Shift the Focus

Yunus Dar | New Delhi

India, with its location and climate, is among the most vulnerable countries in terms of natural disasters. The country is prone to disasters such as floods, droughts, cyclones and earthquakes, which cause tremendous damage to property and loss of life. With climate change becoming a reality, instances of natural calamities are going up.

Army flood relief columns in rescue operations in Chennai

In 2005 the government of India enacted the Disaster Management Act, thereafter, the National Policy on Disaster Management was adopted in 2009. Subsequently, in 2015, the country adopted three international agreements including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Sustainable Development Goals 2015-2030, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The government came to realise the requirement to shift from a post-disaster reactive approach to a pre-disaster pro-active approach, focusing on preparedness, mitigation, and prevention.

When it comes to disaster management, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has the overall responsibility of putting in place the mechanism and institutions for disaster management and mitigation, besides coordinating efforts between different departments. The home ministry acts along with India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to oversee humanitarian and rescue missions. The National Executive Committee (NEC) is a key component of the national disaster management structure and assists the NDMA with overseeing national disaster management activities. The central government supervises and guides the NEC, along with the state governments and State Emergency Committees (SECs) to aid in disaster management.

It was in 2016 that India for the first time unveiled a blueprint to tackle national disasters through National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP). The plan, released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to make the country disaster resilient, reducing loss of lives and property during natural calamities. Besides laying a framework to deal with va