Indo-Nepal joint military training exercise Surya kiran begin

• 15th India-Nepal combined battalion level military training exercise began at Pithoragarh (UK).
• During the exercise, an Infantry Battalion each from the Indian Army and the Nepali Army will be training together to develop inter-operability between the two armies.
• The focus of exercise will be on counter-terror drills and disaster relief operations.

India-Nepal Defence cooperation

• India and Nepal have wide-ranging cooperation in the defence sector.
• India has been assisting the Nepal Army (NA) in its modernisation by supplying equipment and providing training.
• Assistance during disasters, joint military exercises, adventure activities and bilateral visits are other aspects of India’s defence cooperation with Nepal.
• A number of defence personnel from Nepal Army attend training courses in various Indian Army training institutions.
• The ‘Indo-Nepal Battalion-level Joint Military Exercise SURYA KIRAN’ is conducted alternately in India and in Nepal.
• Since 1950, India and Nepal have been awarding each other’s Army Chief with the honorary rank of General in recognition of the mutual harmonious relationship between the two armies.
• The Gorkha regiments of the Indian Army are raised partly by recruitment from hill districts of Nepal.
• Currently, about 32,000 Gorkha Soldiers from Nepal are serving in the Indian Army.
• In addition to Military Pension Branch in Kathmandu, there are two Pension Paying Offices at Pokhara and Dharan, and 22 District Soldier Boards in Nepal, all functioning under the Defence Wing of the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.
• The offices arrange the disbursement of pensions and organise welfare programmes for re-training, rehabilitating and assisting ex-Gorkha soldiers and their families.