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India's framework law for disaster management, creating the NDMA, state and district authorities, and the statutory response and mitigation funds.
The Disaster Management Act, 2005 is the framework legislation that governs how India prepares for, responds to and recovers from disasters. Before it, disaster response was largely an administrative relief exercise with no statutory backing; the Act converted it into a planned, institutional system with authorities at the national, state and district levels and dedicated funds to pay for their work. It establishes the National Disaster Management Authority chaired by the Prime Minister, State Disaster Management Authorities chaired by Chief Ministers, and District Disaster Management Authorities, and it creates the National and State Disaster Response Funds along with corresponding mitigation funds. The Act was substantially amended in 2025 to strengthen urban disaster management, create disaster databases and give statutory status to bodies that had existed only administratively.
Type: LawThree-tier institutional structure — the National Disaster Management Authority, State Disaster Management Authorities and District Disaster Management Authorities
Statutory funds — the National Disaster Response Fund and State Disaster Response Funds for relief, with corresponding mitigation funds for risk reduction
National Disaster Response Force — a specialist force for disaster response, raised under the Act
National Institute of Disaster Management — the training and research institution established by the Act
Planning obligation — national, state and district disaster management plans must be prepared and periodically reviewed
Shift from relief to mitigation — the Act's stated emphasis is on prevention, preparedness and mitigation rather than post-disaster relief alone
Frequency: A standing topic in UPSC GS Paper 3 disaster management and in general awareness papers
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
Apex body that lays down policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management
State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)
Lays down state disaster management policy and approves the state plan
District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA)
Plans, coordinates and implements disaster management at the district level
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)
Specialist force for disaster response, deployed for search, rescue and relief operations
National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM)
Training, research and documentation in disaster management
India's disaster management architecture was built largely in response to two catastrophes at the turn of the century — the 1999 Odisha super cyclone and the 2001 Bhuj earthquake — followed by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which exposed the absence of any statutory system for preparedness or early warning. The 2005 Act was the legislative answer. Two decades later, the 2025 amendment addressed what experience had shown to be the main gaps: cities without their own disaster authorities, the absence of a legally mandated early warning chain, and mitigation funds that were consistently underused relative to relief.
Odisha super cyclone exposes the weakness of the existing relief-based approach
Bhuj earthquake in Gujarat prompts a rethink of disaster preparedness
Indian Ocean tsunami underlines the absence of an early warning system
The Disaster Management Act is enacted, creating the NDMA, SDMAs, DDMAs and statutory funds
The National Policy on Disaster Management is adopted
The Disaster Management (Amendment) Act, 2025 receives presidential assent
The 2025 amendment comes into force
The practical importance of this Act is financial as much as institutional. Relief in India is paid from the State Disaster Response Fund, and what a state may spend that money on depends on whether the hazard appears on the Centre's notified disaster list — a list that grew to fourteen when heatwave and lightning were added in 2026. The Act supplies the legal container for those funds and for the distinction, sharpened by the 2025 amendment, between money for relief after an event and money for mitigation before one. The urban provision is the other change worth noting: Indian cities concentrate population and heat, flood and fire risk, yet had no disaster authority of their own until state governments were empowered to create Urban Disaster Management Authorities. For an answer on climate adaptation, this Act is where the institutional and the financial arguments meet.
Enacted 2005; India's framework law for disaster management
NDMA chaired by the Prime Minister, SDMA by the Chief Minister, DDMA by the District Collector
Creates the NDRF and the National Institute of Disaster Management
Establishes National and State Disaster Response Funds plus mitigation funds
Amended in 2025 — assent 29 March 2025, in force 9 April 2025
The 2025 amendment added Urban Disaster Management Authorities, disaster databases and a unified early warning framework
SDRF sharing: 75:25 Centre-state generally, 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan states
The Prime Minister of India chairs the NDMA ex-officio. State Disaster Management Authorities are chaired by Chief Ministers and District Disaster Management Authorities by District Collectors.
The Disaster Management (Amendment) Act, 2025 received presidential assent on 29 March 2025 and came into force on 9 April 2025.
Bodies that state governments may constitute under the 2025 amendment in state capitals and all cities with a Municipal Corporation, to handle city-specific disasters.
A Response Fund pays for immediate relief after a disaster; a Mitigation Fund pays for long-term risk reduction such as resilient infrastructure. The 2025 amendment clarified this distinction.
The Centre and the state contribute in a 75:25 ratio for general category states and 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan states.