India, May 6 -- The Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday has directed all states and union territories to conduct mock drills on May 7 to check preparedness against "new and complex threats," across 259 districts in the country.

The civil defence exercise comes as tensions heighten with neighbouring country Pakistan following the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Security personnel have begun preparations for the civil defence mock drills. The objective of the exercises will be to test civilian readiness in the event of a national emergency.

"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 MHA stated i...