Context

The 10^th in the series of joint military exercise between Indian and Russia, INDRA 2018 was conducted at Babina Field Ranges in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.

About

INDRA Exercise 2018

• Army contingents of the two nations participated in the training exercise spanning for 11 days which included induction and de-induction of the Russian contingent.
• The training is being supervised by a joint directing panel comprising of senior officials of both the national contingents.
• The aim of the exercise is to practice joint planning and conduct to enhance interoperability of the two Armies in the peace keeping/ enforcement environment under the aegis of the UN.
• It focuses upon training on enhancing team building, special tactical level operations such as Cordon and Search, house intervention, handling and neutralisation of Improvised Explosive Devices and integrated employment of force multipliers.
• The primary focus of the tactical field exercise is to share best practices amongst the militaries and hone existing skills of the troops.

History

• As a joint, bi-annual military naval exercise, it was started in 2003.
• The exercise was tasked to boost cooperation and interoperability between the Russian and Indian navies.
• The year 2017 marked a major milestone for the Exercise as it was upgraded to involve all the three Services of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy & Air Force).

Significance

The scope of the Exercise includes professional interactions, establishment of joint command and control structures between the Indian & Russian forces and elimination of terrorist threat in a multinational environment under the UN mandate.