Explained | From air raid sirens to blackouts: Civil defence mock drills amid India-Pakistan tensions

As uncertainty hangs in the air, and with the 2021 ceasefire accord between India and Pakistan a mere nominal entity now, the precautionary civil defence drills take on particular importance, signalling India's readiness to defend itself should tensions escalate into direct conflict.

Amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has ordered civil defence mock drills in 244 districts across the country on May 7.

The drills come at a time of not just diplomatic tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations. Since the terror attack, cross-border exchanges of fire, sparked by provocation from the Pakistani side, have also become the norm along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB), with daily instances of such exchanges being reported.

Amid all this, Pakistan has threatened military action in retaliation to India's decision to suspend the Indus Water Treaty.

As uncertainty hangs in the air, and with the 2021 ceasefire accord between the two nations a mere nominal entity now, the precautionary civil defence drills take on particular importance, signalling India's readiness to defend itself should tensions escalate into direct conflict.

What are civil defence drills?

Used widely during the Cold War to handle the ever-present threat of hostilities, civil defence drills, as the name indicates, simulate real-life scenarios expected during direct conflict to prepare civilians for eventualities and test the effectiveness of government mechanisms in the face of invasion, missile attacks, or airstrikes.

The drills, which will involve simulation of potential scenarios, include air raid warnings, blackouts, and mock evacuations, and aim to mentally prepare the civilian population for conflict scenarios and reduce the potential of mass panic during an attack.

Where are the civil defence drills being held?

The mock drills have been ordered under Section 19 of the Civil Defence Rules, 1968 and will take place across 244 districts categorised as Civil Defence Districts.

With exercises planned up to the village level, the civil defence drills will aim to test the operational readiness of defence mechanisms across all states and Union Territories (UTs).

Check full list of Civil Defence Districts at the end.

What are the objectives of the drills?

The drills will seek to test the effectiveness and readiness of several components of the civil defence mechanism.

The following are the areas of focus:

• Air raid warning systems: Testing the functionality and effectiveness of warning systems against aerial attacks.

• Communication links: Operationalising hotline and radio communication links with the Indian Air Force for emergency communication.

• Control rooms: Testing the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms for overseeing civil defence.

• Civilian training: Training civilians, students, and other members of the public on aspects of civil defence so as to enable them to protect themselves in the event of an attack.

• Crash blackout measures: Testing the implementation of crash blackout measures.

• Camouflaging: Verifying the provision for early camouflaging of vital plants and installations to prevent aerial targeting.

• Civil Defence services: Assessing the activation and response of civil defence services, including warden services, firefighting services, rescue operations, and depot management.

• Evacuation plans: Evaluating the preparedness and execution of evacuation plans to prepare for mass evacuation scenarios.

Who will take part in the mock civil defence drills on May 7?

For the drills scheduled on May 7, the MHA has ordered the participation of various stakeholders, from administrators to students. They are as follows:

• District Controller: The head of the Civil Defence organisation in each district.

• District authorities: Officials responsible for different aspects of civil administration.

• Civil Defence Wardens/Volunteers: Trained individuals responsible for coordinating and assisting the public during emergencies.

• Home Guard (active/reservists volunteers): Members of the Home Guard, a volunteer force that assists the police and other security agencies.

• NCC, NSS, NYKS: Students from the National Cadet Corps, National Service Scheme, and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, respectively.

• College/school students: Students from various educational institutions.

Full list of Civil Defence Districts

• Andaman & Nicobar Islands (UT)

  • Port Blair

• Andhra Pradesh

  • Vishakapatnam

• Arunachal Pradesh

  • Alog (West Siang)

  • Itanagar

  • Tawang

  • Hayuling

  • Bomdila

• Assam

  • Bongaigaon

  • Dibrugarh

  • Dhubri

  • Goalpara

  • Jorhat

  • Sibsagar

  • Tinsukia

  • Tezpur

  • Digboi

  • Duliajan

  • Guwahati (Dispur)

  • Rangia

  • Namrup

  • Nazira

  • North Lakhimpur

  • Numaligarh

  • Darrang

  • Golaghat

  • Karbi-anglong

  • Kokrajhar

• Bihar

  • Barauni

  • Katihar

  • Patna

  • Purnea

  • Begusarai

• Chandigarh (UT)

  • Chandigarh

• Chhattisgarh

  • Durg (Bhilai)

• Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (UT)

  • Dadra (Silvassa)

  • Daman

• Delhi (NCT)

  • Delhi (including New Delhi & Delhi Cantonment)

• Goa

  • North Goa (Panaji)

  • South Goa (Marmagoa with Vasco Dabolim & Harbour)

• Gujarat

  • Surat

  • Ahmedabad

  • Vadodara

  • Kakrapar

  • Jamnagar

  • Bhuj

  • Gandhinagar

  • Bhavnagar

  • Kandla

  • Nalia

  • Ankeleswar

  • Okha

  • Vadinar

  • Bharuch

  • Kutch

  • Dangs

  • Mehsana

  • Narmada

  • Navsari

• Haryana

  • Ambala

  • Faridabad

  • Gurgaon

  • Hissar

  • Panchkula

  • Panipat

  • Rohtak

  • Sirsa

  • Sonepat

  • Yamunanagar

  • Jhajjar

• Himachal Pradesh

  • Shimla

• Jammu & Kashmir (UT)

