NATIONAL DISASTER

MANAGEMENT PLAN
A COMPREHENSIVE STEP TOWARDS REDUCING DISASTER RISK

REFORMS THAT TRANSFORMED

NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
 A COMPREHENSIVE STEP
TOWARDS REDUCING DISASTER RISK

Introduction
Sustainable disaster risk reduction is not possible unless the legal
framework of the National Disaster Management Act is backed by a
national plan for disaster management containing e ective strategies
spelling out the roles and responsibilities of all the stakeholders.
NDMA, under the directives of the Hon'ble Prime Minister and
Chairman, has prepared a comprehensive and progressive National
Disaster Management Plan, which has enabled better planning and risk
reduction at all levels.

A pressing need for a national disaster management plan

It was only in 2016, more than ten years after enactment of the Disaster
Management Act 2005, that the country got its national plan for
disaster management.
India—a country vulnerable to disasters: India is one of the most
disaster-prone countries in the world. Due to its geo-climatic and
socio-economic conditions, the country is prone to all kinds of
disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, cyclones,
droughts, thunderstorms and lightning strikes, glacial lake outburst
flood (GLOFs), heat waves, biological and public health emergencies,
fires (including forest fires), etc. Hence, a national plan for disaster
management is of prime importance for disaster risk reduction in India.
Section 11 of the Disaster Management (DM) Act 2005 mandates a
national plan for disaster management for the whole country. While
NDMA had earlier issued hazard-specific guidelines, there wasn't a
national plan which tied them together.

It was only in 2016, more than ten years after enactment

of the Disaster Management Act 2005, that the country
got its own national plan for disaster management.

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 The comprehensiveness of this plan is
noteworthy. It covers all phases of disaster
management- prevention, mitigation, response &
recovery. To prepare communities to cope with
disasters, the plan emphasises on a greater need
for information, education & communication
activities. A regional approach has been adopted
in the NDMP, which helps in disaster
management & in development planning.

- Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

Release of NDMP ( 1 Jun 2016 )

States/ministries/departments had no common reference plan:

Though some states had prepared their own disaster management
plans, the activities at the Central and State levels could not be
synchronised in the absence of a national plan. Section 37 of the DM
Act 2005 mandates Central ministries and departments to prepare
their own DM plans based on a national plan, but the absence of such a
plan made this di cult for them. And, there being no national plan in
place, NDMA had no moral authority to ask the ministries, departments
or states to prepare their DM plans.
As a large country on the world stage, it was vital for India to have a DM
plan: At the global level, India, which houses more than one-sixth of
humanity, was seen as a nation without a plan at the national level for
disaster risk reduction.
Bringing a ected people/stakeholders into the fold—issues and
challenges: The absence of a national plan to guide disaster
management planning at all levels was a ecting the people of the
country and impeding work for the stakeholders involved in disaster
management. It created the following issues/challenges:
(i) Vulnerable sections of the population, particularly, elderly persons,
women, children, economically weaker sections and persons with
disabilities are more a ected than others in any disaster. Focusing on
vulnerable groups in the absence of an inclusive national plan was a
challenge.
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 Our National Disaster Management Plan was
launched in 2016. All 28 States, 9 Union Territory
and 90% of all districts have completed their
disaster management plans. The National Plan has
taken into consideration not only the Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction but also
the Sustainable Development Goals and the
Agreement on Climate Change.

- Shri Amit Shah, Union Home Minister

SCOJtEx, New Delhi ( 4 Nov 2019 )

(ii) Managing a disaster calls for multi-stakeholder involvement,

including participation of the government and non-government
sectors. But without a national plan, there could neither be any clarity
on the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders nor any
coordinated e ort for disaster management on their part.
(iii) Stakeholders, like Central ministries/departments, states, NGOs,
academic and research institutions, business corporations, media,
etc., had no information as to their roles and responsibilities in the
implementation of risk reduction activities in any given time frame.
(iv) While the DM Act and Policy did talk about a paradigm shift—from
an emphasis on post-disaster relief to one on pre-disaster risk
reduction—implementing this was not possible. This was due to the
Central ministries being unable to set priorities and align them with a
national plan.
(v) Despite India's commitment to implement the Hyogo Framework
for Action (HFA, an international framework for disaster risk reduction
for the period 2005–2015), we could not monitor its implementation.
(vi) The lack of an integrated approach to disaster risk reduction (DRR)
at the district, state and national levels meant that the impact of loss of
lives, damage to assets and su ering among the people continued for
many years following a disaster.

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Measures taken by the current government
Framing of vision

The vision of the current government is to make India disaster resilient

across all sectors and achieve substantial and inclusive disaster risk
reduction by building local capacities, starting with the poor, to
significantly decrease the loss of lives, livelihoods and assets in
di erent forms—including economic, physical, social, cultural, and
environmental—while enhancing India's ability to cope with disasters
at all levels.

