AGENDA ON DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

     The Prime Minister has enunciated ten-point agenda on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) during the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) held in New Delhi in November 2016. The all-inclusive agenda presents a holistic approach to disaster risk reduction and addresses a whole range of issues, from community preparedness to use of technology and international cooperation.

    The Prime Minister’s ten-point agenda on DRR is as under:

1. All development sectors must imbibe the principles of disaster risk management.
2. Risk coverage must include all, starting from poor households to SMEs to multi-national corporations to nation states.
3. Women’s leadership and greater involvement should be central to disaster risk management.
4. Invest in risk mapping globally to improve global understanding of nature and disaster risks.
5. Leverage technology to enhance the efficiency of disaster risk management efforts.
6. Develop a network of universities to work on disaster-related issues.
7. Utilise the opportunities provided by social media and mobile technologies for disaster risk reduction.
8. Build on local capacity and initiative to enhance disaster risk reduction.
9. Make use of every opportunity to learn from disasters and, to achieve that, there must be studies on the lessons after every disaster.

10. Bring about greater cohesion in international response to disasters.

       The Prime Minister’s ten-point agenda provides practical guidance and added impetus to implement Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015 adopted by 187 countries, including India.  Each of the ten points on the Prime Minister’s ten-point agenda is aligned with one or more priorities of action of SFDRR.  It requires action by not only disaster management agencies but all parts of the Government at all levels.  Since the enunciation of Prime Minister’s ten-point agenda, the Government has taken many steps towards its implementation.  Steps taken by the Government for implementation and follow-up on Prime Minister’s ten-point agenda are annexed.

Annexure

    Major steps taken towards the implementation of Prime Minister’s ten-point agenda on DRR:

1. All development sectors must imbibe the principles of disaster risk management.

1. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has developed the first National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) in 2016.  The plan was revised in 2019 and is aligned with the ten-point agenda.  The revised NDMP brings together all the sectors, ministries and departments at Central and State level as well as district level functionaries and defines their respective roles and responsibilities in disaster risk reduction.
2. NDMA has been reviewing, providing inputs and approving the Disaster Management Plans of different ministries and departments. So far, NDMA has approved 36 disaster management plans of different Ministries / Departments.
3. In order to ensure that development sectors imbibe the principles of disaster risk management, NDMA has been supporting the development of sector specific standards, codes and guidelines. NDMA has developed the standardization and upgradation of codes and bye-laws of Seismic design of pipelines, performance-based design and seismic design and detailing of new structures for steel buildings.
4. After the Prime Minister’s announcement that India will work towards establishing the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), a series of global, regional and national consultations were held to forge a consensus around the contours of the coalition. On 23^rd September, 2019, the coalition was launched by Prime Minister at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, in New York.  So far, 37 countries and 7 other organizations have endorsed its charter and joined as Members. CDRI is presently supporting 13 Small Island Developing Countries in making their infrastructure systems disaster resilient.  In addition, CDRI is working on integrating disaster resilience in specific development sectors such as Power and Telecommunications.

2. Risk coverage must include all, starting from poor households to SMEs to multi-national corporations to nation states.

NDMA, as per the recommendations of fifteenth Finance Commission, has been working with several national institutions like Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) and Insurance Institute of India (III) as also with multilateral institutions like Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme and World Food Programme in designing insurance products. 

3. Women’s leadership and greater involvement should be central to disaster risk management.

1. While revising the NDMP, issues relating to women empowerment and their leadership role in disaster risk management has been given prominence.
2. Participation of women in disaster risk management is increased through imparting training to women as Aapda Mitra volunteers, maintenance and management of Cyclone Shelter Management & Maintenance Committees (CSMMC) in the country through 50% women participation. Out of 94,197 trained Aapda Mitra volunteer, 16,822 are female. 
3. Key roles to women are ensured in various Task Force Groups related to disaster preparedness and rescue operations, training and mock drills etc. 
4. Mahila Contingent from Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are also trained and deployed for National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for disaster management.

