India's efforts in disaster management

Mains Marks Booster 5th August 2023

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Legal and Institutional Measure

Disaster Management Act,2005
National Policy on Disaster Management,2009
National Disaster Management Authority
National Executive Committee
National Disaster Management Plan
National Disaster Response Force
National Institute of Disaster Management
National Crisis Management Committee

Technological Measures

DM support program of ISRO
INCOIS
Indian Monsoon Missions
Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System
Geographical information system
GEMINI device - effective dissemination of emergency information and communication for fishermen.
Other - Ariel drones, ICT etc.

Community-based participation

Active involvement of people in making decisions about the implementation of processes, programs, and projects which affect them.
Enable people to explain their vulnerabilities and priorities, allowing problems to be defined correctly and responsive measures to be designed and implemented.
Participatory work takes a multi-track approach, combining different activities, hazards, and disaster phases.
Community participation in planning and implementing projects accords with people’s right to participate in decisions that affect their lives
Working closely with local people can help professionals to gain a greater insight into the communities they seek to serve.
Community empowerment for disaster risk management demands their participation in risk assessment, mitigation planning, capacity building, participation in implementation, and development of a system for monitoring that ensures their stake

Way forward for Disaster Management :

Establishing a robust Disaster Information Management System should be among the government’s highest priorities to facilitate risk-informed development, comprehensive and contextual urban development and hazard mapping vis-à-vis vulnerabilities and capacities of any given district.
Community Based Disaster Risk Management should be increasingly highlighted as a driver for resilient development in the DRM infrastructure of India.
Identifying sustainable and holistic financing mechanism for the integration of DRR and CCA into wider development is necessary given the pressures caused by climate change and disasters.
Risk-informed planning should not stop there either must become a whole-of society issue from the national to household levels, especially now that most of the country could be experiencing impacts of worsening hydrometeorological hazards with increasing regularity.

India has made commendable progress in disaster management, weaving together legislative, executive, and technological strategies. However, there's still a continuous need for strengthening and updating these strategies, given the increasing disaster risks due to climate change and rapid urbanization. Constant vigilance, planning, and implementation are necessary to build a disaster-resilient Nat