The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) celebrated its Raising Day on January 19.

National Disaster Response Force

• The Disaster Management Act, 2005 included provisions for the constitution of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for the purpose of specialised response to natural and man-made disasters.

• Accordingly, NDRF was constituted in January 2006 with eight battalions. 

• At present, NDRF has a strength of 12 battalions. Four additional battalions will be fully operational soon.

• Earlier, the personnel of NDRF were deployed for routine law and order duties also. In 2007, during a meeting of the NDMA with the Prime Minister, the need of NDRF being made a dedicated force was highlighted and accepted. This led to the notification of NDRF Rules on February 14th , 2008, making NDRF a dedicated force for disaster response related duties, under the unified command of DG NDRF.

• The force has emerged as a visible, vibrant, multi-skilled, hitech and stand alone force capable of dealing with all types of natural and man-made disasters including Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) emergencies.

Additional read:

Management of natural disasters

The ministry of home affairs is the nodal ministry for management of natural disasters (other than drought, hailstorm, pest attack and cold wave/frost, which are handled by the ministry of agriculture). The basic responsibility for undertaking relief, rehabilitation, preparedness, mitigation and response measures in the event of a disaster rests with the concerned state government.

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