PIB TrackerGaruda Shakti in Indonesia, Srishti launched at Goa
India's Special Forces began the 11th Garuda Shakti in Indonesia as SIMBEX ended at Visakhapatnam and Goa Shipyard launched the Navy's next-generation patrol vessel Srishti - routine releases that read as one pattern.
What happened
- The 11th edition of Garuda Shakti, the India-Indonesia Joint Special Forces Exercise, began at Banyuwangi, Indonesia, running 27 October to 6 November 2026, with the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) and the Indonesian Special Forces.
- Training covers special operations in jungle environments - obstacle crossing, combat marksmanship, mountaineering, air assault and combat hardening - with exchanges on weapons and practices, ending in a validation exercise.
- SIMBEX-2026, the 33rd edition, concluded at Visakhapatnam on 26 October: a harbour phase and a Bay of Bengal sea phase of maritime interdiction, ASW, anti-air and anti-surface drills, with INS Nilgiri, INS Kamorta, P-8I, MH-60R and the RSN's RSS Supreme.
- Goa Shipyard launched Yard 1283, 'Srishti', a Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel; NGOPVs are being built at GSL and GRSE for maritime surveillance, search and rescue, protection of offshore assets, HADR and anti-piracy missions.
- At an MSME shipyard in Thane, the first of four 300-tonne sullage barges was launched and keels were laid for the third barge and the first of three bottom-opening dumb barges, for MARPOL compliance; the First Training Squadron reached Colombo.
For Prelims
- Garuda Shakti: the India-Indonesia Special Forces exercise. The 10th edition was held at the Special Forces Training School, Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh, in December 2025; the 9th at Cijantung, Jakarta, in November 2024. The 11th returns to Indonesia, at Banyuwangi.
- Do not confuse: Garuda Shakti (Army special forces) with Samudra Shakti, the India-Indonesia naval exercise conceived in 2018 under the Act East Policy, whose fifth edition was held at Visakhapatnam in October 2025.
- Parachute Regiment (Special Forces): the Army's special forces battalions. Indonesia's counterpart is Kopassus, its Army Special Forces Command, which hosted the 9th edition at its Cijantung base. The jungle focus suits both armies' terrain.
- SIMBEX: began in 1994 as an anti-submarine exercise, earlier called 'Exercise Lion King', and is described as the Indian Navy's longest uninterrupted bilateral maritime exercise. 2026 was the 33rd edition, hosted at Visakhapatnam.
- NGOPV programme: contracts signed on 30 March 2023 for 11 vessels worth Rs 9,781 crore - seven at Goa Shipyard, four at GRSE - under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. The first, Shachi, was launched at GSL; 'Srishti' is Sanskrit for 'creation'.
- MARPOL: the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (IMO); its Annex IV regulates sewage discharge from ships. Sullage barges take ships' waste water off in harbour so it is not discharged at sea; dumb barges have no engines and are towed.
- MAHASAGAR: Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions - announced by the PM in Mauritius in March 2025 as the wider successor to SAGAR (2015). The First Training Squadron is the Navy's sea-training formation; its Colombo call includes a PASSEX.
- Ships in SIMBEX: INS Nilgiri is the lead ship of the Project 17A stealth frigates; INS Kamorta is a Project 28 anti-submarine corvette; the P-8I is the Navy's long-range maritime patrol and ASW aircraft; the MH-60R is its multi-role helicopter.
For UPSC: Garuda Shakti = India-Indonesia Special Forces exercise, 11th edition, Banyuwangi, 27 Oct-6 Nov 2026. SIMBEX (since 1994) 33rd ends; NGOPV Srishti launched (11 NGOPVs, Rs 9,781 cr).
What it is NOT: Exercise and launch releases describe activity, not capability. Garuda Shakti's release gives no contingent size and no scenario for the validation exercise; SIMBEX's gives no assessment of what interoperability was achieved. The Srishti release does not say how many of the 11 NGOPVs have been launched or delivered, or whether the programme is on schedule - and a launch is not a commissioning: the hull still has to be fitted out and tried at sea. The barge release gives no contract value, and none of the releases links the day's activity to a stated plan.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.20 · GS2.17 · Linkage L1
Anchor
India's military diplomacy is built from routine. On one day, special forces began training in Indonesia, a Singapore exercise ended in the Bay of Bengal, a training squadron reached Colombo and a patrol vessel was launched at Goa - none headline news, together a steady presence across the eastern Indian Ocean.
Substantiation (data)
Garuda Shakti's 11th edition (27 October-6 November, Banyuwangi); SIMBEX's 33rd, in a series running since 1994; NGOPV Srishti, part of an 11-ship, Rs 9,781 crore programme split between GSL and GRSE; four sullage barges from an MSME yard; the First Training Squadron at Colombo under MAHASAGAR.
Position
The government's stated position is that indigenous shipbuilding has a multiplier effect on GDP and the industrial base, and that regular bilateral exercises build interoperability and trust with maritime neighbours - Aatmanirbhar Bharat and MAHASAGAR stated together.
Counterpoint
Releases like these record events, not outcomes. None gives a measure of interoperability, a delivery date or a schedule check, and repetition can become a substitute for depth - an exercise in its eleventh or thirty-third edition is only as useful as the scenarios it actually tests.
Way forward
Report shipbuilding milestones against contract schedules; move Garuda Shakti and SIMBEX toward scenario-based validation with published objectives; and turn port calls such as Colombo into regular coordinated activity with Indian Ocean partners rather than one-off visits.
Conclusion
A patrol vessel named 'creation' and a jungle exercise in Indonesia make an odd pair, but they belong to one approach: build the ships at home, and keep training with the same partners year after year until presence becomes the default.
Deploys into: Defence diplomacy and military exercises · Indigenous shipbuilding · Indian Ocean strategy and MAHASAGAR · Maritime environmental compliance
Ministry of Defence · 2026-10-27 · PRID 2328954 · PIB source ↗