Adoption of holistic approach, post-2014

After the new government took over in 2014, a holistic approach was
taken towards disaster management. As the country did not have a
national plan for disaster management, the government focused on
preparing one on a priority basis. The first National Disaster
Management Plan (NDMP) was prepared within a short span of six
months and was released in June 2016 under the directions of the
Hon'ble Prime Minister and Chairman of NDMA, Shri Narendra Modi.
The NDMP provides a framework covering all aspects of the disaster
management cycle, including disaster risk reduction, mitigation,
preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation.

On behalf of the UN O ce for Disaster Risk

Reduction, I would like to extend congratulations to
the Indian government for setting such a fine example
to the rest of the world when it comes to political
commitment to reducing disaster losses and
managing disaster risk.

- Robert Glasser,
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for
Disaster Risk Reduction, lauding India's landmark
disaster management plan (1 Jun 2016)

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India became the first country to prepare a national plan aligned with
the Sendai Framework.

Figure 1 - Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi releasing the National Disaster Management Plan on 1 Jun 2016

India is a signatory to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk

Reduction (SFDRR, an International Framework adopted at the 3rd UN
World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, on 18
March, 2015 by 187 countries).

This framework outlines 7 targets and 4 priorities for action to prevent

new disasters and reduce existing disaster risks in order to reduce loss
of lives and assets. Our NDMP also aims at achieving these targets by
2030, in keeping with the timeline set for the Sendai Framework.

Comprehensive revision and updation of the Plan

India did not sit complacent after it framed the NDMP. The National
Disaster Management Plan was revised in 2019 by inviting feedback
and holding extensive consultations with the states and other
stakeholders. A consultative workshop to review the NDMP was also
held. Prior to the workshop, comments and inputs were sought from

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the states and from the ministries and departments of the Government
of India. The revised draft of NDMP 2019 was shared with all
ministries/departments of GoI and all states/union territories for their
comments and inputs. It was also uploaded on the website of the
NDMA for a month with a view to seeking comments from all
stakeholders, including the community. Based on the inputs received
from these multi-stakeholder consultations, the NDMP was revised
and the updated version released in November, 2019.

Subsequent to the signing of the SFDRR, two other agreements—the

SDGs (The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which aim
to achieve decent lives for all on a healthy planet by 2030) and the Paris
Agreement (COP 21, also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference,
a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, whose aim is to
keep global warming below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C compared to pre-
industrial levels)—were signed. Since these three frameworks aimed to
achieve sustainable development, reduce disaster risks and climate
change impacts, they were included in NDMP 2019.

Figure 2 - Workshop on NDMP, 12-13 Apr 2017

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 In June 2016, India was the first country to announce a
new National Disaster Management Plan fully based
on the four priorities of the Sendai Framework and it
was recently among the first Asian countries to
establish a disaster loss database.

- Mami Mizutori,
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDRR (29 May 2018)

The National Disaster Management Plan-Highlights

a. It is a holistic plan, covering all aspects of disaster risk reduction
and management.
b. The Plan addresses mitigation, risk reduction, preparedness and
response aspects for 17 disasters:

Cyclones Floods Urban floods Earthquakes

Tsunamis Landslides Snow avalanches Droughts

Cold waves Thunderstorms Cloud bursts Glacial Lake

& & Outburst Floods
lightning hailstorms (GLOF)

Heat Waves Chemical Nuclear & Fires Forest

Disasters radiological fires
emergencies

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 The NDMP has identified specific action points for
achieving the 10-Point Agenda on Disaster Risk
Reduction enunciated by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of
India during the Asian Ministerial Conference on
Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016.

c. The NDMP deals with the issue of biological and public health
emergencies in detail, which helped the country to better manage the
COVID-19 pandemic.

d. The Plan clearly outlines a six-pronged approach for DRR -

§ Understanding risk;
§ Inter-agency coordination;
§ Investing in DRR;
§ Structural measures;
§ Non-structural measures; and
§ Capacity development and Climate change risk management.

The NDMP is a detailed document with clear

roles and responsibilities of each
department/ministry and State governments. It
covers all aspects of disaster management.
Gujarat has accordingly prepared a document,
Gujarat State Disaster Management Plan, in
consonance with the NDMP.

- Anil Mukim, IAS,

Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat

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e. Climate change aggravates the impact of disasters by increasing
the frequency and intensity of disasters. This phenomenon has
long-term impacts and needs to be addressed immediately. The
NDMP has laid special emphasis on climate change risk
management by including it as one of the thematic areas for
disaster risk reduction.

f. The Plan has introduced coherence and mutual reinforcement of

the post-2015 global frameworks—SFDRR, SDGs and COP21.

g. The NDMP has identified specific action points for achieving the
10-Point Agenda on Disaster Risk Reduction enunciated by the
Hon'ble Prime Minister of India during the Asian Ministerial
Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016.

h. The plan has a special chapter titled 'Social Inclusion', addressing

the concerns of vulnerable groups, including the economically
weaker and socially marginalized sections, women, children,
scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, the elderly, and persons with
disabilities, all of whom tend to be particularly badly a ected
during disasters.

The National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP)

not only provides a linkage to the targets and
priorities of the Sendai Framework but it also
connects states with the national level initiatives
and programmes on DRR. This document is very
helpful in formulating state plans, policies and
programmes in tune with the national goals.

