Factual assessment and analysis can help authorities settle disaster relief claims faster: Shri Goyal

Disaster management education must from an early age, to boost India’s disaster resilience: Shri Goyal

India today is known as the first responder to the Global South for its humanitarian initiatives in tines of natural disasters. This was stated by Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal during his address at the World Congress on Disaster Management, Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDM-DRR) Awards in New Delhi. Shri Goyal said that Indian government is there 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. 

Shri Goyal pointed out that India is known to provide disaster management to the neighbouring countries in flood prevention, flood control and in mitigating other disasters. Shri Goyal noted that during Covid, India provided free vaccines to over 100 countries through the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ humanitarian initiative. 

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. Speaking of responsibilities of all parties concerned, the Minister said that the victims must refrain from making exaggerated claims and noted that such claims only delay the process. Factual, correct assessment and analysis will help the authorities in settling disaster relief claims faster and giving relief to the deserving, the Minister said. 

Referring to the rile of armed forces in rescue and relief operations, Shri 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.

Shri Goyal stressed that managing disaster crisis is a whole-of-the-government approach that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has focused on and also pointed out that the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Shri PK Mishra is respected worldwide when it comes to disaster management. He also noted that a holistic approach on PM’s 10-point agenda of - integration, risk coverage, women leadership, risk mapping technology, research, media, capacity building, learning and international cooperation will help the nation build climate-resilient infrastructure in India. 

Shri 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.

The Minister shared that relief funds are already provided to the States as part of the annual budget and further aids are provided in the face of a bigger disaster. The combination of the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) - National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) is also a form of huge reassurance for the nation. He also shared that the budget for disaster relief has been increased three times in the last ten years. Shri 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. 

Disaster relief claims should be settled faster through factual assessments and streamlined administrative mechanisms to ensure timely aid. Advocate expedited administrative settlement of disaster relief claims through factual, correct assessment and analysis to avoid judicial recourse, coupled with public awareness against exaggerated claims. Maintain and augment relief financing via the State Disaster Relief Fund and National Disaster Relief Fund; recent budget increases strengthen response capacity. Implement the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024 to establish national and state disaster databases. Adopt a whole-of-government approach integrating armed forces, meteorological services and civil agencies, and pursue a ten-point agenda-including risk mapping technology, capacity building and international cooperation-to develop climate resilient infrastructure and early-age disaster management education.