“PRAGATI — progress — is both what this exercise is named for and what it represents: the forward movement of India’s regional security partnerships from bilateral exchange to structured multilateral cooperation.”
The Indian Army formally commenced the inaugural edition of multilateral military exercise PRAGATI 2026 on 20 May 2026 at the Foreign Training Node (FTN), Umroi Military Station, near Shillong, Meghalaya. The two-week exercise, scheduled from 18 to 31 May 2026, brings together armed forces from India and 12 friendly foreign nations in a structured platform focused on counter-terrorism, jungle warfare, and joint operational readiness in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Being the maiden edition of the exercise, PRAGATI 2026 represents a new institutional tier in India’s multilateral defence diplomacy with its extended neighbourhood. A distinctive feature is an integrated Aatmanirbhar Bharat defence exposition, co-organised with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), running alongside the military drills.
📜 What Is PRAGATI? Acronym, Mandate, and Principles
PRAGATI stands for Partnership of Regional Armies for Growth and Transformation in the Indian Ocean Region. It is a premier multinational military exercise hosted by the Indian Army, designed as a unified institutional platform where regional armies can exchange battlefield experiences, harmonise tactical doctrines, and develop joint response mechanisms against contemporary non-traditional security threats.
The exercise is governed by core principles of mutual respect, equality, and shared commitment to regional security — deliberately positioning it as a non-hierarchical platform accessible to smaller as well as larger partner nations. The word pragati also means “progress” in Hindi and several Indian languages, signifying the exercise’s orientation toward forward movement in regional security cooperation.
Think of PRAGATI as the Indian Army’s version of a regional “security study group” — but with live drills. While MILAN is the Indian Navy’s big multilateral exercise, PRAGATI does the same job for land forces across the Indian Ocean region. It’s like a school for coalition warfare: 13 armies practice working together before they actually need to in a real crisis.
🌍 Participating Nations and Regional Coverage
India is hosting 12 friendly foreign countries (FFCs) in the inaugural edition: Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
The participant list spans three sub-regions: ASEAN nations (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam — 7 of 12 partners), India’s South Asian neighbours (Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka), and the Western Indian Ocean island state of Seychelles. The FICCI event page indicates that 15 countries were originally invited, including Bangladesh, Singapore, and Thailand — signalling scope for expansion in future editions.
| Sub-Region | Participating Nations | Count |
|---|---|---|
| ASEAN | Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam | 7 |
| South Asia | Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka | 4 |
| Western Indian Ocean | Seychelles | 1 |
| Total (excl. India) | 12 Friendly Foreign Countries | 12 |
Don’t say “12 countries” — the correct count is 13. India plus 12 friendly foreign nations = 13 participating countries in total. However, the standard phrasing in official releases is “India and 12 FFCs.” Also note: Bangladesh, Singapore, and Thailand were invited but are not listed as confirmed participants in the inaugural edition — don’t include them in MCQ answers about participating nations.
📌 Location: FTN Umroi and the Northeast India Gateway
The exercise is conducted at the Foreign Training Node (FTN) at Umroi, approximately 20 kilometres from Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya. Umroi is a well-established hub for international military exercises under the Indian Army’s Eastern Command. It has previously hosted bilateral exercises including Nomadic Elephant (India–Mongolia), KazInd (India–Kazakhstan), and Vajra Prahar (India–US special forces).
The choice of Northeast India carries deliberate strategic logic. Meghalaya shares its border with Bangladesh and is geographically proximate to Southeast Asia via Myanmar — the land bridge connecting the Indian subcontinent with the ASEAN mainland. The terrain (dense jungle, undulating hills, semi-mountainous features) mirrors operational environments in many participating nations and is ideal for counter-terrorism training. Conducting the exercise here also reinforces India’s policy of leveraging the North-East Region (NER) as a gateway to Southeast Asia under the Act East Policy.
FTN Umroi, Meghalaya has hosted: Nomadic Elephant (India–Mongolia), KazInd (India–Kazakhstan), Vajra Prahar (India–USA special forces). PRAGATI 2026 is the first multilateral exercise hosted at Umroi — all previous exercises at this venue were bilateral.
