Lok Sabha Question No. 344 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-02
Subject: Preparedness and Response to Natural Disasters
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Smt. Rachna Banerjee

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 344

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 02 ND  DECEMBER, 2025/ AGRAHAYANA 11, 1947 (SAKA)

PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE TO NATURAL DISASTERS

344. SMT. RACHNA BANERJEE:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)  the  steps  taken  by  the  National  Disaster  Management  Authority (NDMA) to improve preparedness and response mechanisms for natural disasters;

(b)  the  details  of  assistance  provided  by  the  Government  to  States affected by recent floods, cyclones and earthquakes; especially to West Bengal; and

(c.) whether the Government plans to introduce new early warning and rapid response technologies?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI NITYANAND RAI)

(a)  India,  which  is  vulnerable  to  natural  hazards,  has  made  constant progress in enhancing its preparedness and response levels. The Disaster Management Act, 2005 articulates the need for mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) into development planning. The National Policy on Disaster Management (NPDM), 2009 seeks to build a safe and disaster resilient India.

Disaster preparedness includes conducting drills and training, building disaster-resilient infrastructure, early warning dissemination, etc. Response mechanisms, on the other hand, focuses on assessing damage, providing assistance, rehabilitation and reconstruction, etc. As such, the preparedness and response mechanisms for the natural disasters is a continuous and evolving process and these are constantly updated and revised depending upon the nature and severity of the natural disasters.

The  National  Disaster  Management  Authority  (NDMA)  has  undertaken several  measures  to  strengthen  disaster  preparedness  and  response mechanisms with a strong emphasis on awareness generation, community  outreach  and  risk  reduction.  Some  of  the  major  steps undertaken by NDMA are as below:

- i. Issued 38 guidelines on various thematic and cross-cutting issues to  standardise  preparedness  and  response  practices  across  the country.
- ii. Implemented the Aapda Mitra Scheme to train community volunteers in disaster response.
- iii. Implementing  the  Yuva  Aapda  Mitra  Scheme  (YAMS) to train 2,37,326  volunteers  from  National  Cadet  Core  (NCC),  National Service Scheme (NSS), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and Bharat Scouts & Guides (BS&G) in disaster response.

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 344 FOR 02.12.2025

- iv. Promoted improved early warning dissemination through Common Alerting  Protocol  (CAP)  based  Integrated  Alert  System  (SACHET) under which more than 11,000 Crore early warning alerts have been disseminated.
- v. Facilitates  the  conduct  of  State  and  Multi-State  Level  Mock Exercises on various hazards as per the vulnerability profile in close co-ordination with States and UTs.
- vi. Coordinates with NDRF, Armed Forces, line Ministries and States to mobilize  teams,  equipment  and  other  resources  for  quick  rescue and relief operations.
- vii. Undertakes regular social-media campaigns to inform, educate and sensitise the public about preparedness measures before disasters, necessary precautions during disasters and appropriate actions in the post-disaster phase.
- viii. Started  various  key  disaster  risk  mitigation  programmes  through the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) for mitigating different hazards like landslide, GLOF, Coastal and River Erosion, Forest fire, Lightning, Earthquake etc.
6. (b)  The  primary  responsibility  for  disaster  management  rests  with  the State Governments. The State Governments provide financial relief to the

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 344 FOR 02.12.2025

affected people in the wake of notified disasters, from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) already placed at their disposal. However, in the event of disaster of a severe nature, additional financial assistance is extended from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) as per the laid down procedure, which includes an assessment based on the visit of an  Inter-Ministerial  Central  Team  (IMCT).  Financial  assistance  under SDRF/  NDRF  in  the  wake  of  natural  disasters  is  by  way  of  relief  of immediate nature and not for compensation of loss as suffered/ claimed.

A  statement  of  fund  released  from  SDRF  and  NDRF  to  the  States  for providing immediate relief to the victims of notified disasters including floods, cyclones and earthquakes during the FY 2025-26 is annexed as Annexure-I.

Further,  the  State  Government  of  West  Bengal  has  been  allocated  an amount of ₹1311.20 crore (₹983.20 crore Central share + ₹328.00 crore State share) for the financial year 2025-2026 under SDRF, of which the first instalment of ₹491.60 crore from the Centr al share has been released to the State. Further, an amount of ₹5289.55 crore has been stated to be available as opening balance on 1st April, 2025 by the State Government in its SDRF account.

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 344 FOR 02.12.2025

(C)  Government  of  India  has  launched  a  scheme  namely,  CAP  based Integrated Alert System (SACHET) to facilitate dissemination of warnings/alerts  about  impending  hazards  to  geographically  referenced population, in vernacular languages over various communication media like SMS, TV/Radio broadcast, Railways, Mobile application, social media, satellite terminals, etc.

CAP Platform integrates all alert generating agencies viz. 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)  with  all  State  Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs).

This system has been successfully used in recent disasters with more than 11,000 crore SMS alerts disseminated so far. This scheme is State of the Art and a 'Make in India' initiative.

