Daily News Analysis ‘Exercise PRAGATI 2026 ’ : 21 May

Why in News:

• The Indian Army has launched the two-week multilateral joint military exercise named PRAGATI 2026 at the Umroi Military Station in Meghalaya.

Exercise PRAGATI 2026 Core Facts:

• Official Full Form: PRAGATI stands for Partnership of Regional Armies for Growth and Transformation in the Indian Ocean Region.
• Participating Footprint: Features a 13-nation cohort comprising host nation India alongside 12 friendly foreign countries (FFCs): Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
• Strategic Policy Alignment: Driven as a core security implementation under India’s Act East Policy and the SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision to assert maritime and territorial stability across the Indo-Pacific.
• Geographic Venue Asset: Conducted at the dedicated Foreign Training Node (FTN) in Umroi (Ri-Bhoi district, Meghalaya), which serves as India’s premier advanced infrastructure hub for simulating counter-insurgency and jungle warfare.