INDIA HOSTS PRAGATI 2026 MULTILATERAL MILITARY EXERCISE
Why in the News?
● Military Exercise: India commenced the multinational military exercise PRAGATI 2026 at Umroi Military Station in Meghalaya.
● International Participation: Armed forces from 12 friendly nations are participating in the exercise.
● Counter-Terror Focus: The exercise focuses on counter-terrorism operations in semi-mountainous and jungle terrain, with training grounds complying with Forest Conservation Act provisions.
KEY FEATURES OF PRAGATI 2026
● Host Nation: India is hosting the two-week multilateral military exercise.
● Participating Countries: Nations include Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and several ASEAN-region countries.
● Training Activities: The programme includes tactical drills, joint planning exercises and coordinated military operations.
● Terrain-Based Training: Troops are being trained for operations in jungle and semi-mountainous environments, ensuring minimal environmental impact through proper environmental impact assessment.
● Professional Exchange: The exercise promotes military learning, interoperability and exchange of operational experiences.
OBJECTIVES OF THE EXERCISE
● Counter-Terror Cooperation: Strengthen collective capability to respond to terrorism-related security challenges.
● Interoperability Enhancement: Improve coordination and operational compatibility among participating armies.
● Regional Security: Promote stability and defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and neighbouring regions.
● Strategic Partnerships: Deepen military-to-military ties between India and friendly countries.
● Operational Readiness: Enhance adaptability, endurance and tactical proficiency of participating troops while maintaining environmental safeguards.
| MILITARY EXERCISES ● Strategic Importance: Military exercises improve combat preparedness and crisis-response capabilities. ● Joint Operations: They enhance interoperability among armed forces through coordinated training activities. ● Counter-Terror Training: Exercises increasingly focus on asymmetric warfare and counter-terrorism operations. ● Regional Cooperation: Multilateral drills promote defence partnerships and regional security architecture, guided by principles of environmental jurisprudence as established in the Vanashakti judgment and avoiding retrospective environmental clearances or ex-post approvals. ● UPSC Syllabus: GS-III — Security challenges and their management; various security forces and agencies. |