Shakti Exercise - Facts about Exercise Shakti for UPSC

Shakti Exercise is a bilateral exercise between the armies of India and France. It is a biennial exercise that takes place between Indian and French armies, alternately in the two countries. The latest edition of the Shakti Exercise took place in Rajasthan in 2019. It is an important joint military exercise between India and another nation and makes an important topic for the IAS Exam. This article will provide you with details on Shakti Exercise for UPSC preparation.

Candidates can also refer to other important Bilateral Army Exercises between India and other nations from the links mentioned in the table below:

Sampriti Mitra Shakti Maitree Exercise Vajra prahar Yudh Abhyas
nomadic elephant hand in hand exercise Garuda Shakti  Dharma Guardian Surya Kiran

Shakti Exercise 2019

The following points are important about Shakti Exercise for UPSC Prelims:

Shakti Exercise
Exercise Shakti 2019 took place in Rajasthan from 31st October to 13th November 2019. From India’s side, the 21st Sikh Regiment participated in this bilateral exercise.
The Exercise Shakti aimed to train in counter-terrorism operations and had a semi-terrain set-up for the same
The Shakti exercise 2019 included:

  • High degree of physical fitness
  • Sharing of knowledge related to drills that took place at a tactical level
  • Learning of best practices from the armies of both countries
The aims of the exercise are:

  • Enhancement of defence understanding
  • Promotion of cooperation between the troops of the armies
  • Improvement and sustainability of interoperability between the Indian and the French armies
The exercise Shakti 2019 took place in two phases:

  • First phase – Combat conditioning and tactical training
  • Second Phase – Test of the training practises where the stage is called the Validation Stage
In the Shakti Exercise, RUDRA helicopter was used. It is the weaponized version of the Advanced Light Helicopter ‘Dhruv’ produced indigenously by India

Quick Facts about Shakti Exercise for UPSC

The aspirants should know that defence activities are more or less used to promote cooperation between the two nations. The Shakti Exercise aims to do that between the two countries – India and France. The points below are important to know what forms the background of such military exercises:

  1. The bilateral exercise between the Indian and French army started off in 2011.
  2. The Shakti Exercise aims to acquaint the armies of both nations about the operational procedures and combat drills.
  3. The troops of armies are trained to understand the counter-terrorism operations.
  4. A few activities that are included in the training:
    1. Establishment of observation posts,
    2. Cordon and search operation and
    3. House clearing drills including the evacuation of casualties using helicopters.
  5. The important editions of Shakti Exercise with year and location:
    1. 2011 – Shakti I – Chaubatia (Uttarakhand), India
    2. 2013 – Shakti II – Jodhpur (Rajasthan), India
    3. 2016 – Shakti III –
    4. 2018 – Shakti IV – Mailly-le-Camp, France
    5. 2019 – Shakti 2019 – Rajasthan, India

India-France Defence Cooperation

IAS aspirants can note the following brief points on India-France defence cooperation:

  1. The establishment of a Strategic Partnership between India and France took place in 1998.
  2. One of the principal pillars of the India-France Strategic Partnership is the defence and security cooperation area.
  3. India has always received the support of France for its Permanent Membership in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC.)
  4. India and France resolve to work together favouring Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) which is a proposed treaty that proposes to criminalize all forms of international terrorism.
  5. To show full support to India, following the ‘Pulwama terror attack,’ France listed the Pakistan-based ‘global terrorist’ Masood Azhar.

To get the list of Indian Army Exercises, visit the linked article now.

Shakti Exercise – UPSC Notes:-Download PDF Here

UPSC Preparation:

Current Affairs Daily News Analysis of The Hindu newspaper Gist of Yojana
Gist of Kurukshetra Best of PIB for UPSC Current Affairs Quiz

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