What does India’s civil defence drill mean for you?

The Union Home Ministry has instructed all states and Union territories to conduct extensive mock drills on Wednesday, in light of “new and complex threats” that have emerged following the Pahalgam terror attack.

Focus on civil defence preparedness In a letter addressed to chief secretaries and administrators, the Ministry outlined a series of civil defence measures. These include the activation of air-raid warning sirens, training civilians in self-protection during hostile attacks, and cleaning bunkers and trenches.

Additional steps involve implementing crash-blackout measures, early camouflaging of vital installations, and updating evacuation plans. Operational testing of hotline and radio communication links with the Indian Air Force (IAF), as well as checking the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms, has also been mandated.

Scope and purpose of the exercise The Directorate General of Fire Service, Civil Defence and Home Guards emphasised that “in the current geo-political scenario, it is prudent to maintain optimum civil defence preparedness at all times.” The government has decided to conduct a civil defence exercise across all 244 categorised civil defence districts on 7 May.

The exercise will extend to the village level, aiming to assess and enhance readiness. It will evaluate the operational efficacy and coordination of civil defence mechanisms nationwide.

Broad participation encouraged Active participation from district controllers, local authorities, civil-defence wardens, volunteers, home guards, National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), as well as school and college students, is expected.

PM Modi’s high-level engagements Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been holding a series of high-level meetings with defence officials as India weighs countermeasures after the 22 April terror attack in Pahalgam, where 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.

Modi has vowed to pursue the perpetrators and conspirators to the “ends of the earth” and punish them “beyond their imagination”.