New Delhi: India will build a 'vibrant' nationwide Civil Defence network through a first-of-its-kind joint training initiative with the Indian Army, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Friday, ANI reported.
Source: ANI via Khelja — India to build vibrant Civil Defence network with Indian Army training
In the first phase, 600 Civil Defence Master Trainers — 50 each from 12 states and Union Territories — are proposed to be trained by the second week of November 2026 through a three-day specialised programme at designated Indian Army training establishments. The participating states and UTs are Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the MHA said.
Source: ANI via Khelja — India to build vibrant Civil Defence network with Indian Army training
The training covers three broad areas: threat awareness (modern and hybrid warfare, drone awareness and air-raid threats); protection and emergency response (critical infrastructure protection, fire safety, CBRN awareness, casualty management and search and rescue); and communication and coordination (emergency communication, cyber hygiene, digital resilience, civil-military coordination and incident command).
Source: ANI via Khelja — India to build vibrant Civil Defence network with Indian Army training
Under a cascading mechanism, each master trainer will then train 100 Civil Defence volunteers in their home state or UT — a reach of 60,000 volunteers across the 12 participating states and UTs, the ministry said.
Source: ANI via Khelja — India to build vibrant Civil Defence network with Indian Army training
The initiative follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's August 15, 2026 address from the Red Fort, where he set out the vision of a robust, responsive and future-ready Civil Defence network equipped with modern systems. The Directorate General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards is coordinating the pilot with the MHA and the Army, and the programme is envisaged to expand to the remaining states and UTs in phases, ANI reported.
Source: ANI via Khelja — India to build vibrant Civil Defence network with Indian Army training
As an early example of the model, the Army's White Knight Corps ran a three-day residential camp at the Corps Battle School in Sarol, Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir) from October 17 to 19, training 50 participants — 34 Civil Defence volunteers and 16 State Disaster Response Force personnel — in drone threats, hybrid warfare, air raids, cyber threats and emergency response, Defence Watch reported.