GK, GENERAL INFORMATIONS

Lok Sabha seat Rajya Sabha seat Judiciary (Name and Location)

:1

: None

: High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam

Generallnformation The tiniest union territory ofIndia, Lakshadweep is an archipelago consisting of 36 islands.

Coconut is the only crop of economic importance in Lakshadweep.

Oceanic birds generally found are 'tharathasi' (Sternafuscata) and 'karifetu' (Anous stolidus). They are generally found in one of the uninhabited islands known as pitti. This island has been declared a bird sanctuary.

Saint Ubaidulla is believed to have preached Islam to the islanders. The grave of Saint Ubaidullain Andrott is today a sacred place.

In 1854, the English took over all the islands.

The union territory was formed in 1956 and it was

named Lakshadweep in 1973 (earlier name: Laccadives).

   The headquarters of the administration was shifted from

Calicut (Kerala) to Kavaratti island in 1964.

   Cheriyam, Suheli, Valiyakara and Tinakara have been

identified as international tourist spots.

Pondicherry Basic Information

Area

Population (2001 Census) Growth rate (1991-2001) Density per sq km

Sex ratio (females per 1000 males)

Literacy rate

Male

   Female

Capital

No. of districts

Legislature

Principal languages Assembly seats

Lok Sabha seat

Rajya Sabha seat Judiciary (Name and Location)

: 492 sq km : 9,73,826. : 20.56%

: 2,029

: 1001

: 81 .49% .

: 88.89%

: 74.13%

: Pondicherry

:4

: Unicameral

: Tamil and French

: 33

: 1

: 1

: High Court of Madras at Chennai

Generallnformation The French first established their foothold in Pondicherry in 1673.

     Pondicherry and its surrounding enclaves lie on the

drainage basin of the Gingee river.

     The union territory of Pondicherry was constituted in

1962. It was handed over to India by the French in 1954.

Among the places of interest are Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Government Museum, Bharathi & Bhara-thidasan Memorial Museum, Government Square, Botanical Garden, French Institute, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Joan of Arc, i Manakula Vinayagar Temple, Ananda Rangapillai mansion,     Auroville and Boat Club on the Chunnambar river.

General.Knowledge H27

                             .

IX DEFENCE SET-UP

The defence policy of India aims at promoting and sustaining durable peace in the subcontinent and, at the same time, equipping the defence forces adequately to safeguard against aggression.

The supreme commander of the Armed Forces is the President. The responsibility for national defence, however, rests with the Cabinet. The defence minister is responsible to the Parliament for all matters concerning defence.

The ministry of Defence is headed by the Minister of Defence who is of Cabinet rank. The Defence Ministry comprises of the following three departments.

   (i) Department of Defence

   (ii) Department of Defence Production and Supplies

(iii) Department of Defence Research and Develop­

       ment.

The ministry is directly responsible for the defence of India and for provisioning and administering the Armed Forces, viz. the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

The ministry also acts as a central agency for (i) ensuring the coordinated development of the three Services, (ii) conveying the government's decision on policy matters to the three services headquarters for implementation, and (iii) obtaining financial sanction for defence expenditure.

In 2002, the Defence Ministry has been given a new name to convey the greater say permitted to the armed forces in higher defence management. The change in nomenclature to "Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence" got the nod after considerable administrative and financial powers as well as the. powers to authenticate certain documents were delegated to the three services. The new name would also correct the perception that the armed forces headquarters does not participate in policy formulation and is outside the apex government structure.

The three Services (Army, Navy & Air Force) function under their respective Chiefs of Staff. These three chiefs of staff constitute the Chief of Staff Committee, the chairmanship of which rotates among the three service chiefs according to seniority.

   The main auxiliaries are: (i) The Territorial Army: (ii)

National Cadet Corps (NCC) and (iii) Coast Guard.

   Today India has the fourth largest army in the world,

the fifth largest air force and the seventh largest navy.

9.1 The Army

I. Organisation Its headquarters is located in New Delhi. The Chief of the Army Staff is assisted by the following principal staff officers: (i) Vice Chief of Army Staff: (ii) Deputy Chief of Army Staff; (iii) Adjutant General; (iv) Quartermaster General; (v) Master-General of Ordinance; (vi) Mmtary Secretary; (vii) Engineer-in-Chief.

H28 General Studies Manual

.

State High Courts

		»'ear of
		'+'1-1-
r:	Allahabad	1866
2.	Andhra Pr.aOesh	j:''"
j.	-.-p
4.	Calcutta	1862
5.	Chhattlsgarh	2000
6.	Delhi	1966
7.	Guwahatl	19481
8.	(3ujarat	1960
9.	Hlmachal Pradesh	1971
10.	Jammu & Kashmir	1928
11.	Jharkhand	2000
12.	Karnataka	18842
13.	Kerala	1958
14.	Madhya Pradesh	1956
15.	Madras	1862
16.	Orlssa	1948
17.	Patna	1916
18.	Punjab & Hal'yana	1S753
19.	Rajasthan	1949
20.	Slkkim	1975
21.	Uttaranchal	2000

- ~-­

      -------------------- ~

T""I~

~-",--".§...