4. Invest in risk mapping globally to improve global understanding of nature and disaster risks.

1. NDMA has developed a web-based Dynamic Composite Risk Atlas and Decision Support System (Web-DCRA & DSS tool) for cyclone risk mitigation and response planning.  The tool has been successfully used in recent cyclones such as Biparjoy (June, 2023) and Cyclone Michaung (December, 2023)
2. Government has taken steps to update hazard risk information and make it easily accessible to all infrastructure sectors so that all projects are disaster resilience.
3. Flood Hazard Atlas have been developed by National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for flood prone states of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Assam and Uttar Pradesh and for comparatively less flood affected states such as Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

4. Building Material & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) has developed a digital atlas that captures the vulnerability of various parts of the country to different hazards.  All States and UTs have been sensitised to use this information in project preparation.
5. NRSC has prepared a comprehensive data set of 28,000 glacial lakes in the Indian Himalayan Region.
6. National Centre for Seismology has prepared a seismic micro-zonation of Delhi and has supported seismic micro-zonation of several other cities.

5. Leverage technology to enhance the efficiency of disaster risk management efforts.

1. India Metrological Department (IMD) issues regular and precise weather forecasts & warning bulletins including for cyclones to all the affected/ likely affected States/ UTs.
2. IMD uses a suite of quality observations from Satellites, Radars and Conventional & Automatic Weather Stations for monitoring of cyclones developing over the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. It includes INSAT 3D, 3DR and SCATSAT satellites, Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs) along the coast and coastal Automated Weather Stations (AWS), High wind speed recorders, Automatic Rain Gauges (ARGs), Meteorological buoys and ships.
3. Under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) Early Warning Systems have been installed in the Coastal States, which have proved to be of great help in alert dissemination to the coastal community during recent cyclones.
4. ‘Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) based Integrated Alert System’ has been initiated with an outlay of Rs. 354.83 Crore, for dissemination of geo targeted early warnings/alerts related to disasters to the citizens of India for all 36 States/UTs using various disseminating medium like SMS, TV, Radio, Indian Railways, Costal Sirens, Cell broadcast, Internet (RSS feed & Browser Notification), Satellite Receiver of GAGAN &NavIC etc., through integration of all alerting agencies, [India Meteorological Department (IMD), Central Water Commission (CWC), Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Defence Geo-informatics Research Establishment (DGRE), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Forest Survey of India (FSI)].  In CAP system, the alerts related to various disasters are generated by Alert Generating Agencies like IMD, CWC, INCOIS, DGRE & FSI and moderated by SDMAs of concern States/UTs.  The alerts are sent

to geo targeted areas in regional languages. There is a web-based dashboard to disaster managers for approving/editing alerts and choosing media for dissemination. The system has been used successfully in recent disasters.

5. Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) is a Pan-India single number (112) based emergency response system for citizens in emergencies.  Citizens can request help through Voice Call, SOS, SMS, Email, Web Request and Panic buttons on a mobile app to request for immediate assistance pertaining to events related to Police assistance, Fire, Ambulance, Women protection, Child safety etc. For seeking assistance related to disaster in country, various disaster helpline numbers in States/Districts are operational.  In order to implement the vision of Prime Minister for ‘Single Distress Number for all emergencies across the country’ the Project “Extension of ERSS” with existing single number “112”, has been initiated, which will also cater for emergency call related

to disasters. This project has been designed to leverage technology for a swift response to distress calls related to disaster thus mitigating loss of life and property.

6. The National Disaster Management Information System (NDMIS) has been launched for development of a comprehensive online module for capturing sector-wise data on disaster losses upto district level and to monitor progress on various targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR).

6. Develop a network of universities to work on disaster-related issues.

Indian Universities and Institutions Network (IUINDRR-NIDM) has been established, under the aegis of National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), to highlight the role of education, research and training in disaster resilience and to develop model curricula for DRR with its integration at various levels. The IUINDRR provides a platform for interface between academia and policy. It also provides a platform for collaborative development of knowledge products on disaster risk reduction.  So far, 260 Universities and Institutes have joined the network. 