*****

## Details of funds allocated and released from SDRF and NDRF to the States during FY 2025-2026 As on 07.11.2025

(Rs. in crore)

| Sl.   | Name of the State   | Allocation of SDRF   | Allocation of SDRF   | Allocation of SDRF   | Releases from SDRF          | Releases from SDRF   | Releases from NDRF for   | Releases from NDRF for   | Releases from NDRF for   |
|-------|---------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|-----------------------------|----------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|
| No.   | Name of the State   | Central Share        | State Share          | Total                | 1 st Installment            | 2 nd Inst            | Natural disasters        | Mof Fire services        | PDNA (R&R)               |
| 1     | 2                   | 3                    | 4                    | 5                    | 6                           | 7                    | 10                       | 9                        | 10                       |
| 1.    | Andhra Pradesh      | 1088.00              | 361.60               | 1449.60              | --                          | --                   | --                       | --                       | --                       |
| 2.    | Arunacha l Pradesh  | 243.20               | 27.20                | 270.40               | 237.20 (115.60# +121.60)    | --                   | --                       | 34.536                   | --                       |
| 3.    | Assam               | 751.20               | 83.20                | 834.40               | 375.60                      | --                   | 49.85                    | --                       | --                       |
| 4.    | Bihar               | 1376.80              | 459.20               | 1836.00              | 688.40                      | --                   | --                       | 76.704                   | --                       |
| 5.    | Chhattisg arh       | 420.00               | 140.00               | 560.00               | 400.00#                     | --                   | --                       | --                       | --                       |
| 6.    | Goa                 | 11.20                | 4.00                 | 15.20                | 5.60                        | --                   | --                       | --                       | --                       |
| 7.    | Gujarat             | 1287.20              | 428.80               | 1716.00              | 1854.00 (1210.40 #+643.60 ) | --                   | --                       | 76.239                   | --                       |
| 8.    | Haryana             | 477.60               | 159.20               | 636.80               | 238.80                      | --                   | --                       | 26.241                   | --                       |
| 9.    | Himachal Pradesh    | 397.60               | 44.00                | 441.60               | 198.80                      | 198.80               | 107.15                   | 23.52                    | 451.44                   |
| 10.   | Jharkhan d          | 552.00               | 184.00               | 736.00               | 276.00                      | --                   | --                       | 33.294                   | --                       |
| 11.   | Karnatak a          | 768.80               | 256.00               | 1024.80              | 384.40                      | 384.40               | --                       | --                       | --                       |
| 12.   | Kerala              | 306.40               | 101.60               | 408.00               | 153.20                      | --                   | --                       | 36.32                    | 78.168                   |
| 13.   | Madhya Pradesh      | 1770.40              | 589.60               | 2360.00              | 885.20                      | --                   | --                       | 89.145                   | --                       |

## Annexure-I (Page-2)

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 344 FOR 02.12.2025

| 14.   | Maharasht ra   |   3132.80 |   1044.00 |   4176.80 | 1566.40                    | 1566.40   | --     | 138.09   | --                   |
|-------|----------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|----------------------------|-----------|--------|----------|----------------------|
| 15.   | Manipur        |      40.8 |       4.8 |      45.6 | 29.20 (8.80#+2 0.40)       | --        | 114.88 | 16.20    | --                   |
| 16.   | Meghalaya      |      64   |       7.2 |      71.2 | 60.00 #                    | --        | --     | --       | --                   |
| 17.   | Mizoram        |      45.6 |       4.8 |      50.4 | 22.80                      | --        | --     | --       | --                   |
| 18.   | Nagaland       |      40   |       4.8 |      44.8 | 20.00                      | 20.00     | --     | 14.42    | --                   |
| 19.   | Odisha         |    1560   |     520   |    2080   | 780.00                     | --        | --     | --       | --                   |
| 20.   | Punjab         |     481.6 |     160.8 |     642.4 | 240.80                     | 240.80    | --     | --       | --                   |
| 21.   | Rajasthan      |    1440   |     480   |    1920   | 720.00                     | --        | --     | --       | --                   |
| 22.   | Sikkim         |      48.8 |       5.6 |      54.4 | 24.40                      | 24.40     | --     | 11.612   | 76.15 (59.86+ 16.29) |
| 23.   | Tamil Nadu     |     992   |     330.4 |    1322.4 | 496.00                     | --        | 522.34 | --       | --                   |
| 24.   | Telangana      |     436.8 |     145.6 |     582.4 | 218.40                     | --        | --     | 57.04    | --                   |
| 25.   | Tripura        |      67.2 |       7.2 |      74.4 | 25.20                      | --        | --     | --       | --                   |
| 26.   | Uttar Pradesh  |    1880.8 |     626.4 |    2507.2 | 1836.00 (895.60 #+940.40 ) | --        | --     | --       | --                   |
| 27.   | Uttarakhan d   |     911.2 |     100.8 |    1012   | 455.60                     | 455.60    | --     | --       | 291.15               |
| 28.   | West Bengal    |     983.2 |     328   |    1311.2 | 491.60                     | --        | --     | --       | --                   |
|       | Total: -       |   21575.2 |    6608.8 |   28184   | 12254.00                   | 2890.40   | 679.34 | 617.161  | 896.908              |

#  = includes arrears of previous year.