Uttar Pradesh

AHahabad fB.en.sh -at ~

~~S~A........... i-N"~'" I

Panajl & Aurangabad)

Kolkata (Circuit Bench at Port Blai1

Bllaspur

Delhi

Guwahatl (Benches at

Kohlma, Alzawl, Imphal, Shlllong a Agartala. Circuit Bench at Shlllong: Ahma.dabad J Shlmla

Srinagar & Jammu       I

Ranchl

Bangalore I Ernakulam

J8

.balPur (Benches at Gwallor &

IIndore)

Tamll Nadu & Pondlcherry     Chennal

Orissa Cuttack I Blhar Patna

Punjab, Haryana andChandigarh Chendlga.rh .

IRajasthan                    Jodhpur (Bench at Jalpur)

Slkklm Gangtok I Uttaranchal Nalnltal

~~~.................... ".....

Nagar Havell & Daman and Diu. West Bengal and Andaman and Nlcobar Islands Chhattlsgarh

Delhi

Assam, Manlpur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Trlpura, Mlzoram & Arunachal Pradesh

GUjarat

Hlmachal Pradesh

Jammu & Kashmir Jharkhand

Karnataka

Kerala & Lakshadweep Madhya Pradesh

1. Originally known as Assam High Court, renamed as Guwahatl High Court In 1971.

2. Originally known as Mysore High Court, renamed as Karnataka High Court In 1973.

3. Originally known as Punjab High Court, renamed as Punjab and Haryana High Court In 1966. Note: Though the names of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras are changed to Mumbal, Kolkata

       respectively, the names of respective high courts are not changed.

The Anny is organised into the following six commands:

SI. No.

­

1.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Command

Western Command

Eastern Command Northern Command Southern Command Central Command Training Command

Headquarters

Chandimandir

Kolkata Udhampur ' Puna Lucknow Mhow

Each command is commanded by a General Officer Commanding in Chief of the rank of Lieutenant-General. The Command is further divided into areas and independent subareas, commanded by Major-General and brigadier respectively.

and Chen

The Anny consists of a number of arms and servici

These are: (i) The President's Body Guard; (H) Armoui Corps; (Hi) Regiment of Artillery; (iv) Corps of Engineel

(v) Corps of Signals; (vi) Military Nursing Service; (v Army Medical Corps; (viii) Corps of Electrical aD

Mechanical Engineers; (ix) Remount and V eterinary Cro~ (x) Military Farm Services; (xi) Anny Education Co1

(xii) Intelligence Corps; (xiii) Corps of Military Police; (xij Anny Physical Training Corps; (xv) Pioneer Corps; (x1 Anny Postal Service Corps; (xvii) Defence Security CO

l2. Recruitment All citizens of India are eligible recruitment to the Anned Forces, provided they meet prescribai physical, medical and educational standards.

For recruitment to the army, the country has been ~vided into 12 recruiting zones and 71 branch recruiting offices. The overall age bracket for entry 'into various categories in the Army is between 16 and 25 years.

3, Tralnln, Institutions

SI. No. Name

. .

1. National Defence Academy

2, Indian Military Academy

3. Rashtrlya Indian Military College 4, National Defence College­

5, Defence Services Staff College

e, Armed Forces Medical College

7. Officer's Training School

e, College of Combat

9. Armoured Corps Centre and School 10, Infantry Schools

11, School of Artll'lery

12. College of Military Engineering

13, Military College of

Telecommunication Engineering 14. College of .OefenceManagement 15, Army Cadet College

1e. Army Ordnance Corps School

17. High Altitude Warfare School

1e, Army Service Corps School

19, EME School

20, MIlitary College of Electronics

     and Mechanical Engineering

21. Remount and Veternlnary

     Corps Centre School

22, Army Education Corps

Training College and Centre

23, Army School of Physical Training 24. Army/Air Transport Support School 25. Army Clerks Training School

26, Military Intelligence

     Training School and Depot

27, Army School of Mechanical

     Transport

28. Corps of Military Police

Centre and School

     . .

29. Counter Insurgency and

Jungle Warfare School

30.                                    Institute of National Integration         Pune

31. Army Medical Corps Centre & School Lucknow

Located at

Khadakvasla

Oehra Oun Dehra Dun New Delhi

Wellington Pune

Chennal . Mhow Ahmednagar Mhow & Belgaum DeoTaIT KlrKee Mhow

Seounqerabaq Dehra Dun Jabalpur Gulmarg Barellly Vadodara Secunderabad 1

Meerut

Pachmarhl

Pune

Agra ­

Aurangabad

Pune

Bangalore