✨ Training Objectives and Key Operational Features
The two-week exercise operates across several integrated domains:
- Counter-Terrorism / Counter-Insurgency (CT/CI) Drills: Live-fire simulation, tactical field drills, and joint command planning in jungle and semi-mountainous terrain — with limited visibility, restricted communication, and complex navigation challenges
- Joint Command Planning: Combined exercises to develop common Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and operational frameworks for coalition operations
- Intelligence Synchronisation: Development of synchronised concepts for real-time management, analysis, and secure sharing of intelligence in a multinational environment — the most demanding component of coalition operations
- HADR Training: Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief scenarios — rapid joint response to natural disasters consistent with IOR’s vulnerability to cyclones, floods, and tsunamis
- Aatmanirbhar Bharat Defence Exposition: Indigenous Indian defence companies showcase weaponry, tactical equipment, surveillance systems, and battlefield innovations — creating a simultaneous platform for potential defence export and technology-transfer discussions
PRAGATI 2026 uniquely combines live military training with an Aatmanirbhar Bharat defence industry exposition co-organised with FICCI. This is deliberate: partner nations watching Indian-made weapons and surveillance systems in action are also potential buyers. How does this dual-purpose design advance India’s defence export ambitions alongside its security diplomacy goals?
⚖️ Strategic Context: Neighbourhood First, Act East, and SAGAR
PRAGATI 2026 is the product of several converging strands of Indian strategic policy:
- Neighbourhood First Policy: Prioritises deep security, economic, and people-to-people linkages with India’s immediate neighbours (Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka all participating)
- Act East Policy: Launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2014 as a strategic upgrade of the earlier Look East Policy; deepens India’s engagement with ASEAN nations across defence, trade, and connectivity
- SAGAR Doctrine: Security and Growth for All in the Region — India as the net security provider and first responder in the IOR
The exercise also reflects India’s positioning as a Preferred Security Partner in the IOR — as China’s naval presence in the Indian Ocean has expanded through port infrastructure in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. For ASEAN nations navigating major-power competition, India’s PRAGATI platform offers multilateral engagement without the explicit alliance frameworks that complicate their ties with the US or China.
Key defence diplomacy milestones that contextualise PRAGATI: India’s first India-ASEAN maritime exercise (2023); Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the 12th ADMM-Plus in Kuala Lumpur (November 2025); India appointed Defence Attachés in several Asian countries in 2024. PRAGATI adds a dedicated army-level exercise to this architecture.
🌐 Comparison with Other Indian Multilateral Exercises
India conducts several multilateral military exercises, each with a distinct focus:
| Exercise | Service | Focus | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRAGATI | Army | CT/CI, HADR, IOR land forces | First multilateral army exercise for IOR; co-located defence expo |
| MILAN | Navy | Naval interoperability | 50+ nations; Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
| Malabar | Navy | High-end naval warfare | Quad partners: India, US, Japan, Australia |
| Sanyukt Vimochan | Army | Multilateral HADR | Disaster relief focused |
| Tasman Saber | Navy / Joint | Combined warfighting | India-Australia-US |
PRAGATI is India’s first dedicated multilateral land forces exercise specifically for the IOR and ASEAN neighbourhood. Before PRAGATI, India had MILAN (Navy’s multilateral), but no standing multilateral army exercise in this format. The first India-ASEAN multilateral exercise at sea was conducted in 2023; PRAGATI (2026) does the same for land forces.
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PRAGATI stands for Partnership of Regional Armies for Growth and Transformation in the Indian Ocean Region. It is the Indian Army’s maiden multilateral exercise for the IOR, hosted at FTN Umroi, Meghalaya in May 2026.
India invited 12 friendly foreign countries (FFCs), making 13 participating nations in total. The 12 FFCs span ASEAN (7 nations), South Asia (4), and the Western Indian Ocean (Seychelles).
The inaugural PRAGATI 2026 was held at the Foreign Training Node (FTN), Umroi Military Station, near Shillong, Meghalaya, hosted by the Indian Army’s Eastern Command.
The Act East Policy was launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2014 as a strategic upgrade of the earlier Look East Policy (in place since 1991), aimed at deepening engagement with ASEAN across defence, trade, and connectivity.
MILAN is India’s multilateral naval exercise (hosted by the Indian Navy at Andaman & Nicobar, 50+ nations). PRAGATI (2026) is the first dedicated multilateral land forces exercise for the IOR region, hosted by the Indian Army at Meghalaya.
