Question 1

The NDMA has always drafted the National Disaster Management Plan.

Accepted Answer

Before the 2025 amendment, the National Executive Committee (NEC) was legally tasked with preparing the plan, which the NDMA would only approve.

Question 2

Major riots or law and order breakdowns can be declared 'man-made disasters' under the Act.

Accepted Answer

The 2025 amendment specifically inserted an explanation in Section 2 clarifying that 'man-made causes' do not include law and order situations.

Question 3

Urban Disaster Management Authorities (UDMAs) will be headed by the District Magistrate/Collector.

Accepted Answer

The Urban Disaster Management Authority is chaired by the Municipal Commissioner, with the District Collector serving as Vice-Chairperson.

Question 4

Consider the following statements regarding the Disaster Management (Amendment) Act, 2025:
1. The Act empowers the National Executive Committee to directly prepare the National Disaster Management Plan.
2. The Act grants statutory status to the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) to act as the nodal body for major disasters.
3. Situations arising from law and order issues are expressly excluded from the definition of disasters caused by man-made causes.
How many of the above statements are correct?

Accepted Answer

(b) Only two — Statement 1 is incorrect because the 2025 amendment shifted the responsibility of preparing the plan away from the National Executive Committee to the NDMA directly. Statements 2 and 3 are correct. The Act gives statutory backing to the NCMC (Section 8A) and explicitly excludes law and order issues from the definition of 'man-made causes'.

Question 5

Match the institutional bodies (List I) with their defining feature under the amended Disaster Management framework (List II):
List I:
A. NDMA Chairperson
B. High-Level Committee (HLC)
C. Urban Disaster Management Authority Chair
D. National Crisis Management Committee

List II:
1. Prime Minister
2. Oversees financial assistance to states
3. Municipal Commissioner
4. Nodal body for major disasters

Accepted Answer

(a) A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4 — The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairperson of the NDMA. The newly statutory High-Level Committee (HLC) approves financial assistance to states. The newly created UDMAs are chaired by the Municipal Commissioner (with the Collector as Vice-Chair). The NCMC acts as the nodal body dealing with major disasters with national ramifications.

Question 6

Assertion (A): The Disaster Management (Amendment) Act, 2025 mandates the creation of Urban Disaster Management Authorities (UDMAs) across all districts in India.
Reason (R): Urban areas face unique micro-climatic hazards such as urban flooding which require specialized city-centric disaster management plans.
Select the correct answer:

Accepted Answer

(d) A is false but R is true — Assertion (A) is false because UDMAs are NOT mandated for all districts. They are specifically provisioned for state capitals and large cities that have Municipal Corporations. Reason (R) is true as the unique vulnerabilities of urban centers (like flooding) were the primary driver for creating a separate UDMA track apart from the traditional DDMAs.

Disaster Management Amendment Act Passed

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