1. Disaster Management and India
Dr. Kailash Gupta
Understanding Natural and Man-made Disasters course of M. Tech. (Disaster
Assessment & Mitigation), Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur,
November 12, 2013
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2. India
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3. Context of the country
 1.2 billion population
 72% live in rural areas
 60% work in agriculture
 28% are below the poverty line
 35% are illiterate
 600 languages
 500 m. without electricity (United Nations
Development Program, 2007)
 secular state
 largest democracy
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4. Context of the country (cont.)
 Has one of the oldest cultures
 Historically, a rich country
 Over four centuries foreign rule and
other factors made India poor
 Forecasted to become one of the
economic super powers
 (Gupta, 2009; Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, 2013)
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5. Vulnerability
 The greatest challenges India
faces in Disaster Management
are poverty, illiteracy, apathy,
and corruption.
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6. History of Disasters
 Famine: 10m or 1/3 pop died in 1769-70, 5.5m died
in 1876-78, and 20m died in 1943
 Earthquake: 7,928 died in Latur in 1993; 20,000
died in Gujarat 2001; 15,000 died in the 2004
Tsunami
 Floods: average 1,588 deaths per year
 Cyclone: 10,000 deaths in Orissa Super Cyclone in
1999
 Technological hazards: 3,828 instantaneous deaths
in Bhopal in 1984
 Others: Terrorism, mid-air collision, accidents
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7. History of Disasters (cont.)
 Had some of the worst disasters and of
every kind
 “India should hang her head in
shame. With Bengal famine…and
many other disasters, there is no
foyer in the world with space large
enough to exhibit the collective pain
on the face of India” (Kapur et al 2005, p. 2).
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8. Laws
 World’s first Famine Relief Act (1880)
 Disaster Management was relief driven
 10th 5-year plan (2002-07) included a DM chapter
for the first time
 Gujarat Disaster Management Act (2003)
mandates every citizen to help administration
 Disaster Management Act (2005) created
National Disaster Management Authority and DM
plans, etc.
 Paradigm shifting to mitigation, prevention, and
preparedness
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10. Institutional Framework and Mechanism
 National Institute of Disaster Management at national
level
 DM cell in the Administrative Training Institute in
states
 Large National Calamity Fund
 DM plans and EOCs
 DM program with UNDP
 DM education started from 8th grade in 2003
 Poised to be a future leader in DM
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11. Why disasters occur?
 Disasters occur because people live in
unsafe conditions due to dynamic
pressures, which have root causes (Wisner,
Blaikie, Cannon, & Davis, 2004).
 Famines occur not from a lack of food,
but from inequalities built into
mechanisms of distributing food (Sen 1983).
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12. How to make India disaster resilient?
 Apathy (chalta ha) is the greatest
vulnerability and challenge in making
India disaster resilient.
 If Indians perform their fundamental
duties in letter and sprit enshrined in
Article 51A(h) and (j) of the constitution
India can become disaster resilient.
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13. How to make India disaster resilient? (Cont.)
 Article 51A of the constitution:
 It shall be the duty of every citizen of India –
 (h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism
and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
 (j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres
of individual and collective activity so that the
nation constantly rises to higher levels of
endeavor and achievement;
And, we have done it in response to October
2013 cyclone Phailin, after failing in June 2013
Uttarakhand catastrophe.
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14. India in Global Context
 Dr. Manmohan Singh had said that the global
community has a great stake in India’s
experiment in seeking for its people social,
political, and economical betterment within the
framework of a liberal democracy at the
International Conference on Development,
Freedom and Welfare, New Delhi, Dec. 2008
 Strengthening democracy will improve public
administration, leading to improvements in DM.
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15. Responding internally and
simultaneously in neighboring countries
 After tsunami India refused foreign government aid
in response as it was self-sufficient.
 India deployed its defense personnel, medical
teams, disaster experts, ships, helicopters, and
human and other resources to help Sri Lanka,
Mauritius, and Indonesia.
 India was also responding internally to the
aftermath of the tsunami.
 India is lower income group country, while
Indonesia is middle-income group country.
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16. References
 Gupta, K. (2009). Disaster management and India: Responding internally and
simultaneously in neighboring countries. In D. A. McEntire (Ed.),
Comparative emergency management: Understanding disaster policies,
organizations, and initiatives from around the world. Emmitsburg, MD:
Emergency Management Institute.
 Kapur, A., Neeti, Meeta, Deeptima, Roshani, & Debanjali. (2005). Disasters In
India : Studies of grim reality. Jaipur: Rawat Publications.
 Ministry of Home Affairs - Government of India. (2013). Disaster management in
India. New Delhi: Author.
 Sen, A. (1981). Poverty and famines : An essay on entitlements and deprivation.
Oxford: Clarendon Press.
 United Nations Development Program. (2007). Human Development Report
2007/2008. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
 Wisner, B., Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., & Davis, I. (2004). At risk: Natural hazards,
people's vulnerability and disasters (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
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17. Questions
Thanks
Kailash Gupta
kailashgupta@my.unt.edu
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