Enforcement Officer / Accounts Officer (EO/AO) 2020 recruitment test, advertisement 421. Transcribed from the Commission's own booklet (series A, NMJX-U-GTA); answer as per the official UPSC final answer key. This question is in Part B. Answer last reviewed 24 August 2026.

Tri-service contingent of which one of the following countries participated in India's Republic Day parade in 2021 ?

(a)Myanmar
(b)Nepal
(c)Bhutan
(d)Bangladesh

Answer

Why

Correct — D, (d) Bangladesh. A 122-member tri-service marching contingent and band of the Bangladesh Armed Forces took part in India's 72nd Republic Day parade at Rajpath on 26 January 2021 — the first time a Bangladeshi contingent had marched there. The occasion was the golden jubilee year of Bangladesh's Liberation War and independence in 1971, and the contingent was assembled to reflect that: it drew soldiers from the East Bengal Regiments and Field Artillery Regiments whose predecessor units fought in 1971, together with sailors of the Bangladesh Navy and air warriors of the Bangladesh Air Force, and it was flown to Delhi on an Indian Air Force C-17. One detail makes the year easy to fix in memory: 2021 had NO foreign chief guest at all, the invitation to the British Prime Minister having been cancelled because of the COVID-19 situation, so the Bangladesh contingent was the parade's foreign presence that year.

Why the others are wrong

(a)Myanmar — The tri-service contingent at the 2021 Republic Day parade came from Bangladesh, not Myanmar. Myanmar is a plausible-sounding option because it is India's neighbour to the east, sharing a long land border with the north-eastern states, and because the two countries maintain regular defence contacts and coordinate operations along that frontier. But defence cooperation is not the same as marching in the parade, and the anniversary that shaped the 2021 invitation — fifty years since 1971 — has no counterpart in the India-Myanmar relationship. Reading the year in the stem and asking what anniversary fell in it is the quickest route to the answer.
(b)Nepal — Nepal did not send the tri-service contingent to the 2021 parade; Bangladesh did. Nepal is the most tempting of the three wrong options because the India-Nepal military relationship is exceptionally close and highly visible: Gorkha soldiers from Nepal have long served in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, and by a standing tradition the Chief of the Army Staff of each country is conferred the honorary rank of General in the other's army. Those ties are real and are examined in their own right. They simply are not what this question is about, and no Nepalese contingent marched at Rajpath in 2021.
(c)Bhutan — Bhutan was not the country whose tri-service contingent marched in 2021. India and Bhutan have one of the closest relationships India maintains with any neighbour, governed by the India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty, with India assisting in the training of Bhutan's armed forces and in its hydropower development. Bhutan's King has been chief guest at the Republic Day parade in earlier years, which is probably the association this option is trading on — but a chief guest and a marching contingent are two different things, and the contingent in 2021 was Bangladesh's.

Concept

The Republic Day parade marks the coming into force of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950, and it is both a ceremonial and a diplomatic occasion. The best-known diplomatic element is the CHIEF GUEST, a foreign head of state or government invited each year, whose selection is read as a signal of India's foreign policy priorities. A separate and more recent practice is the participation of a foreign military CONTINGENT marching alongside Indian units: France sent a detachment in 2016, the United Arab Emirates in 2017, Bangladesh in 2021, Egypt in 2023 and France again in 2024. The two things are independent of each other, which is exactly the point 2021 illustrates, because that year there was a foreign contingent and no chief guest at all — the invitation extended to the British Prime Minister was cancelled as the COVID-19 situation worsened, and the 2021 parade was also scaled down, with a shorter route, fewer spectators and no foreign dignitary on the dais. The Bangladesh contingent's presence was tied to the fiftieth anniversary of the 1971 Liberation War, a year India and Bangladesh marked together through a series of commemorations. That war, in which the Indian Armed Forces intervened in December 1971 and Pakistani forces surrendered at Dhaka on 16 December, remains the foundation of the relationship, and 16 December is observed as Vijay Diwas in India and as Victory Day in Bangladesh.

Current affairs items on this paper are dated and specific, and they reward a candidate who tracks the annual set-pieces — the Republic Day chief guest and contingent, the Budget, major summits, awards and sporting events — rather than trying to remember everything that happened. The Republic Day parade is the single most reliable of these because it recurs on a fixed date and generates several examinable facts each year. The best way to hold such a fact is to attach it to a reason: 2021 goes with Bangladesh BECAUSE it was the fiftieth anniversary of 1971, and a fact anchored to a cause survives much longer than one memorised alone.

Key facts

A 122-member tri-service contingent and band of the Bangladesh Armed Forces marched in India's 72nd Republic Day parade at Rajpath on 26 January 2021.
It was the first time a Bangladeshi contingent had marched at an Indian Republic Day parade.
The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary of Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War and independence.
The contingent drew on East Bengal Regiments and Field Artillery Regiments whose predecessor units fought in 1971, along with Bangladesh Navy and Air Force personnel.
There was no foreign chief guest at the 2021 parade; the invitation to the British Prime Minister was cancelled because of COVID-19.
Foreign contingents have marched in the parade in 2016 (France), 2017 (United Arab Emirates), 2021 (Bangladesh), 2023 (Egypt) and 2024 (France).
Republic Day marks the coming into force of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950.
The 1971 war ended with the surrender at Dhaka on 16 December, observed as Vijay Diwas in India and as Victory Day in Bangladesh.
A chief guest and a foreign marching contingent are separate features of the parade and need not occur in the same year.