Bangalore

Vairengte

General Knowledge H29

                             .

4. Tanks

   (i) Vijayantais the first indigenous tank.

(ii) T -55 and T -72 are the two importants Soviet-built

       battle tanks.

(ill) Arjun is the most sophisticated battle tank, de­

       signed by Defence Research and Development Or­

       ganisation (DRDO).

9.2 The Navy

I. Orlanlsatlon The headquarters of the navy is located in New Delhi. The Chief of Naval Staff is assisted by the following principal staff officers: (i) Vice Chief of Naval Staff; (H) Chief of Material; (Hi) Deputy Chief of Naval Staff; (iv) Chief of Personnel; (v) Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition; (vi) Chief of Logistics.

The Navy has three Naval Commands commanded by Flag Officers Commanding-in-Chief of the rank of Vice Admiral. They are:

~/. No.    Command      He~cJqua('tflrs

1. Western Naval Command Mumbal

2. Eastern Naval Command Vlshakhapatnam 3. Southern Naval Command Cochln

2. Recruitment Recruitment for sailors in the Navy is done at over 68 regional recruiting offices all over the country. Sailors are recruited from the age group of 18-20. 3. Tralnlnl Institutions The principal training unitsl establishments for the general service officers and men of the Navy are located at Cochin. These units impart training in gunnery, navigation, anti-submarine warfare, communication, aviation and so on. Other major training . establishments are:

SI. No. Name

  1. Naval Academy

12. INS Chllka

3. INS ShlvaJI

4. INS Valsura

5. INS Satavahana

I~.. IN~ Hamla

7. INS KunJall

8. IN§ Asvinl (INM)

9. INS Agranl

10. College of Naval Warfare 11. INS Garuda

~ 12.. INS Hansa

13. Navy Shipwright School

Located at

Goa

Orlssa Lonavala Jamnagar Vlshakhapatnam

Mumbai Mumbal Mumbai

Coimbatore Mumbai Cochin

Goa Vishakhapatnam

General Knowledge H31

The Functional Commands are: (i) Training Command

(ii) Maintenance Command

2. Recruitment

The recruitment of airmen in the IAF is made on an all­India basis, both in technical and non-technical categories. The qualifying age varies from 16 to 25 years and educational qualifications from matriculation to post­graduation.

3. Training Institutions

SI. No.

Name

Located at Coimbatore

1. Air Force Administrative

College

2. Air Force Academy

3. Air Force Technical College 4. Air Force School

Hyderabad Jalahalli Sambra

(Belgaum) Tambaram Bidar Hakimpet Yelahanka Avadi

Avadi Vadodara and Barrackpore Bangalore Agra Hyderabad Secunderabad

5. Flying Instructors' School

6. Air Force Station 7. Air Force Station 8. Air Force Station

9. Helicopter Training School 10. Ground Training School 11. G;'ound Training Institute

12. Institute of Aviation Medicine 13. Paratroopers Training School 14. Navigation and Signals School 15. College of Air Warfare

4. Aircrafts

The Air force consists of an array of modem aircraft. Its fleet consists of fighter bombers, air superiority fighters, interceptors, transport and logistic aircraft and helicopters. These include: Hunters, Ajeets, MiG-21 variants, MiG­238, MiG-25s, MiG-27s, Jaguar, MiG-29s, Mirage-2000, Canberra, IL-76s, AN-32s, Boeing-737, HS-748, Bomier­228, Otter, MI-8s, MI-17s, MI-26s, MI-25s, MI-35s, Chetak/Cheetah, Lakshya and Prashant 465.

9.4 Commissioned Ranks

Following are the commissioned ranks in the three Services; each rank is shown opposite to its equivalent in the other Services:

Army	Navy	Air Force
General	Admiral	Air Chief Ma'rshal
Lieutenant
General	Vice Admiral	Air Marshal
Major
General	Rear Admiral	Air Vice Marshal

Brigadier Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major

Commodore Captain Commander

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant Sub-Lieutenant Acting Sub­Lieutenant

Captain Lieutenant Second Lieutenant

Air Commodore Group Captain Wing Comrnander

Squadron~Leaaer

Flight Lieutenant Flying Officer Pilot Officer

9.5 Defence Production Units

Defence production activities are broadly divided into two groups, viz. departmentally run ordnance factories and Defence public sector undertakings. Whereas, the arms, ammunition, tanks, vehicles, and so forth are made in the ordnance factories, the Defence public sector undertakings are geared to produce ships, submarines, aircrafts, earth moving equipments, machine tools, missiles, sensors; communication equipments and so on.

