NDMA : A Role statement given by Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), established under the Disaster Management Act of 2005 (DM Act of 2005), and chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister, has the responsibility for laying down the policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management for ensuring timely and effective response to disasters in the country.

Besides approving the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP), the Authority  approves  the  plans of  different  Ministries and  Departments of Government of India, and lays down guidelines to be followed by State Disaster Management Authorities for preparing their disaster management plans. NDMA coordinates the implementation of disaster management policy and plan.

Details of fund allocated to NDMA on the establishment and disaster management schemes, during the year 2023-24, is as under:

Budget Estimate:  ₹277.47 crore

NDMA is not a project. It is an Authority set up under the provisions of the DM Act of 2005.  The DM Act of 2005 also provides for the establishment of State Disaster Management Authority in each State and District Disaster Management Authority in each district.

There are well established institutional mechanisms at the National, State & District levels in the country for appropriate preparedness and taking prompt response measures for effective management of natural disasters.

NDMA has undertaken various tasks/initiatives including laying down policy and various guidelines on cross cutting issues on disaster management. Major initiatives undertaken by NDMA during the last two years are mentioned hereunder:-

1. NDMA has issued new Guidelines on cross-cutting issues, namely:-

1. Preparation of Action Plan – Prevention and Management of     Thunderstorm & Lightning, Squall, Dust, Hailstorm and Strong Winds.
2. Preparation of Action Plan – Prevention and Management of Cold Wave and Frost.

2. NDMA carried out implementation of following Schemes/project on Preparedness, Mitigation & Capacity Building:-

1. Upscaling of Aapda Mitra – to train 1,00,000 volunteers in 350 districts highly prone to landslides, cyclones, earthquake and floods.
2. Common Alerting Protocol – An integrated alert system for dissemination of Geo Targeted alerts to the public through multiple media on impending disasters.
3. Extension of Emergency Response Support System for disaster emergencies – a Pan-India single number (112) based emergency response system for helping citizens in emergencies.
4. Mock Exercises –Conducted State and Multi-State level Mock Exercises on various hazards like floods, landslides and Chemical disasters etc. to improve the preparedness of States and districts.
5. National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) Phase-II in 06 Coastal States (Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra & West Bengal).

3. NDMA has conducted pre-monsoon meetings, briefing/debriefing sessions and issued instructions/advisories to all stakeholders
4. NDMA has constituted a Multi-disciplinary Group of experts for comprehensive assessment of ground subsidence and related issues at Joshimath, Uttarakhand.
5. NDMA runs awareness generation campaign on various disasters through television, Radio & social media.
6. During India’s G-20 Presidency, NDMA steered the constitution of a G20 Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).
7. NDMA has developed a Web Based Dynamic Composite Risk Atlas & Decision Support System (Web DCRA& DSS) tool for Cyclone impacts forecasting covering all the 13 Coastal States and Union Territories.