NDRF celebrates its Raising Day on January 19

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 16 battalions, consisting of 1,149 personnel each.

• They are drawn from the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) — Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Assam Rifles.

• The battalions are stationed in different parts of the country based on the vulnerability profile. 

• 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 standalone force capable of dealing with all types of natural and man-made disasters including Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) emergencies. 

• Teams of NDRF have also been stationed at 28 different strategic locations to reduce the response time in case of disasters.