MPPSC 2025 Prelims Paper-I · Question 9 of 100

Correct — D, 'Thailand — Yudh Abhyas'. Yudh Abhyas is India's army exercise with the United States, running since 2004 and staged alternately in India and the US. India's army exercise with Thailand is Maitree, running since 2006, while the two navies conduct the Indo-Thai CORPAT coordinated patrol. The Hindi name misleads candidates into assuming an Asian partner.

• (a)Russia - Indra — Correctly paired, so not the answer. INDRA is the India–Russia exercise, begun in 2003, held in naval, army and tri-service formats over the years.
• (b)Kyrgyzstan - Khanjar — Correctly paired, so not the answer. KHANJAR is the India–Kyrgyzstan special forces exercise, held since 2011 and hosted alternately by the two countries.
• (c)Seychelles - Lamitiye — Correctly paired, so not the answer. LAMITIYE — 'friendship' in Seychellois Creole — is the biennial exercise between the Indian Armed Forces and the Seychelles Defence Forces, held since 2001.

India runs one of the world's largest networks of bilateral military exercises, and exams test only one thing: the country-to-name pairing. The reliable way to hold them is by partner. United States — Yudh Abhyas (army), Vajra Prahar (special forces), Cope India (air force), Malabar (navy, now with Japan and Australia). Russia — Indra. France — Shakti (army), Varuna (navy), Garuda (air force). Thailand — Maitree. Sri Lanka — Mitra Shakti (army), SLINEX (navy). Bangladesh — Sampriti (army), Bongosagar (navy). Nepal — Surya Kiran. Kyrgyzstan — Khanjar. Seychelles — Lamitiye.

The trap is linguistic. Exercise names are often Sanskrit or Hindi even when the partner is far away — Yudh Abhyas is with the United States, Vajra Prahar with the US, Surya Kiran with Nepal. Candidates who reason from the sound of the name rather than the memorised pair walk straight into option (d).

• Yudh Abhyas is the India–USA army exercise, held annually since 2004; the 2025 edition was the 21st, at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
• Maitree is the India–Thailand army exercise, instituted in 2006; the navies additionally run the Indo-Thai CORPAT.
• INDRA (India–Russia) began in 2003; KHANJAR (India–Kyrgyzstan special forces) began in 2011.
• LAMITIYE, meaning 'friendship' in Creole, is the biennial India–Seychelles exercise conducted since 2001.
• The name's language is no guide to the partner — several Sanskrit/Hindi-named exercises are with non-South-Asian countries.

• Assuming a Sanskrit or Hindi name implies a South Asian partner — Yudh Abhyas is with the USA.
• Confusing Maitree (Thailand) with Mitra Shakti (Sri Lanka) and Sampriti (Bangladesh).
• Mixing up the service arm with the same partner — with France it is Shakti (army), Varuna (navy) and Garuda (air force).

Nearly always as a matched-pair or 'which pair is incorrect' item, built from the exercises held in the twelve to eighteen months before the exam. Keep a running one-page list of country, exercise and service arm.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Exercise 'Malabar' is a naval exercise involving which of the following countries?

  • (a)India, USA, Japan and Australia
  • (b)India, Russia and China
  • (c)India, France and UAE
  • (d)India, Sri Lanka and Maldives

  Answer(a) India, USA, Japan and Australia — begun as an India–US exercise in 1992, with Japan a permanent participant from 2015 and Australia joining in 2020.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The joint military exercise 'Surya Kiran' is conducted between India and:

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

  Answer(a) Nepal — Surya Kiran is the India–Nepal army exercise, held alternately in the two countries.