India is exposed to almost every natural hazard — earthquakes, floods, cyclones, droughts, landslides, heatwaves — as well as industrial and biological disasters. This chapter covers how India moved from relief after the event to managing risk before it, the institutions created by the Disaster Management Act, 2005, how disasters are financed, and the global frameworks India subscribes to.

What UPSC asks

Mains GS III (almost every year): the DM Act and institutional framework, community-based disaster management, specific hazards (urban floods, landslides, heatwaves, cyclones), the Sendai Framework, and lessons from recent disasters.
Prelims: composition of NDMA and DDMAs, sections of the DM Act, the Sendai Framework’s priorities and targets, CDRI, and early-warning institutions.

Key sub-topics

Sub-topic	Anchor
Concepts	Hazard, vulnerability, capacity, risk; the disaster management cycle
Law and policy	DM Act 2005; National Policy on DM 2009; NDMP 2016 (revised 2019)
Institutions	NDMA (chaired by PM), NEC, SDMA, DDMA, NIDM, NDRF
Finance	NDRF and SDRF; mitigation funds (15th Finance Commission)
Global	Hyogo (2005–15) → Sendai Framework (2015–2030); CDRI (2019)
Practice	Early warning (IMD, INCOIS, CWC), Odisha’s cyclone model, heat action plans