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Military Ranks and Insignia
A compact, tabular revision of the rank hierarchies of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, the equivalent CAPF and police ranks, and key insignia notes, for CAPF Paper I and the interview
CAPF wiki•2 min read•6 sections
At a glance
SubjectInternal Security
RevisionInternal SecurityRanksArmed ForcesCAPFInterviewPaper 1
One screen per section. Cover the right column and test yourself. Rank hierarchies are durable static facts. Knowing how the CAPF officer ranks map to the Army is high-yield for the interview, where the candidate is entering at Assistant Commandant. The forces themselves are compared in paramilitary and capf comparison.
| Rank |
Insignia note |
| Lieutenant |
Two stars |
| Captain |
Three stars |
| Major |
National emblem (Ashoka) only, no star |
| Lieutenant Colonel |
National emblem and one star |
| Colonel |
National emblem and two stars |
| Brigadier |
National emblem and three stars |
| Major General |
National emblem with crossed sword and baton, and one star |
| Lieutenant General |
National emblem with crossed sword and baton |
| General |
National emblem, crossed sword and baton, and one star (Chief of the Army Staff) |
| Field Marshal |
Honorary five-star rank (held only by Manekshaw and Cariappa) |
| Army |
Navy |
Air Force |
| Lieutenant |
Sub-Lieutenant |
Flying Officer |
| Captain |
Lieutenant |
Flight Lieutenant |
| Major |
Lieutenant Commander |
Squadron Leader |
| Lieutenant Colonel |
Commander |
Wing Commander |
| Colonel |
Captain |
Group Captain |
| Brigadier |
Commodore |
Air Commodore |
| Major General |
Rear Admiral |
Air Vice Marshal |
| Lieutenant General |
Vice Admiral |
Air Marshal |
| General |
Admiral |
Air Chief Marshal |
| Field Marshal |
Admiral of the Fleet |
Marshal of the Air Force |
| CAPF rank |
Approximate Army equivalent |
| Assistant Commandant |
Captain (entry rank for UPSC CAPF AC recruits) |
| Deputy Commandant |
Major |
| Second-in-Command |
Lieutenant Colonel |
| Commandant |
Colonel |
| Deputy Inspector General (DIG) |
Brigadier |
| Inspector General (IG) |
Major General |
| Additional Director General (ADG) |
Lieutenant General |
| Director General (DG) |
General (force head) |
| Rank |
Note |
| Director General of Police (DGP) |
Head of a State police force |
| Inspector General (IG) |
Senior IPS rank |
| Deputy Inspector General (DIG) |
Range-level command |
| Superintendent of Police (SP) |
District police head |
| Deputy SP / Assistant SP |
Sub-divisional command |
| Inspector, Sub-Inspector |
Station-level ranks |
| Peg |
Recall |
| Highest Army rank (operational) |
General (Chief of the Army Staff) |
| Honorary five-star rank |
Field Marshal |
| Only two Field Marshals of India |
Sam Manekshaw and K M Cariappa |
| CAPF entry rank via UPSC |
Assistant Commandant |
| Navy equivalent of Colonel |
Captain (note the name clash with the Army Captain) |