Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists : List I (Bilateral Exercise) A. Garuda Shakti B. Nomadic Elephant C. Mitra Shakti D. Dharma Guardian List II (Participating Country) 1. India and Japan 2. India and Sri Lanka 3. India and Mongolia 4. India and Indonesia Code :
- (a)A-4 B-2 C-3 D-1
- (b)A-4 B-3 C-2 D-1
- (c)A-1 B-3 C-2 D-4
- (d)A-1 B-2 C-3 D-4
Correct — B, A-4 B-3 C-2 D-1. Garuda Shakti is the India-Indonesia exercise, which pairs A with 4; the garuda is Indonesia's national emblem and the series began in 2012, alternating between the two countries. Nomadic Elephant is the India-Mongolia army exercise, so B goes with 3 — the name puts the Mongolian nomad beside the Indian elephant. Mitra Shakti is the annual India-Sri Lanka exercise, held by turns in one country and then the other, giving C with 2. Dharma Guardian is the annual exercise between the Indian Army and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, so D goes with 1. Read in the printed column order A, B, C, D that is 4, 3, 2, 1, which is option (b).
- (a)A-4 B-2 C-3 D-1 — This gets Garuda Shakti and Dharma Guardian right but swaps the middle pair, sending Nomadic Elephant to Sri Lanka and Mitra Shakti to Mongolia. Nomadic is the Mongolian word in that pair; Mitra Shakti is the Sri Lankan series.
- (c)A-1 B-3 C-2 D-4 — The middle two are right but the ends are exchanged, giving Garuda Shakti to Japan and Dharma Guardian to Indonesia. Garuda is Indonesia's emblem, and Dharma Guardian is the Indian Army exercise with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
- (d)A-1 B-2 C-3 D-4 — This is the straight-through 1-2-3-4 pattern that examiners always include, and it happens to be the exact reverse of the truth here. Only a candidate who has not learnt any of the four pairs will find it attractive.
The Indian armed forces run a standing calendar of named bilateral exercises, most of them annual and most alternating between the two partner countries. Each name is a deliberate blend of the two partners' symbols or languages, which is why the names are learnable rather than arbitrary. The army series in this question are all of the same type — company or battalion-level field training aimed at interoperability, counter-terrorism and operations under a United Nations mandate.
Match questions on exercises are pure recall, so the way to make them cheap is to attach each name to a hook. Garuda for Indonesia, whose national emblem is the garuda; nomad for Mongolia, the classic steppe partner; Dharma Guardian for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. Mitra Shakti is the one without an obvious hook, so learn it as the Sri Lankan series and let the other three carry themselves. A second safeguard is the elimination pattern: because all four options here share a small set of assignments, fixing any two pairs with confidence usually leaves only one option standing. As of the September 2023 exam all four series were running annually, and they have gone on since — the seventeenth Nomadic Elephant was held at Ulaanbaatar in 2025, Mitra Shakti reached its eleventh edition at Belagavi in 2025, and Dharma Guardian its seventh at Chaubattia in early 2026.
- Garuda Shakti is the India-Indonesia special forces exercise; the first edition was held in 2012 in Indonesia and it alternates between the two countries.
- Nomadic Elephant is the joint military exercise of India and Mongolia, its training built around operations in semi-urban and mountainous terrain under a United Nations mandate.
- Mitra Shakti is the annual India-Sri Lanka joint military exercise, conducted alternately in India and in Sri Lanka.
- Dharma Guardian is the annual bilateral exercise between the Indian Army and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, aimed at joint operations in a semi-urban environment.
In the printed order A, B, C, D that reads 4, 3, 2, 1 — option (b).
- Confusing Garuda Shakti, the army exercise with Indonesia, with Garuda, the air exercise with France.
- Assigning Mitra Shakti to Bangladesh; UPSC itself used that error as a wrong statement in 2024.
- Marking the straight 1-2-3-4 code without checking a single pair.
Asked as a four-way match on exercise names, the format NDA uses at least once in almost every paper's defence section.
Which of the following statements about 'Exercise Mitra Shakti-2023' are correct? 1. This was a joint military exercise between India and Bangladesh. 2. It commenced in Aundh (Pune). 3. Joint response during counter-terrorism operations was a goal of this operation. 4. Indian Air Force was a part of this exercise. Select the answer using the code given below :
- (a) 1, 2 and 3
- (b) 1, 2 and 4
- (c) 1, 3 and 4
- (d) 2, 3 and 4
Answer(d) 2, 3 and 4
The very next year UPSC took one of these four names and made the partner country the trap — the first statement is wrong precisely because Mitra Shakti is the Sri Lankan series, not a Bangladeshi one.
'Exercise Desert Knight – 21' is a bilateral air exercise between the Indian Air Force and the Air Force of which one of the following countries?
- (a) USA
- (b) France
- (c) Britain
- (d) Israel
Answer(b) France
The same question type in the single-answer form. NDA alternates between asking one exercise outright and matching four at once, so the underlying list is the same preparation either way.
'Naseem-Al-Bahr' is a bilateral naval exercise between India and
- (a) United Arab Emirates
- (b) Iran
- (c) Saudi Arabia
- (d) Oman
Answer(d) Oman
The naval branch of the same list. Its name carries the same kind of clue as Garuda Shakti does — the Arabic title belongs to the Gulf partner, just as the garuda belongs to Indonesia.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The joint military exercise Nomadic Elephant is conducted between India and
- (a)Mongolia
- (b)Kazakhstan
- (c)Thailand
- (d)Kenya
Answer(a) Mongolia — an army exercise whose training centres on operations in semi-urban and mountainous terrain under a United Nations mandate.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Exercise Dharma Guardian is conducted by the Indian Army with the ground forces of
- (a)Japan
- (b)Indonesia
- (c)Vietnam
- (d)South Korea
Answer(a) Japan — the annual exercise with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, aimed at joint operations in a semi-urban environment.