Risk Returns

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persistence of the event, longer lead times, location-specific calibration

for each hydro-meteorological event and improved forecasting of extreme

weather events.

Modernization of fire services

Fire and rescue services constitute an important element in disas-

ter response across the world, and India has been consistently

improving these services with a view to building up local capacity

to meet disasters of any kind without waiting for outside help. A

Government-funded scheme with an outlay of US$44.5 million has

been launched. With the active advocacy of the NDMA, the 13th

Finance Commission

also granted US$105 million for revamping

the fire and rescue services in selected states.

Civil defence

In the ongoing initiatives for community preparedness and creating

public awareness at grassroots level, revamping of civil defence is one of

the major programmes addressed by the NDMA. In addition to organi-

zational restructuring, emphasis is also being laid on the training of

volunteers to prepare them for their role in community awareness and

proactive management of disasters.

Training and capacity building

India has undertaken a number of measures to train and build the

capacity of all the stakeholders involved in DRR. The UNDP sponsored

Disaster Risk Management Programme was implemented in 176 out of

627 districts from 2003 to 2008 and has now been extended as a new

DRR programme which seeks to train community volunteers in different

aspects of DRR and strengthen the state disaster management authori-

ties. There is a concomitant Urban Vulnerability Reduction programme

to create awareness on earthquakes and other hazards, and masons and

engineers are being trained in disaster-resilient construction.

NDMA has consistently focused on the conduct of regular drills

throughout India, to generate awareness about the disasters facing the

country and the best way of responding to them. NDMA will focus on

pre-hospital care and advanced trauma life support, as well as creating

certified First Medical Responders at community level in collaboration

with other stakeholders.

The 13th Finance Commission has recommended a grant of US$117

million for building capacity within the administrative machinery for

better handling of disaster response and for preparation of district and

state-level disaster management plans as envisaged under the DM Act.

This grant will help the states to provide essential training and support

capacity building of stakeholders and functionaries, preparation of

disaster management plans based on hazard, risk and vulnerability

analysis, and setting up/strengthening of Emergency Operation Centres.

Awareness generation

Realising that public awareness generation is key for the crystallization

of political and administrative will, NDMA has launched a number of

public awareness campaigns covering several disasters through elec-

tronic and print media. A lot of focus is on safe building construction

and creating a high level of impact on the target audience.

Mainstreaming disaster management into development plans

Disaster management is being mainstreamed into development plan-

ning, looking critically at each activity being planned not only from

the perspective of reducing the disaster vulnerability of that activity,

but also from the perspective of minimizing that activity’s potential

contribution to the hazard. Every development plan has

to incorporate elements of impact assessment, risk reduc-

tion and the ‘do no harm’ approach, with the aim of

ensuring that all newly built structures and those under

construction are disaster resilient, and that those which

have already been constructed are selectively retrofitted

in accordance with priority.

NDMA has effectively advocatedwith the Government of

India to incorporate guidelines in the conceptual, appraisal

and approval stages of all such projects since 2009. It

has intervened to encourage the states to adopt a similar

procedure and create Technical Safety Cells to take up

disaster-resistant construction activities. Model building

laws have been drafted by the Government for implementa-

tion by local self-governments so that all buildingwill follow

minimum standards of disaster-resilient construction.

The Reserve Bank of India has taken a stellar step in

issuing guidelines about disbursement of loans for the

housing and infrastructure sectors. The loans will only

be made available when the disaster-resilient features are

included in the project. This is one of the most important

ways to streamline DRR in the developmental agenda.

The way forward

India hasmade giant strides in the last fewdecades onmany

fronts; the policy makers and people are now convinced

that progress has to be accelerated and sustained. It is

necessary that the country adopts a culture of prevention

and preparation. NDMA has built strong partnerships

with a number of expert bodies to collate and disseminate

relevant information and knowledge to tackle any kind of

disaster. The strong commitment of the Government of

India is reflected in the fact that the Prime Minister himself

heads the NDMA and it has worked closely with all the

states and the relevant international organizations. We

will endeavour to consolidate these partnerships and work

closely with communities to build a safe, resilient India.

India has reached a stage where sound legal, institutional

and scientific frameworks have been put in place; we now

need a social framework to take the message of DRR as a

way of life to each and every citizen of the country.

DRR in formal education

Image: NDMA