Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan will on Tuesday review the preparations for strengthening civil defence mechanisms that include conducting mock drills on air-raid warning sirens, training civilians to protect themselves in the event of a “hostile attack” and cleaning bunkers and trenches.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked all States to conduct mock drills on Wednesday, given the “new and complex threats” that have emerged amid rising tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
“The home secretary will review the preparations for civil defence being made across 244 districts. Chief secretaries and heads of civil defence from across the country will participate in the meeting via video conferencing,” a source said.
According to a Home Ministry communication, the measures to be taken during the mock drills include the operationalisation of air-raid warning sirens, training civilians on civil-defence aspects to protect themselves in the event of a “hostile attack” and cleaning bunkers and trenches.
The other measures are provisions for crash-blackout measures, early camouflaging of vital plants and installations and updating and rehearsing evacuation plans.
The mock drills also include the operationalisation of hotline and radio-communication links with the Indian Air Force (IAF), testing the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms.
“In the current geo-political scenario, new and complex threats/challenges have emerged, hence, it would be prudent that optimum civil defence preparedness in the states/UTs is maintained at all times,” the letter from the Directorate General Fire Service, Civil Defence and Home Guards to the states and UTs said.
It said the government has decided to organise a civil defence exercise and rehearsal across the 244 categorised civil defence districts in the country on May 7. “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,” the letter said.
It said the active participation of the district controllers, various district authorities, civil-defence wardens, volunteers, home guards (active and reservists volunteers), National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), college and school students is envisaged in the exercise. “The said civil defence exercise is aimed to assess the operational efficacy and operational coordination of various civil defence measures,” it said.
There have been rising tensions in relations between India and Pakistan after the April 22 terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
Life expectancy in India rose from 58.6 years in 1990 to 72 years in 2023: UNDP’s HDI report
India continues its steady rise on the Human Development Index (HDI), ranking 130 out of 193 countries in the 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) released on Tuesday (May 6, 2025) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
With its HDI value increasing from 0.676 in 2022 to 0.685 in 2023, India remains in the medium human development category, moving closer to the threshold for high human development (HDI ≥ 0.700). Also, India’s life expectancy is the highest since the inception of the index, indicating a strong recovery from the pandemic and its impact on life expectancy.
The 2025 HDR, titled ‘A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI’, highlights the critical role of artificial intelligence in shaping the next chapter of human development, particularly in fast-growing economies, including India.
“India has progressed from 133 in 2022 to 130 in 2023. This advancement reflects sustained improvements in key dimensions of human development, particularly in mean years of schooling and national income per capita. India’s life expectancy reaching its highest level since the inception of the index is a testament to the country’s robust recovery from the pandemic and its investments and commitment to long-term human well-being,” said Angela Lusigi, resident representative, UNDP India.
The report notes that in India, life expectancy rose from 58.6 years in 1990 to 72 years in 2023, the highest recorded since the index began. It attributes this to the national health programmes followed by successive governments, including the National Rural Health Mission, Ayushman Bharat, Janani Suraksha Yojana, and the Poshan Abhiyaan.
Also, children today are expected to stay in school for 13 years on average, up from 8.2 years in 1990. “Initiatives like the Right to Education Act, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, the National Education Policy 2020 have enhanced outcomes. However, quality and learning outcomes remain areas for continued focus,” the report said.
The HDR adds that India’s Gross National Income per capita rose over four times, from $2167.22 (1990) to $9046.76 (2023), and 135 million Indians escaped multidimensional poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21. However, challenges persist, with inequality reducing India’s HDI by 30.7%, one of the highest losses in the region, the report said.
“While health and education inequality have improved, income and gender disparities remain significant. Female labour force participation and political representation lag, though recent steps — such as the constitutional amendment reserving one-third of legislative seats for women — offer promise for transformative change,” the HDR said.
The report placed India in a unique position globally as a rising AI powerhouse with the highest self-reported AI skills penetration and growing domestic retention of talent — 20% of Indian AI researchers now remain in the country, up from nearly zero in 2019.
The report underscored a broader global slowdown in human development. The 2025 HDR reveals that the current pace of progress is the slowest since 1990, and India is no exception. “Had pre-2020 trends continued, the world would be on track to reach very high human development by 2030, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal timelines,” the report said.
The inequality between low and very high HDI countries had increased for the fourth consecutive year, reversing long-standing progress, the report said.
Supreme Court wants to know if FIRs filed over suicides of IIT student, NEET aspirant
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought to know if FIRs were registered after the death by suicide of an IIT Kharagpur student and a NEET aspirant in Kota, Rajasthan, came to light.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan directed its registry to call for a report from both places at the earliest. The top court noted a 22-year-old student studying in IIT, Kharagpur, was found hanging in his hostel room on May 4, 2025.
“The deceased was a three-year civil engineering student. His body was found hanging in his room in the Madan Mohan Malaviya Hall. The student was identified as Mohammad Asif Qamar from Bihar’s Sheohar District,” the bench noted.
The top court went on, “The press reporting indicates that just moments before his death, he was on a video call with his friend in Delhi. This is one of those unfortunate suicides by a student for which we have constituted the task-force to work on the various issues relating to students suicide.”
