New Delhi: Union home secretary Govind Mohan has called for a meeting regarding civil defence at 10.45am today as preparations are being made in 244 districts for civil defense on Wednesday, May 7 to bolster national preparedness. Chief Secretaries and heads of civil defence from across the country will participate in the meeting via video conferencing.
The meeting comes on the heels of an advisory issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), directing all states and UTs to conduct a civil defence drills. Many of these districts have been identified as vulnerable to various external threats. The decision is important amid indications of a possible confrontation with Pakistan.
Aims to test and enhance readiness of civil defence apparatus
The upcoming exercise, unprecedented in its scale, aims to test and enhance the readiness of civil defence apparatus against any hostile aggression. The drills are expected to evoke memories of past full-scale wars — with China in 1962 and Pakistan in 1965 and 1971.
The communication for the exercise was issued by the Directorate General of Fire Services, Civil Defence, and Home Guards, which functions under the MHA. It follows a day of intense deliberations chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, involving National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and senior officials from the home and defence ministries.
Wednesday’s drills will include the operationalisation of air raid warning sirens to assess their effectiveness, activation of hotline and radio communication links with the Air Force, implementation of blackout measures, and evaluation of early camouflaging options for vital installations and infrastructure.
To test the functionality of control rooms
The exercise also seeks to test the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms, verify the activation and response of civil defence services — such as wardens, firefighting units, rescue teams and depot managers — and evaluate evacuation plans through rehearsed execution.
Another communication sent on May 2 had instructed states to strengthen civil defence readiness in vulnerable areas. It recalled the PM’s emphasis on civil defence during the ‘Chintan Shivir’ attended by state home ministers in Haryana in October 2024, which highlighted the importance of preparedness in border and coastal regions. Apart from operational aspects, states have been advised to clean and maintain bunkers and trenches along border areas.
