India is the first responder for Global South in times of need: Piyush Goyal

NEW DELHI: India today is known as the first responder to the Global South for its humanitarian initiatives in times of natural disasters, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said here on Wednesday.

During his address at the World Congress on Disaster Management, Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDM-DRR) Awards, the Minister said that the Indian government has stood for every person in distress within the country and in the world. ``That is true global leadership and that is the philosophy of India,’’ he added.

He pointed out that India is known to provide disaster management to the neighbouring countries in flood prevention, flood control and in mitigating other disasters.

The Minister said that disaster relief insurance claims is an area where work needs to be done in creating awareness and providing faster disposal of the claims in a seamless manner and nobody should need to approach the courts to get relief.

Referring to the role of armed forces in rescue and relief operations, he Goyal highlighted the sacrifices made by the Army, Navy, Airforce and the Central and State Rapid Action Forces. He praised the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for their efforts in disaster prevention and reducing the magnitude of casualties in recent times.

Goyal stated that education on disaster management must be taught from an early age which will boost India’s disaster resilience and help prevention also. He said that the budget for disaster relief has been increased three times in the last ten years. Goyal informed that the recently passed the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024 will provide benefit to the nation in terms of creating a database of the disasters at the national and the state level.