The top court previously ordered the formation of a national task force, headed by former top court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat, to address the mental health concerns of students to prevent suicides in higher educational institutions.
The apex court said it was taking cognisance of the matter with a view to ascertain whether the management or administration of IIT, Kharagpur lodged an FIR with the local police station in accordance with its earlier directions.
It also took into account another case of suicide by a NEET aspirant in Parshavanath area in the city ahead of the National Medical Entrants Examination scheduled on May 11.
“It is reported that the girl was under 18 years of age and hailed from Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh. She had been living with her parents in Kota (Rajasthan) and for the past several years, she was preparing for NEET-UG at a coaching institute,” the court added.
The bench observed it was reportedly the fourteenth case of suicide by a coaching student in Kota, Rajasthan in 2025. “Since January, 2025, a total of 17 cases of suicides by coaching students were reported in Kota last year. We would like to know whether an FIR has been registered in connection with this suicide also or not,” the Bench said. The matter then was posted on May 13.
Outlining a disturbing pattern of student suicides in educational institutions, the apex court on March 24 directed Delhi Police to register an FIR and probe the suicidal deaths of two IIT-Delhi students from the SC/ST community.
Saying it was “high time” that it took cognisance of the “serious issue”, the court ordered formulation of comprehensive and effective guidelines to address and mitigate the underlying causes contributing to such distress among students.
The bench directed the Centre to deposit ₹20 lakh with the registry within two weeks as an outlay for the initial operations of the NTF.
Noting a “disturbing pattern” of student suicides were being reported from various educational institutes, the apex court said these tragedies underscored the urgent need for a more robust, comprehensive and responsive mechanism to address various factors which compel students to resort to taking their own lives.
Friedrich Merz wins on second ballot to become Germany’s chancellor hours after historic defeat
Friedrich Merz succeeded on Tuesday in his bid to become the next German chancellor during a second vote in parliament, hours after he suffered a historic defeat in the first round.
The conservative leader had been expected to smoothly win the vote to become Germany’s 10th chancellor since World War II. No candidate for chancellor in postwar Germany has failed to win on the first ballot. Mr. Merz received 325 votes in the second ballot.
He needed a majority of 316 out of 630 votes in a secret ballot but only received 310 votes in the first round — well short of the 328 seats held by his coalition.
A candidate for Chancellor has never failed to win on the first ballot since the end of the war. The loss triggered a stock market slide: the DAX, the index of major German companies, was down 1.8% following the vote.
Israel’s military says it has fully disabled Yemen’s main airport with airstrikes
Israel’s military said Tuesday it launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, fully disabling the country’s international airport in the capital, Sanaa, and striking several power plants.
The strikes, the second in two days, came after Israel launched airstrikes in retaliation for a Houthi missile strike the previous day on Israel’s international airport.
The Houthis’ satellite news channel al-Masirah reported the strikes, confirming the airport had been hit.
Footage aired on Israeli television showed thick black plumes of smoke rising above the skyline of Sanaa. Social media video purported to show multiple strikes around Sanaa, with black smoke rising as the thumps of the blast echoed against the surrounding mountains. There was no immediate information on any casualties.
Tuesday’s strike came shortly after the military issued a warning on social media for people to evacuate the area of Yemen’s international airport. “We urge you to immediately evacuate the area of the airport and to warn anyone nearby to distance themselves immediately,” spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on social media, attaching a map of Sanaa International Airport. “Failure to evacuate the area endangers your lives.”
On Monday night, Israel targeted the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeida, killing at least one person and wounding 35. The rebels’ media office said at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida port. Others hit a cement factory in the district of Bajil, 55 km northeast of Hodeida, the rebels said. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the strikes killed at least four people and wounded 39 others.
The Houthis on Sunday launched a missile that struck an access road near Israel’s main airport near Tel Aviv, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. Four people were lightly injured.
It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of Israel’s main airport, Ben Gurion, since the October 2023 start of the war in Gaza. It prompted a flurry of flight cancellations. While most missiles launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, some have penetrated Israel’s missile defence systems, causing damage.
The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, raising their profile as the last member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel. The U.S. military under President Donald Trump has launched an intensified campaign of airstrikes targeting the Houthis since March 15.
Israel has repeatedly struck against the rebels in Yemen. It struck Hodeida and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv.
In September, Israel struck Hodeida again, killing at least four people after a missile targeted Ben Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning to the country. In December, Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in Hodeida.
In Brief:
India and the U.K. on Tuesday sealed an ambitious free trade deal along with a double contribution convention, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the landmark pacts will catalyse trade, investment, growth and job creation in both economies. Mr. Modi made the announcement on the agreements after a phone conversation with his British counterpart, Keir Starmer. “In a historic milestone, India and the U.K. have successfully concluded an ambitious and mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement, along with a Double Contribution Convention,” Mr. Modi said in a social media post.
A 26-year-old Pakistani intruder was arrested along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Tuesday, officials said. The arrest came amid a diplomatic flare-up between India and Pakistan and almost daily ceasefire violations on the borders in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed. Waqas, a resident of Tarkhal village in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), was taken into custody by alert army personnel from a forward village in the Chakan-Da-Bagh area shortly after he crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and entered Indian territory, the officials said.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
Published – May 06, 2025 09:37 pm IST