Overview
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced from the Red Fort that the government will set up a modern, nationwide Civil Defence network and a large volunteer force to be rolled out in the coming days.
- Officials said the new force will be trained in modern emergency systems, public warning and evacuation protocols, and responses to non‑traditional attacks on infrastructure, but core design, size and funding details have not been released.
- Modi framed the move as a response to changing warfare that now targets refineries, banks, data centres and other critical assets and described cybersecurity and anti‑drone measures as part of civilian protection.
- The announcement was linked to the government’s defence‑industrial push, which it says raised domestic defence production to ₹1.78 lakh crore in FY26 and exports to ₹38,424 crore, and to work on projects such as Mission Sudarshan Chakra.
- Implementation questions remain: states’ roles, legal or regulatory updates to the 1968 Civil Defence framework, training standards, a clear timeline and the programme’s costs, all of which will determine how quickly citizens and local services feel the change.