Discuss the recent measures initiated in disaster management by the Government of India, departing from the earlier reactive approach.

Introduction: India once treated disasters as one-off events met with post-event relief and compensation. The approach has since turned proactive — anticipating, preventing and reducing risk before disaster strikes — in line with the global shift toward Disaster Risk Reduction.

Legal and institutional reform: The Disaster Management Act, 2005 created a three-tier structure — NDMA at the centre, SDMAs in states and DDMAs in districts — and raised the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as a standing specialised multi-hazard force, ending reliance on ad-hoc deployment. The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) anchors training and research.

Planning and global alignment:

• The National Disaster Management Plan, 2016 (revised 2019) was among the first worldwide aligned with the Sendai Framework's four priorities.
• India launched the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) in 2019 to mainstream resilience into roads, power, telecom and transport.

Technology, finance and forecasting: Early-warning systems — ITEWC for tsunamis at INCOIS, IMD cyclone forecasting, and flood and landslide alerts — now give vital lead time; the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project, dedicated SDRF/NDRF funds and Finance Commission mitigation grants back prevention with money. Mass pre-cyclone evacuations have cut deaths sharply, as in Phailin (2013) and Fani (2019).

Conclusion: The architecture has clearly moved from relief to resilience; the next step is strengthening district and community-level preparedness and risk-informed land use so this proactive intent reaches the last vulnerable household.