  • Anantnag

  • Badgam

  • Baramula

  • Doda

  • Jammu

  • Kathua

  • Kupwara

  • Poonch

  • Rajauri

  • Srinagar

  • Udhampur

  • Samba

  • Akhnoor

  • Uri

  • Naushera

  • Sunderbani

  • Awantipur

  • Pulwama

• Jharkhand

  • Bokaro

  • Gomio

  • Jamshedpur

  • Ranchi

  • Godda

  • Sahebganj

• Karnataka

  • Bengaluru (Urban)

  • Malleshwara

  • Raichur

• Kerala

  • Cochin (Kochi)

  • Thiruvananthapuram

• Ladakh (UT)

  • Kargil

  • Leh

• Lakshadweep (UT)

  • Lakshadweep (Kavarati)

• Madhya Pradesh

  • Bhopal

  • Gwalior

  • Indore

  • Jabalpur

  • Katni

• Maharashtra

  • Mumbai

  • Uran

  • Tarapur

  • Thane

  • Pune

  • Nasik

  • Roha-Dhatao-Nagothane

  • Manmad

  • Sinner

  • Thal Vayshet

  • Pimpri-Chinchwad

  • Aurangabad

  • Bhusawal

  • Raigarh

  • Ratnagiri

  • Sindudurg

• Manipur

  • Imphal

  • Churachandpur

  • Ukhrul

  • Moreh

  • Ningthoukhong

• Meghalaya

  • East Khasi Hill (Shillong)

  • Jaintia Hill (Jowai)

  • West Garo Hill (Tura)

• Mizoram

  • Aizawl

• Nagaland

  • Dimapur

  • Kohima

  • Mokokchung

  • Mon

  • Phek

  • Tuensang

  • Wokha

  • Zunheboto

  • Kiphire

  • Peren

• Odisha

  • Talcher

  • Balasore

  • Koraput

  • Bhubaneswar

  • Gopalpur

  • Hirakud

  • Paradip

  • Rourkela

  • Bhadrak

  • Dhenkanal

  • Jagatsinghpur

  • Kendrapara

• Puducherry (UT)

  • Puducherry

• Punjab

  • Amritsar

  • Bhatinda

  • Ferozepur

  • Gurdaspur

  • Hoshiarpur

  • Jalandhar

  • Ludhiana

  • Patiala

  • Pathankot

  • Adampur

  • Barnala

  • Bhakra-Nangal

  • Halwara

  • Kotkapura

  • Batala

  • Mohali (SAS Nagar)

  • Abohar

  • Faridkot

  • Ropar

  • Sangrur

• Rajasthan

  • Kota

  • Rawat-Bhata

  • Ajmer

  • Alwar

  • Barmer

  • Bharatpur

  • Bikaner

  • Bundi

  • Ganganagar

  • Hanumangarh

  • Jaipur

  • Jaisalmer

  • Jodhpur

  • Udaipur

  • Sikar

  • Nal

  • Suratgarh

  • Abu Road

  • Nasirabad (Ajmer)

  • Bhiwadi

  • Phulera (Jaipur)

  • Nagaur (Merta Road)

  • Jalore

  • Bewar (Ajmer)

  • Lalgarh (Ganganagar)

  • Sawai Madhopur

  • Pali

  • Bhilwara

• Sikkim

  • Gangtok

• Tamil Nadu

  • Chennai

  • Kalpakkam

• Telangana

  • Hyderabad

• Tripura

  • Agartala

• Uttar Pradesh

  • Bulandshahr (Narora)

  • Agra

  • Allahabad

  • Bareilly

  • Ghaziabad

  • Gorakhpur

  • Jhansi

  • Kanpur

  • Lucknow

  • Mathura

  • Meerut

  • Moradabad

  • Saharanpur

  • Varanasi

  • Bakshi-Ka-Talab

  • Mughalsarai

  • Sarsawa

  • Bagpat

  • Muzaffarnagar

• Uttarakhand

  • Dehradun

• West Bengal

  • Coochbehar

  • Darjeeling

  • Jalpaiguri

  • Malda

  • Siliguri

  • Greater Kolkata

  • Durgapur

  • Haldia

  • Hashimara

  • Kharagpur

  • Burnpur-Asansol

  • Farakka-Khejuriaghat

  • Chittaranjan

  • Balurghat

  • Alipurduar

  • Raiganj

  • Islampur

  • Dinhata

  • Mekhliganj

  • Mathabhanga

  • Kalimpong

  • Jaldhaka

  • Kurseong

  • Kolaghat

  • Bardhaman

  • Birbhum

  • East Medinipur

  • West Medinipur

  • Howrah

  • Hooghly

  • Murshidabad

(List as per a GoI notification dated Mar 2, 2010. Edited to ensure correct distribution of districts under their respective states/UTs as of 2025.)

NOTE: List contains 259 Civil Defence Districts, whereas the May 7, 2025 drills will be held in 244.