NEW DELHI: Union Home minister Amit Shah spoke at the Annual Conference of Relief Commissioners and Disaster Response Forces of States and Union Territories in New Delhi on Monday, highlighting India’s growing profile in international disaster management. Other dignitaries included Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, and some top officials and experts.
Referring to the past 10 years of the Modi regime as a “transformative decade” in coping with disasters, Amit Shah stated that India has made major strides in building capacity, operational tempo, efficiency, and forecasting. “Ten years from now, when Indian history is written about its response to disasters, these 10 years will be remembered for transforming the way we approach crises,” he added.
Shah emphasised that the government has shifted the focus from relief-centric responses to a holistic disaster risk reduction approach. “By adopting a proactive model and engaging the entire system—from Central and state governments to local bodies and the public—we’ve made zero-casualty outcomes a reality,” he said, citing Gujarat’s Cyclone Biparjoy, where not even a single human or animal life was lost.
Emphasising India’s progress in disaster preparedness and early warning systems, the home minister said these advances are no longer limited to national or state scales but now go up to tehsils and villages. “Our target is not minimum casualty but zero casualty — and the world is watching in wonder,” he asserted.
Shah stated that while the Rs 66,000 crore spent between 2004 and 2014 on disaster response is being compared, the Modi government has increased spending to Rs 2 lakh crore between 2014 and 2024. “The budget of the SDRF went up from Rs 38,000 crore to Rs 1.44 lakh crore, while that of the NDRF went up from Rs 28,000 crore to Rs 84,000 crore. “This money power has allowed last-mile preparedness,” he added.
In order to enhance local preparedness, he instructed all relief commissioners to prepare a District Disaster Management Plan (DDMP) for each district within a period of 90 days. He also called for the preparation of a particular heatwave action plan, locality-specific, and stressed the need for the implementation of the incident response system in all states.
The home minister also made announcements regarding future plans like merging Start-up India with disaster technology, educating 1 lakh community volunteers (20 per cent women), and expanding the Yuva Aapda Mitra programme with Rs 470 crore as funding. He also asked states to nominate for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar, the national disaster management award of India.