 Early Times Report
NEW DELHI, June 17: The two-day Annual Conference of Relief Commissioners and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) of States and UTs-2025, organised by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), concluded in New Delhi today. Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Dr. P. K. Mishra chaired the valedictory session. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. P K Mishra said that this annual conference is more than a routine-it's a shared opportunity to reflect, recalibrate, and reinforce our collective approach to disaster risk management. Observing that the nature of disasters is changing, he said that we must accept this reality i.e. hazards are interconnected, impacts are multiplying, and risks are evolving faster than we are adapting. Dr. P K Mishra highlighted following actions to be focused in the days to come, which will strengthen our position in a long run:
Preparedness and awareness is crucial for tackling increasing uncertainty on disaster occurrence. The hazard and vulnerability landscape are changing and so should enhance the preparedness level of the states.
For better transition from relief and response approach to preparedness and mitigation approach, states need to institutionalise the lessons learnt. This is essential, so that insights from the past disasters are not forgotten. While India's DRR financing model has been acknowledged at the Global Platform on DRR held in Geneva on 4-6 June, 2025, States should ensure for proper utilisation of Recovery and Mitigation Funds.
Highlighting India's vast geography, which mandates that besides a robust national disaster response force, states should assess and invest in capacity augmentation of agencies involved in the disaster relief operations.
Disaster preparedness is not a matter of hours but is a matter of minutes, as every minute taken in mobilisation and starting relief operation counts. Thus, the speed of response should be improved. There is still a lot to be done on the early warning from for certain disasters.
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