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Current Office Holders: A Framework

A framework, not a list of names, for tracking India's key constitutional, executive and force office-holders, what each post is, its term and how to verify the current incumbent, for CAPF current events

CAPF wiki3 min read7 sections
At a glance
SubjectCurrent Events
RevisionCurrent EventsOffice HoldersPolityPaper 1

One screen per section. This page deliberately does not name incumbents, because office-holders change and a wrong name is worse than none. For every post below, verify the current holder from a reliable source close to the exam date (PIB, the official websites of the office, or a current standard reference). What is durable is the nature of each office, who appoints it and its term. Cross-link the polity treatment in Index.

Constitutional heads of state and government

Office Appointed / elected by Term
President Electoral college (elected MPs and MLAs) 5 years
Vice-President Members of both Houses of Parliament 5 years
Prime Minister Appointed by the President (leader of the Lok Sabha majority) Tenure of the Lok Sabha
Chief Justice of India Appointed by the President Until age 65
Speaker of the Lok Sabha Elected by the Lok Sabha Tenure of the House

Independent constitutional and statutory authorities

Office Note Term
Comptroller and Auditor General Audits Union and State accounts (Article 148) 6 years or age 65
Chief Election Commissioner Heads the Election Commission (Article 324) 6 years or age 65
Attorney General Chief law officer of the Union (Article 76) At the President's pleasure
Chairperson, UPSC Conducts central recruitment, including CAPF AC (Article 315) 6 years or age 65
Chairperson, NHRC Heads the National Human Rights Commission As per the Protection of Human Rights Act
Governor, Reserve Bank of India Heads the central bank As fixed by appointment

Defence and security leadership

Office Note
Chief of Defence Staff Single-point military adviser; heads the Department of Military Affairs
Chief of the Army Staff Professional head of the Army
Chief of the Naval Staff Professional head of the Navy
Chief of the Air Staff Professional head of the Air Force
National Security Adviser Heads the National Security Council Secretariat
Directors General of the CAPFs One each for CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, SSB

Key Union ministries (for current affairs context)

Portfolio Why it matters for CAPF
Home Affairs Parent ministry of the five CAPFs and internal security
Defence Armed forces, Coast Guard, defence procurement
External Affairs Foreign relations, summits, border diplomacy
Finance Budget, RBI, economic policy

International office-holders to track

Office Body
Secretary-General United Nations
Director-General WHO
Managing Director IMF
President World Bank
Secretary-General Interpol

How to use this page

Step Action
1 Treat the post, its appointer and its term as the durable fact to learn
2 Fill in the current name yourself, close to the exam, from PIB or the official website
3 Pair each office with its constitutional Article where one exists
4 For force chiefs, cross-check the latest MHA Annual Report

Cross-references

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