Indian Army to train 600 civil defence master trainers, aiming to ready 60,000 volunteers

600 civil defence master trainers will be trained by the Indian Army in a three‑day programme that begins by the second week of November, covering 12 states and union territories.

Training Rollout

The Union Home Ministry will train 50 master trainers from each of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Training will take place at designated Indian Army establishments and is part of a pilot initiative coordinated by the Directorate General of Fire Services, Civil Defence & Home Guards.

Content of Training

The curriculum spans three areas: threat awareness, including modern and hybrid warfare, drone and air‑raid threats; protection and emergency response, covering critical infrastructure, fire safety, CBRN hazards, casualty management and search‑and‑rescue; and communication and coordination, focusing on emergency communication, cyber hygiene, digital resilience, civil‑military coordination and incident command.

Context

The programme follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s August announcement to build a modern Civil Defence Network. By training each master trainer to coach 100 volunteers, the cascade aims to equip roughly 60,000 civil defence volunteers with specialised emergency‑response skills across the participating regions.