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Navy's First Training Squadron reaches Maldives under MAHASAGAR vision

By CAShorts DeskPublished Sources: PIB (Ministry of Defence); News On AIR; DD News; MEA-PIB India-Maldives vision document

Navy's First Training Squadron reaches Maldives under MAHASAGAR vision
Illustration (AI-generated)

Indian Navy ships INS Tir and INS Sujata and Indian Coast Guard Ship Sarathi, of the First Training Squadron, arrived off Malé, Maldives, on 21 October 2026 on a Long Range Training Deployment. The squadron's senior officer called on the chief of the Maldives National Defence Force. The Ministry of Defence linked the visit to India's MAHASAGAR vision.

Syllabus: Prelims · Current Affairs & IR; GS2 · India & its Neighbourhood; GS2 · Groupings & Agreements

Why this matters for UPSC

GS2, India and its neighbourhood: Prelims can ask about MAHASAGAR and SAGAR, the Maldives National Defence Force and Exercise Ekuverin; Mains, about the Maldives' importance to India's maritime security.

Why it matters

The Maldives lies beside busy shipping lanes off India's south-west coast, and its defence force has to watch a vast stretch of ocean for piracy, illegal fishing and drug smuggling. When Indian and Maldivian sailors train together, visit each other's ships and learn the same procedures, they can work as one team when a boat is in distress or a cyclone strikes. Young officers on these voyages also learn early how much India's security depends on friendly island neighbours. Regular, low-key visits like this keep working ties between the two forces alive between bigger agreements.

Prelims pointers

  • Exercise Ekuverin: joint exercise of the Indian Army and the MNDF, held alternately in India and the Maldives since 2009; 'Ekuverin' means 'Friends' in Dhivehi.
  • Eight Degree Channel: the sea passage separating Minicoy island of Lakshadweep from the Maldives; a busy shipping lane.
  • Indian Coast Guard: raised on 1 February 1977 and governed by the Coast Guard Act, 1978; it works under the Ministry of Defence.
  • MAHASAGAR's three ideas: trade for development, capacity building for sustainable growth and mutual security, delivered through technology sharing, concessional loans and grants.
  • India-Maldives vision document (7 October 2024): MNDF 'Ekatha' harbour at Uthuru Thila Falhu, radar systems, hydrography support, and a commercial port at Thilafushi.
  • Colombo Security Conclave: India and the Maldives are founding members; the October 2024 vision document notes the recent signing of its Charter.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to India's MAHASAGAR vision, consider the following statements:

1. It was announced by India in Mauritius in 2025.

2. It builds on Vision SAGAR, whose foundation was laid in Mauritius in 2015.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2 only
  3. (c) Both 1 and 2
  4. (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2. Both the place and the years of the two visions are right.

Statement 1: correct. The Prime Minister announced MAHASAGAR in Mauritius in March 2025 as India's vision for the Global South (PIB, 12 March 2025).

Statement 2: correct. He said the foundation of Vision SAGAR had been laid in Mauritius ten years earlier, in 2015, and that MAHASAGAR goes beyond it.

Eliminate: Statement 1 is the surest: MAHASAGAR was announced in Mauritius in 2025. Out: (b), (d).

Eliminate: Statement 2 also holds, as SAGAR was set out in Mauritius in 2015. Out: (a).

Trap: Swapped attribution. A student may place SAGAR in Sri Lanka or the Maldives and doubt statement 2, but both visions were set out in Mauritius.

Remember: SAGAR (2015) and MAHASAGAR (2025) were both set out in Mauritius.

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