MHA and Indian Army Launch Pilot to Train 600 Master Trainers for a 60,000-Strong Civil Defence Volunteer Network

23 October 2026National

The Ministry of Home Affairs, through its Directorate General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards, began a pilot on 23 October 2026 to build a nationwide civil defence volunteer network with the Indian Army. In the first phase, 600 Master Trainers - 50 each from 12 States and Union Territories - will finish a three-day Army course by the second week of November 2026, and each will then train 100 volunteers, creating roughly 60,000 trained civil defence volunteers. Modules cover drone and air-raid awareness, CBRN response, search and rescue and civil-military coordination. It follows the Prime Minister's 15 August 2026 Independence Day call.

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Civil Defence in India is governed by the Civil Defence Act, 1968, administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs | The Directorate General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards is MHA's nodal body for fire services, civil defence and home guards | The National Disaster Management Authority, chaired ex officio by the Prime Minister, was set up under the Disaster Management Act, 2005

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