NEW DELHI, October 24 (Aalimi Nation) – The Union Home Ministry and the Indian Army have begun a pilot programme to build a civil defence network of about 60,000 volunteers across 12 states and Union Territories, the ministry said on Saturday.
The ministry described the effort as a "first-of-its-kind" collaboration between the Home Ministry and the Army. It is being implemented by the Directorate General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards, which works under the ministry, and is meant to improve the readiness of civil defence personnel for contemporary security threats, hostile situations and emergencies.
How the civil defence training will work
The first phase covers 600 civil defence master trainers, with 50 nominated from each of the participating states and Union Territories. They will undergo a three-day specialised course at designated Army training establishments. The ministry said this training is scheduled to be completed by the second week of November.
Each master trainer will then train 100 civil defence volunteers in their own state or Union Territory. That cascade is how the programme arrives at its target of 60,000 volunteers: 600 trainers multiplied by 100 volunteers each.
The curriculum is organised around three broad areas: threat awareness, protection and emergency response, and communication and coordination. The ministry did not release a detailed syllabus, a budget for the pilot or the names of the Army establishments that will host the courses.
The 12 states and Union Territories in the pilot
The participating jurisdictions are Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The ministry said the programme follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day address, in which he spoke of building a "vibrant civil defence network" equipped with modern systems, advanced technologies and contemporary preparedness capabilities. The ministry's statement presents the pilot as a step toward that vision.
Why a trainer-led model
Under the cascade model, a small group is trained centrally by the Army, and each trainer then passes the material on to volunteers within their own state or Union Territory.
Because the 60,000 figure is a target rather than a count of people already enrolled, the number actually trained will depend on how quickly the states and Union Territories can enrol volunteers once their master trainers return. The ministry has not said whether the pilot will later be extended to other states.
What happens next
The first milestone is the completion of the three-day master trainer courses by the second week of November. After that, the states and Union Territories are expected to begin training volunteers under the cascade model. The ministry has not announced a deadline for reaching the full figure of 60,000, nor has it said how the pilot's results will be assessed before any wider rollout is considered.
Officials have so far described the initiative in general terms, and further details on funding, equipment and the schedule for volunteer training are yet to be made public.
