World Congress on Disaster Management (WCDM) 2021

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• The 5th edition of the World Congress on Disaster Management was held at IIT Delhi from 24 to 27 November by Disaster Management Initiatives and Convergence Society (DMICS) , Hyderabad.
• The event was virtually inaugurated by Rajnath Singh, Union Defence Minister.

 Theme of the WCDMA:

• “Technology, Finance and Capacity for Building Resilience to Disasters in the contexts of Covid-19.”

What is the objective of (WCDM) 2021?

• The aim behind this 5th World Congress is to bring researchers, policymakers and practitioners from around the world on the same platform to discuss various challenging issues of disaster risk management.
• The first WCDM took place in 2008 in the city of Hyderabad.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA):

• NDMA was established through the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and was constituted in Dec 2006.
• The aim of the National Disaster Management Authority is to build a safer and disaster-resilient India by developing a holistic, proactive, multi-disaster and technology-driven strategy for disaster management.

Organisational Structure:

• The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairperson of the NDMA. 
• The Cabinet Minister is the Vice-Chairman.
• The NDMA Secretariat, headed by a Secretary, is responsible for providing secretarial support and continuity.
• Along with this, NDMA has 8 Ministers of State as its Members.

State-level Institutions:

State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)

• Headed by the Chief Minister of the respective state, SDMA lays down the policies and plans for disaster management in the state.
• It is responsible for  coordinating and  implementing  the State disaster management  Plan, recommending the provision of funds for mitigation and preparedness measures and reviewing the developmental plans of the different departments of the state to ensure integration of prevention, preparedness and mitigation measures.

District level Institutions

District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA)

• Section 25 of the DM Act provides for the constitution of DDMA for every district of a state.
• The District Magistrate/ District Collector/Deputy Commissioner heads the Authority as Chairperson.