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India aims to ensure zero casualty during heat waves, says Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced a Ministry of Home Affairs plan to ensure zero human casualty during heat waves in the coming years, adopting a proactive approach to disasters. The remarks followed the presentation of the President's Colour to the NDRF at its 8th battalion campus, with praise for the force's service and broader disaster-management role.
Why It Matters
Signals a policy push to enhance resilience to heat waves within India's disaster-management framework and reinforces the country's leadership in emergency response.
Timeline
1 Event
India aims to ensure zero casualty during heat waves
May 14, 2026
At the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) campus, Union Home Minister Amit Shah presented the President's Colour to the NDRF and announced that the Ministry of Home Affairs has prepared a plan to ensure zero human casualty during heat waves in the next few years, adopting a proactive rather than reactive approach to disasters. Shah stated that the President's Colour is awarded for exceptional service and noted it also honors state disaster response forces, the NCC, NSS, and 'Apda Seva Mitras'. He highlighted that the NDRF has earned admiration and trust domestically and abroad, and reiterated the government's aim to achieve zero casualty and minimum property damage during disasters such as cyclones, earthquakes, and floods. He urged the NDRF to prepare for challenges posed by global warming and climate change as India positions itself as a global leader in disaster management. The NDRF, raised in 2006 as a federal contingency force, has 16 operational battalions and about 18,000 personnel, and DG Piyush Anand said the force has undertaken more than 12,000 operations since its creation.