The Annual Joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise “Samanvay 2022,” organized by the Indian Air Force (IAF), is being held at the Air Force Station in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, from November 28 to 30, 2022.
- On November 29, 2022, the capability demonstration activities scheduled during the exercise welcomed Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh as the Chief Guest.
Samanvay 2022 seeks to offer a special platform for exchange of domain knowledge, experience, and best practices with the participating Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries.
Strengthening The Institutional Mechanism:
i.Samanvay 2022 aims to evaluate the effectiveness of institutional disaster management structures and contingency measures.
- It will include a Disaster Management seminar, a “Multi-Agency Exercise” that will feature static and flying displays of various HADR assets, and a “Tabletop Exercise.”
ii.The exercise would encourage a collaborative approach by bringing together various institutions. The instituitions include:
- The Armed Forces, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the Border Roads Organization (BRO), the India Meteorological Department (IMD), and the Civil Administration.
Disaster Management in India:
i.The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is the apex statutory body for disaster management in India.
- It was formally established on September 27, 2006, in compliance with the Disaster Management Act
- ii.The Prime Minister (PM) is the ex-officio Chairperson of NDMA.
- iii.Under the aegis of Headquarters Integrated Defense Staff (HQ IDS), Indian defence forces have been conducting HADR operations both within and outside the country.
- Note: The State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) are headed by respective Chief Ministers.