Joint special forces exercise 'KHANJAR–XII' was held in March 2025 between India and which of the following Countries ?
1. Russia
2. Turkmenistan
3. Kyrgyzstan
4. Mongolia
Select the correct answer fr

Question

Joint special forces exercise 'KHANJAR–XII' was held in March 2025 between India and which of the following Countries ?
1. Russia
2. Turkmenistan
3. Kyrgyzstan
4. Mongolia
Select the correct answer from the code given below :
Code :

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, Only 3 (Kyrgyzstan). KHANJAR is the bilateral special-forces exercise of the Indian Army and the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic, and its twelfth edition, KHANJAR-XII, ran from 10 to 23 March 2025 at Tokmok in Kyrgyzstan. The Indian contingent was drawn from the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) and the Kyrgyz side fielded its 'Scorpion' Brigade. The drills covered counter-terrorism, mountain and urban warfare, hostage rescue, close-quarter battle and precision sniping. Because Kyrgyzstan is statement 3 and it is the only partner country, the answer is 'Only 3'. The series began in 2011 and alternates between the two countries.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Statement 3 (Kyrgyzstan) is right, but statement 2 (Turkmenistan) is not. KHANJAR is a strictly bilateral India-Kyrgyzstan series, and India has no standing bilateral army exercise of this name with Turkmenistan. Adding a second Central Asian republic is the classic 'plausible neighbour' trap in a code question.  (c) Mongolia (statement 4) is a genuine Indian exercise partner, but the India-Mongolia army exercise is NOMADIC ELEPHANT, not KHANJAR. Two real exercises are being cross-wired here — the country is right for the Indian Army's calendar, wrong for this exercise name.  (d) Russia is India's partner in INDRA (and India has taken part in the multinational Russian-hosted ZAPAD drills), but not in KHANJAR. Russia is the most familiar Indian defence partner, which is exactly why it is placed first in the list.

Concept: Codenamed joint military exercises are a fixed, high-yield slice of the current-affairs syllabus: each name is tied to one partner country (or one grouping) and to one service. KHANJAR - Persian/Urdu for 'dagger' - is the Indian Army's special-forces exercise with Kyrgyzstan, running since 2011 and hosted alternately by the two countries. Kyrgyzstan matters to India as a Central Asian partner and a fellow SCO member; it also belongs to the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, which India does not, and the high-altitude Tian Shan terrain around Tokmok makes it a natural venue for mountain-warfare training.

State PCS 2025 Q81 — Current Affairs PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2025 Q81 — Current Affairs PYQ with Answer