National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA):
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) celebrated its 18th Formation Day on 28th September, 2022.
- Theme 2022: Volunteerism in Disaster Management.
- The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is India’s apex statutory body for disaster management.
- The NDMA was formally constituted on 27th September 2006, by the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
- The Prime Minister is its chairperson and it has nine other members. One of the nine members is designated as Vice-Chairperson.
- The primary responsibility for the management of disaster rests with the State Government concerned.
- However, the National Policy on Disaster Management puts in place an enabling environment for all i.e., the Centre, state and district.
- The government is working on a programme to set up disaster management volunteers (Aapada Mitra) in 350 districts of the country.
Aapada Mitra:
- It is a Central Sector Scheme that was launched in May 2016.
- NDMA is the implementing agency.
- It is a programme to identify suitable individuals in disaster-prone regions who can be trained to be first responders in times of disasters.
- To provide the community volunteers with the skills that they would need to respond to their community’s immediate needs in the aftermath of a disaster thereby enabling them to undertake basic relief and rescue tasks during emergency situations such as floods, flash-floods and urban flooding.
