New Delhi, May 7 -- Authorities across India geared up to hold the widest set of civil defence drills in the country in nearly half a century on Wednesday as New Delhi firmed up its response to Islamabad in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

Officials selected schools, airports, malls, residential buildings and busy public spots to conduct the decentralised drills that will focus on air raid warning sirens, rescue of people, communication systems and training civilians to respond in the event of an attack. The drill will be held across the 244 civil defence districts in the country.

In Delhi, the drill is expected to begin at 4pm with air raid sirens going off at 55 designated locations across the Capital...