Amidst rising tensions between India, and its neighbouring country Pakistan post the unfortunate Pahalgam Attack on tourists, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has advised all States and Union Territories in the country to conduct war mock drill to check the preparedness of the country in case of a war. “In continuation of our earlier communication dated 2d May 2025 regarding the strengthening of Civil Defence preparedness in vulnerable areas(copy enclosed), and in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 19 of the Civil Defence Rules, 1968, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India has decided to organize Civil Defence Exercise and Rehearsal across the 244 categorized Civil Defence Districts of the country on 07.05.2025. The conduct of the exercise is planned up to the village level. This exercise aims to assess and enhance the readiness of Civil Defence mechanisms across all States and Union Territories,” said the notification from the MHA.
All of the war mock drill events have been prepared keeping in mind how civilians and students need to protect themselves in the advent of a hostile attack. The Indian Government has also issue a list of objectives of the war mock drill, and has directed the State Governments and Union Territories to do the needful on 7 May across the country.
Technology to Be Used in War Mock Drill
While measures such as trainings of civil defence to students and civilians in the event of a hostile attack, provision of crash black out measures, verifying the activation and response of Civil Defence services, including warden services, firefighting, rescue operations, and depot management; and evaluating the preparedness of evacuation plans and their execution will be a large part of the plan, some of the technical measures to be used in the war mock drill are as follows:
- Sounding of air raid warning systems: A 30-second continuous sounding with pitch alternating between 280 Hz and 400 Hz, would be repeated three times, with 30-second pauses between soundings. This alert may also be played on the mobile devices of citizens.
- Camouflaging of vital installations: Communication hubs, industrial plants, government buildings, military outposts, and power stations.
- Operationalization of hotline, and radio communication links with the Indian Air Force.
