We have successfully tackled many disasters with Zero Casualty, which is a major achievement

Amit Shah yesterday chaired the third meeting of the Governing Body of the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by the Union Home Secretary, Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University, Member and Head of Department of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Director General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Director General of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Executive Director of NIDM, and senior officials from several Central Ministries and State Governments.

Addressing the meeting, the Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi there has been a comprehensive transformation in both the approach and methodology of disaster management over the last 12 years. The Modi Government has completely transformed the entire disaster management system, set the goal of ‘Zero Casualty’ and taken the country towards achieving this objective. We have also successfully faced several disasters with ‘Zero Casualty’, which is a major achievement. Shri Shah said that earlier disasters were viewed only from the perspective of relief and rehabilitation. Today, we have entered a new era based on three pillars - risk reduction, early warning systems and ‘Zero Casualty’. This is a matter of pride for all of us. He said that in this direction, the ‘Whole of Government’ approach is increasingly becoming an integral part of our work culture. Whenever a disaster occurs, all government departments actively respond. Now, with the strength of new research, we should take this process forward with greater speed and ensure continuous monitoring. Just as a ‘Whole of Government’ approach has been adopted in dealing with disasters, we must also move forward with a ‘Whole of Government’ approach to further strengthen the disaster management system.