New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Indian Army plan to train 600 civil-defence master trainers from 12 states and union territories under a new pilot announced on Friday to improve preparedness for modern security threats. Each trainer is subsequently expected to train 100 local volunteers, giving the programme a potential reach of 60,000 people if fully implemented.
The three-day training is proposed to be completed by the second week of November, with 50 participants drawn from each region, according to the home ministry’s official announcement. The participating states and UT’s are Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The initiative is being organized by the Directorate General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards in coordination with the Army. Designated Army training establishments will provide specialized instruction tailored to civilian emergency-response responsibilities.
Training for drones, air raids and CBRN threats
The first of three modules will introduce participants to modern and hybrid warfare, drone awareness and air-raid threats. Hybrid warfare involves combinations of conventional attacks and disruptive methods, including cyber and information operations, which can place civilian services under pressure.
A second module will cover protecting critical infrastructure, fire safety, casualty management, search and rescue, and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) hazards.
The third will address emergency communications, cyber hygiene, digital resilience, civil-military coordination and incident command, which provides a structure for managing emergency responses involving multiple agencies.
The ministry said the training would help strengthen preparedness for emerging threats, improve coordination during emergencies and support the protection of essential infrastructure.
Army-trained instructors to train 60,000 volunteers
The initiative follows a cascading training model, under which each of the 600 master trainers will subsequently train 100 civil-defence volunteers in their respective areas.
The ministry estimates that this could extend specialized training to 60,000 volunteers, although the figure represents the programme’s intended reach rather than completed training.
The pilot follows the prime minister, Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address on August 15, when he called for modernizing India’s civil defence network.
“The civil defence systems that have developed in our country in accordance with the wars of the last century have become outdated,” Modi said, announcing plans for a large volunteer network equipped to address contemporary threats.
A separate Army-led “Train with Your Army” camp in Rajouri from October 17 to 19 trained 34 civil-defence volunteers and 16 State Disaster Response Force personnel. Organized by the White Knight Corps, it covered drone threats, hybrid warfare, air raids, cyber risks and emergency-response procedures.
The home ministry said the new pilot could be expanded to the remaining states and UT’s in phases, depending on its results. No timetable for the proposed wider rollout has been announced.