Which Indian Naval Ship participated in Exercise Cutlass Express, 2021 ?

The correct answer is C) INS Talwar. Cutlass Express is a US Africa Command-led maritime security exercise held off East Africa, focused on anti-piracy, boarding, and interdiction. Indian Navy ships on deployment in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden often join such serials during port calls and passage exercises, and Talwar, a Talwar-class stealth frigate, was the unit reported in the 2021 edition.

• INS Vikrant is wrong for this question. In 2021 it was still under construction and sea trials, and it was commissioned only in 2022.
• INS Magar is an amphibious landing ship. It is built for troop and vehicle landing, not for the maritime security and boarding tasks that this exercise covers.
• INS Vikramaditya is a carrier based with the Western Fleet. It was not the ship deployed to the East African serial in 2021.

Core concept: Indian Navy's out-of-area deployments and multinational maritime security exercises, which tie into India's Indian Ocean and SAGAR-type outreach. For Mains GS-III, link this to maritime security, anti-piracy cooperation, and India's role as a net security provider.

Trap: Aspirants pick the carrier or the most famous ship by name recognition. Prelims often tests whether you know which unit was actually deployed for a specific exercise, so check the deployment record, not the ship's prominence.