Chief guest and foreign contingent are separate things — 2021 proves it

Bangladesh→A 122-member tri-service marching contingent and band of the Bangladesh Armed Forces took part in India’s 72nd Republic Day parade at Rajpath on 26 January 2021 — the first time a Bangladeshi contingent had marched there. It drew soldiers from the East Bengal Regiments and Field Artillery Regiments whose predecessor units fought in 1971, together with sailors of the Bangladesh Navy and air warriors of the Bangladesh Air Force, and was flown to Delhi on an Indian Air Force C-17.

Why that year, and why Bangladesh→2021 was the golden jubilee year of Bangladesh’s Liberation War and independence in 1971. The Indian Armed Forces intervened in December 1971 and Pakistani forces surrendered at Dhaka on 16 December, a date observed as Vijay Diwas in India and as Victory Day in Bangladesh.

The detail that fixes the year in memory→2021 had NO foreign chief guest at all — the invitation to the British Prime Minister was cancelled because of the COVID-19 situation, and the parade was scaled down with a shorter route and fewer spectators. The Bangladesh contingent was therefore the parade’s foreign presence that year.

Nepal→The most tempting of the wrong options, because the military relationship is exceptionally close and highly visible: Gorkha soldiers from Nepal have long served in the Indian Army’s Gorkha regiments, and by a standing tradition the Chief of the Army Staff of each country is conferred the honorary rank of General in the other’s army. Closeness is not the same as marching in the parade.

Myanmar and Bhutan→Myanmar is plausible as India’s eastern neighbour, sharing a long land border with the north-eastern states and maintaining regular defence contacts. Bhutan’s relationship is governed by the India–Bhutan Friendship Treaty, with India assisting in the training of its armed forces, and Bhutan’s King has been chief guest in earlier years — probably the association behind the option. Neither sent the 2021 contingent.

Foreign contingents that have marched→France in 2016, the United Arab Emirates in 2017, Bangladesh in 2021, Egypt in 2023 and France again in 2024. Republic Day itself marks the coming into force of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950.

Study next

Republic Day chief guests by year and what each invitation signalled about India's foreign policyIndia-Bangladesh relations: the 1971 Liberation War, the Land Boundary Agreement of 2015, the Teesta water question and connectivity projectsIndia's relations with its immediate neighbours and the Neighbourhood First policyJoint military exercises India conducts with other countries and their namesNational days and their historical anchors: Republic Day, Independence Day, Vijay Diwas, Armed Forces Flag DayGallantry awards and the ceremonial elements of the Republic Day parade

Common traps

Confusing the chief guest with the marching contingent. In 2021 there was a contingent and no chief guest.
Choosing a neighbour on the strength of close defence ties rather than the specific event asked about. Nepal's Gorkha connection is real and is not the answer here.
Losing track of the year. The stem names 2021 explicitly, and the anniversary that falls in it points straight to Bangladesh.
Assuming a foreign contingent marches every year. It has happened only in a handful of years.
Mixing up the 1971 war anniversary with Independence Day anniversaries of other neighbours.

Current affairs on EPFO EO/AO papers cluster around fixed annual events and around firsts and anniversaries, because both are unambiguous and easy to key. Republic Day generates several such items — chief guest, foreign contingent, tableau themes, awards announced on the eve — and the neighbouring-country angle is a favourite because it lets one question test both current affairs and diplomatic history. Expect companion items on Vijay Diwas, on the Land Boundary Agreement and on named India-Bangladesh joint exercises.

Related PYQs

EPFO_EOAO_2020_Q59Open & attempt →

As a routine exercise, Operations ‘Garam Hawa’ and ‘Sard Hawa’ are conducted by

(a) BSF
(b) ITBP
(c) CRPF
(d) CISF

Answer(a) BSF

The other defence-and-security item in this block, on the border force that runs Operations Garam Hawa and Sard Hawa. Both reward attaching a fact to its reason — there the season that gives each operation its name, here the anniversary that explains the invitation.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
There was no foreign chief guest at India's Republic Day parade in 2021 because
- (a)no invitation was extended that year
- (b)the invited British Prime Minister cancelled his visit owing to the COVID-19 situation
- (c)the parade was held without any ceremonial element
- (d)the practice of inviting a chief guest had been discontinued
Answer(b) the invited British Prime Minister cancelled his visit owing to the COVID-19 situation
practice — not a real PYQ
Vijay Diwas, marking the surrender of Pakistani forces at Dhaka at the end of the 1971 war, is observed on
- (a)26 January
- (b)15 August
- (c)16 December
- (d)26 March
Answer(c) 16 December

Why