National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), is a premier institute for training and capacity development programs for managing natural disasters in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, on a national as well as regional basis. The National Centre of Disaster Management (NCDM), constituted under an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

in 1995; was re-designated to give the present name of National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) by the ''Disaster Management Act 2005'' passed by

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

on 9 January 2006,

History

The

International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction The United Nations General Assembly designated the 1990s as International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). Its basic objective was to decrease the loss of life, property destruction and social and economic disruption caused by natural ...

, proposed with the purpose of ensuring the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction prompted the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, the nodal ministry for disaster management in

to establish a national centre for management and planning the control of such natural disasters in 1995.
The center was later upgraded as the National Institute of Disaster management (NIDM) on ''16 October 2003'', with the transfer of the subject of disaster management to the ''Ministry of Home Affairs''. The institute was inaugurated by Home Minister of

on ''11 August 2004''.

Origin and responsibilities

The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

designated the 1990s as the

(IDNDR). In 1995, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, nominally responsible for disaster management in India, created the National Centre for Disaster Management. When responsibility for disaster management was transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Centre became the National Institute of Disaster Management. The institute was officially inaugurated by the Union Home Minister on 11 August 2004. The National Disaster Management Act of 2005 granted the Institute statutory organisation status. The Act holds the Institute responsible for "planning and promoting training and research in the area of disaster management, documentation and development of national level information base relating to disaster management policies, prevention mechanisms and mitigation measures". The NIDM has been mandated by the Govt. of India (NDMA – as per DM Act 2005, guidelines for NIDM) to be a deemed University and institute of excellence on higher learning and capacity building. UGC has worked out with NIDM and developed a model curriculum for strengthening disaster management in higher education and research. Most Central Universities have envisaged Centre for Disaster Management under their School of Environmental Studies. A core group is being formed with UGC-NIDM to promote the subject at Academic Staff Colleges as well.

Training

The NIDM works under government's directives to train and conduct periodic checks to regulate effective earthquake and disaster control policies throughout the country with support from semi-government, private firms and

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s. It also conducts mock drill, crises communication and a hazard hunt exercise among their staffers every two to three months. Recently,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

witnessed one of biggest mega mock drills conducted in India, simulating an earthquake of magnitude 7.2 on

Richter Scale The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...

. The main purpose was to check the alertness and preparedness of various agencies, commuters in the event of a disaster of such magnitude.
National Disaster Management Authority and Delhi Disaster Management Authority jointly conducted the drills at several places across the national capital including the six Metro Stations at 11.30 a.m.

Notes

{{authority control Organizations established in 1995 Emergency management in India Government agencies of India Ministry of Home Affairs (India)