The following table gives the details of the public sector undertakings.

Name & Established in

1. Hindustan

Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) 1964

2. Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) 1954

3. Bharat Earth Movers

    Ltd. (BEML) 1964

4. Bharat Dynamics

    Ltd. (BDL) 1970

5. Mazagaon Docks

    Ltd. (MDL) 1960

6. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) 1884

7. Goa Shipyards

    Ltd. (GSL) 1957

8. Mishra Dhatu

    Nigam Ltd.

    (MIDHANI) 1973

9. Praga To~s 10. Heavy Vehicles Factory

Factories at

Bangalore

(five factories),

Koraput, Nasik,

Karwa, Kanpur, Lucknow, Barrackpore, Hyderabad. Bangalpre,

Ghaziabad, Pune, MachUipatnam, Taloja (Maharashtra), Panchkula (Haryana), K;otdwara (U.P.), Hyderabad, Chennai Bangalore, Mysore, Kolar

Hyderabad

Mumbai

Kolkata

Goa

Hyderabad

Hyderabad Avadi

The Functional Commands are: (i) Training Command

(ii) Maintenance Command

          2. Recruitment

The recruitment of airmen in the IAF is made on an all­India basis, both in technical and non-technical categories. The qualifying age varies from 16 to 25 years and educational qualifications from matriculation to post­graduation.

J. Training Institutions

SI. No.

Name

Located at Coimbatore

1. Air Force Administrative

College

2. Air Force Academy

3. Air Force Technical College 4. Air Force School

Hyderabad Jalahalli Sambra

(Belgaum) Tambaram Bidar Hakimpet Yelahanka Avadi

Avadi Vadodara and Barrackpore Bangalore Agra Hyderabad Secunderabad

5. Flying Instructors' School

6. Air Force Station 7. Air Force Station 8. Air Force Station

9. Helicopter Training School 10. Ground Training School 11. G;-ound Training Institute

12. Institute of Aviation Medicine 13. Paratroopers Training School 14. Navigation and Signals School 15. College of Air Warfare

4. Aircrafts

The Air force consists of an array of modem aircraft. Its fleet consists of fighter bombers, air superiority fighters, interceptors, transport and logistic aircraft and helicopters. These include: Hunters, Ajeets, MiG-21 variants, MiG­235, MiG-25s, MiG-27s, Jaguar, MiG-29s, Mirage-2000, Canberra, IL-76s, AN-32s, Boeing-737, HS-748, Bornier­228, Otter, MI-8s, MI-17s, MI-26s, MI-25s, MI-35s, Chetak/Cheetah, Lakshya and Prashant 465.

9.4 Commissioned Ranks

Following are the commissioned ranks in the three Services; each rank is shown opposite to its equivalent in the other Services:

Army	Navy	Air Force
General	Admiral	Air Chief Ma'rshal
Lieutenant
General	Vice Admiral	Air Marshal
Major
General	Rear Admiral	Air Vice Marshal

Brigadier Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major

Commodore Captain Commander

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant Sub-Lieutenant Acting Sub­Lieutenant

Captain Lieutenant Second Lieutenant

General Knowledge H31

                             .

Air Commodore Group Captain Wing Commander

Squadron Leader

Flight Lieutenant Flying Officer Pilot Officer

9.S Defence Production Units

Defence production activities are broadly divided into two groups, viz. departmentally run ordnance factories and Defence public sector undertakings. Whereas, the arms, ammunition, tanks, vehicles, and so forth are made in the ordnance factories, the Defence public sector undertakings are geared to produce ships, submarines, aircrafts, earth moving equipments, machine tools, missiles, sensors; communication equipments and so on.

The following table gives the details ofthepublic sector undertakings.

Name & Established in

1. Hindustan

Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) 1964

2. Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) 1954

3. Bharat Earth Movers

    Ltd. (BEML) 1964

4. Bharat Dynamics

    Ltd. (BDL) 1970

5. Mazagaon Docks

    Ltd. (MDL) 1960

6. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) 1884

7. Goa Shipyards

    Ltd. (GSL) 1957

8. Mishra Dhatu

    Nigam Ltd.

    (MIDHANI) 1973

9. Praga Tools 10. Heavy Vehicles Factory

Factories at

Bangalore

(five factories),

Koraput, Nasik,

Karwa, Kanpur, Lucknow, Barrackpore, Hyderabad. Bangalore,

Ghaziabad, PUne,

Mach iljpatnam , Taloja (Maharashtra), Panch~ul.a(Haryana), KotdlNara (U.P.), l1yderabad, Chennai Bangalore, Mysore, Kolar

Hyderabad

Mumbai

Kolkata

Goa

Hyderabad

Hyderabad Avadi