SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 18 September 2025, Shift 1 · General Awareness · Question 9 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

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SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Which country partners with India in the Maitri military exercise aimed at defence cooperation?

(a)Bhutan
(b)Sri Lanka
(c)Bangladesh
(d)Thailand

Answer

Why

Correct — D. Exercise MAITREE (spelt Maitri in the question) is the joint military exercise of India and Thailand, held between the Indian Army and the Royal Thai Army.

Its 13th edition was held in Thailand's Tak Province in July 2024, and its 14th at Umroi, Meghalaya, in September 2025.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Bhutan — Bhutan is not the partner. PIB's July 2024 release on Maitree names the Royal Thailand Army as the Indian Army's counterpart.
(b)
Sri Lanka — India's army exercise with Sri Lanka is Mitra Shakti. Its friendship-themed name is exactly why it gets confused with Maitree.
(c)
Bangladesh — India's army exercise with Bangladesh is Sampriti. Maitree is held with the Royal Thai Army.

Concept

Maitree (friendship) is India's army exercise with Thailand.

Keep its neighbours apart: Mitra Shakti is India–Sri Lanka, Sampriti is India–Bangladesh and Nomadic Elephant is India–Mongolia.

PIB's update on the 2024 edition, held in Thailand's Tak Province, describes training in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in jungle and urban environments.

The official spelling is MAITREE. The question's Maitri is the same word.

Key facts

Maitree: India–Thailand, the Indian Army with the Royal Thai Army.
Mitra Shakti: India–Sri Lanka.
Sampriti: India–Bangladesh.
Nomadic Elephant: India–Mongolia.

Study next

Naval exercises with the same partners: SLINEX (Sri Lanka), Bongosagar (Bangladesh), Indo-Thai CORPATSurya Kiran, India's army exercise with Nepal

Common traps

Confusing Maitree with Mitra Shakti, since both names come from the Sanskrit word for friend.
Guessing a close neighbour such as Bhutan instead of the recorded partner.

Here the exercise is named and the partner asked. Mitra Shakti is asked at 17 Sep 2025, 16:00, GA Q.9 and Nomadic Elephant at 15 Sep 2025, 16:00, GA Q.6.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Current events — all 232 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.