Civil Defence and Disaster Management
What this domain tests
Civil Defence and Disaster Management tests the legal framework, the roles of NDMA, SDMA and DDMA, the NDRF, and the disaster cycle. Questions often ask you to place an action in the correct phase.
Core rules
- The Civil Defence Act, 1968 provides for civil defence measures such as air-raid warnings, blackouts, rescue, first aid, fire fighting and evacuation. Civil defence is a civilian organisation under the Ministry of Home Affairs, not part of the armed forces.
- The Disaster Management Act, 2005 created the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), chaired by the Prime Minister, with State and District authorities.
- The NDRF is the specialised response force; it is not a policy-making body.
- The disaster cycle has mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery phases. The Sendai Framework 2015–2030 guides risk reduction.
- Community volunteers, fire services, police, health workers and NGOs are first responders before specialised forces arrive.
Worked example
A district maps flood-prone villages in May, trains volunteers in June, and opens shelters after a warning in July. Which phase is each? Reasoning: mapping and training are preparedness; opening shelters after a warning is response. Building an embankment would be mitigation. Recovery would be restoring livelihoods after the flood.
Traps
Do not call the NDRF the policy authority; NDMA coordinates policy. Do not date the Act to 2004. Do not treat civil defence as a branch of the Army. Do not label every action 'response' - prevention and preparedness come earlier.