7. Utilise the opportunities provided by social media and mobile technologies for disaster risk reduction.

1. A number of new mobile Applications such as Damini, Mausam, Sachet etc. have been developed for timely dissemination of early warnings and alerts to the common people.
2. Various social media platforms are extensively used for awareness generation activities, Do’s & Don’ts in the form of text, short films, FAQs are shared from time to time on social media Platforms by NDMA and State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs).
3. NDMA also uses social media channels to update the public on ongoing disaster events and the governments’ response to them. The Social Media is also used to amplify the reach of content delivered on print media (such as OpEd written by NDMA officers) and broadcast media (such as “Aapada Ka Samna” programmes).

8. Build on local capacity and initiative to enhance disaster risk reduction.

1. In order to deepen disaster preparedness and response capacity at the local level in the country, Aapda Mitra Scheme, having an outlay of Rs. 369.40 Crore, has been launched to train 1,00,000 community volunteers in disaster rescue in 350 multi-hazards disaster prone districts, covering all States/UTs. So far, 94,197 Aapda Mitra volunteers have been trained. Each volunteer – Aapda Mitra or Aapda Sakhi – is given two-week intense training in disaster response (relevant to their area of operations), equipped with an Emergency Responder Kit (ERK), and provided an insurance cover for five years. In addition, each district is provided an Emergency Essential Resource Reserve (EERR) for the use of Aapda Mitra during disasters.
2. In order to empower citizens to take charge of their own resilience to disasters, NDMA has been producing knowledge products that address their needs. For example,
   1. Home Owner’s guide for Earthquake & Cyclone safety (2019), provides details to those who are constructing a house and who are buying a flat in multi-storey buildings, which are made of either masonry or reinforced concrete (RCC)
   2. Simplified Guidelines for Earthquake Safety (2021), provides minimum requirements that have to be complied with while constructing earthquake resistant house.
3. Under NCRMP, 24,007 Government officials from various priority sectors viz., Health, Education, Panchayat Raj Institutions, Urban Local Bodies, and Rural Development have been trained through 925 Capacity Building Trainings. 68,988 community representatives have been trained on various disaster response skills viz., First Aid, Search & Rescue, and Shelter Management through 3,421 Shelter Level Trainings.
4. NDRF regularly conducts Mock Exercises in all 36 States / UTs on community disaster awareness in Floods, Cyclones, Earthquake, Landslide & Chemical,Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) in vulnerable areas with various stakeholders of Disaster Management / Response.  NDRF also conducts School Safety Programme (SSP) to impart training on disaster response to children in vulnerable schools in all 36 States/UTs of India. 
5. Mock exercises and community awareness programmes are regularly conducted by NDMA and NDRF to create awareness among people.

9. Make use of every opportunity to learn from disasters and, to achieve that, there must be studies on the lessons after every disaster.

1. In the aftermath of major disasters, NIDM as well as NDMA undertake field visits to document the lessons learned.  Example of such studies include: Biparjoy cyclone (June 2023); Good Practices in COVID response (2022); Gaja cyclone (September 2019); Tamil Nadu Floods (September 2017)
2. NDMA has issued thirty-three (33) guidelines for management of hazard specific disaster on various thematic and cross-cutting issues. 

10. Bring about greater cohesion in international response to disasters.

1. Government has advanced regional cooperation on disaster risk management through active engagement under multiple regional organizations, such as Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical & Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). Through these organizations, Government has conducted joint exercises as well as facilitated sharing of good practices in disaster management.
2. Effective national and international response to disasters was discussed during the deliberations of Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group established under India’s G20 presidency. 
3. The Government has been providing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Support to disaster hit countries. Under the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, Government of India had extended immediate help to Turkiye and Syria, hit by massive earthquake in February, 2023, by dispatching NDRF and medical teams along with relief materials.

     This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

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