- P N Rai, Member,
Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA)

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i. The Plan provides for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction. This
means integration of DRR issues into developmental schemes and
projects by all stakeholders—an approach in which both
development aspects and DRR are incorporated concurrently in a
seamless manner into all aspects of development, including policy,
planning and implementation.

j. Capacity development, disaster risk governance and international

cooperation are other important areas addressed in the Plan.

k. The NDMP has introduced the matrix format for DRR activities,
outlining the roles and responsibilities of Central and State-level
agencies, with time frames for short-term, medium-term, long-
term and regular activities.

l. The Plan has been prepared with a long-term vision identifying risk
reduction measures to be undertaken till 2030-a time frame that
coincides with that of the Sendai Framework for DRR-to ensure
achievement of the Sendai targets.

The Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management

Authority (UPSDMA) is fully committed to ensuring
a disaster resilient state. In this endeavour we are
greatly benefited by the holistic guidelines in
disaster risk reduction promulgated in the National
Disaster Management Plan (NDMP). The National
Plan addresses essentially all major disasters and
provides a useful template for understanding
states' roles and responsibilities, while also drawing
relevant linkages between the Centre and states on
rolling out DRR initiatives.

- Lt Gen R P Sahi (AVSM), Vice Chairman,

Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority

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 Salient Features of NDMP
Ÿ Covers all phases of disaster management prevention,
mitigation, response and recovery;
Ÿ Horizontal and vertical integration among all the
agencies and departments of the Government;
Ÿ Spells out the roles and responsibilities of all levels of
Government right up to Panchayat and Urban Local Body;
Ÿ The plan has a regional approach;
Ÿ The Plan has introduced coherence and mutual
reinforcement of the post-2015 global frameworks -
SFDRR, SDGs and COP21.

Impact
The NDMP incorporates an integrated approach: This ensures the
involvement of government agencies, numerous other relevant
organisations, private sector participants and local communities.
It recognises the need to eliminate ambiguity in the responsibility
framework: It, therefore, specifies who is responsible for what at
di erent stages of disaster management.
The concept of 'mainstreaming' was introduced in the NDMP: This is
helping ministries/departments of the Government of India to
mainstream disaster risk reduction in their developmental schemes
and programmes.

The NDMP provides a framework and a plan for

involvement of all the stakeholders in management
of disaster risks. It is extremely useful for civil
society actors to get informed and to participate
more meaningfully in disaster preparedness as well
as in each stage of the response and recovery.

- Vivek Rawal,
People in Centre

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Central ministries/departments are also preparing their respective
DM plans: They are doing this in line with the NDMP and deriving their
respective roles and responsibilities from it. The matrix format
introduced in NDMP is also being followed by them for clarity on
various entities' roles and responsibilities in a specific time frame.

State governments and District Disaster Management Authorities

(DDMAs) are benefiting from the NDMP: The guidelines are helping
them in the preparation of their own plans.

The NDMP has also proved to be of use to ministries, departments and

states in the preparation of their roadmaps: Some states are in the
process of developing their own roadmaps for DRR. The action points
of the 10-Point Agenda on DRR, enunciated by the Hon'ble Prime
Minister during AMCDRR 2016, provide a framework to ministries,
departments and states to work towards DRR implementation.

Based on the national plan, the Central ministries/departments, and

the state governments and districts can formulate their own projects:
The projects are generally for prevention and mitigation measures and
for capacity building—which can be supported by the National
Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) and the NDRF (capacity building
component) allocated by the Central government.

The National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP)

has set the pace for structured disaster
management activities relating to all phases of
disaster at the state level. It has prompted the state
government, and especially the Odisha State
Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), to
organise its preparedness and mitigation
interventions at di erent levels of administration.

- Pradeep Jena, IAS,

Additional Chief Secretary and
Managing Director, OSDMA

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 National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM)
is an apex institution in India for research, training
and capacity building activities in the field of
disaster management. The National Disaster
Management Plan (NDMP) is one of the best DM
Plans with a holistic approach of DRR, and it has
helped us in understanding and deciding on
important focus areas.

- Maj Gen M K Bindal, Executive Director,

National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM)

The community are the ultimate beneficiaries of the NDMP: Having

executed a paradigm shift—from post-disaster relief and recovery to
the proactive approaches of risk reduction and mitigation—the
reforms in the NDMP have been transforming the country into a
disaster-resilient society.

The timelines of the NDMP coincide with those of the SFDRR: This
alignment will help in timely achievement of the Sendai Framework
targets, particularly those pertaining to reduction in the number of
deaths and economic losses due to disasters.

Appreciation and acknowledgements for the NDMP:

The much-needed National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) has
been widely acclaimed by all stakeholders, ranging from the United
Nations O ce for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNDRR (formerly
UNISDR), to ministries/departments of the Government of India, the
state governments, academic institutions, civil society organisations
and others. They have found this Plan to be extremely useful in
preparing their own plans as well as in deriving actionable points from it
for themselves.

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 “India's motto is
'Reform, Perform, Transform'.”
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi