors.
- Internal Security: Naxalism, insurgency in North-East, communal tensions.
- Cyber Warfare & Hybrid Threats: Emerging challenges in the digital domain.
- Maritime Security: Piracy, security of sea lanes of communication (SLOCs).
- Geopolitical Dynamics: India’s position in regional and global power shifts.
5. Defence Exercises:
- Important bilateral and multilateral military exercises: Name, participating countries, and their significance.
Preparation Tips:
- Stay Updated with Defence News: Follow major defence acquisitions, policy changes, and strategic developments.
- Refer to Government Reports: Annual reports of the Ministry of Defence (briefly).
- Focus on Indian Context: Questions will primarily be about India’s defence capabilities and challenges.
- Understand Roles & Responsibilities: Clearly differentiate between the roles of various forces and organizations.
A comprehensive understanding of India’s defence system and its security landscape will be highly beneficial for the CDS 2 2025 General Knowledge paper.
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