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Centre Releases Over 979 Crore Rupees to Himachal for Disaster Relief

Source:timesofindia-indiatimes ↗

Why It Matters

Crucial for understanding disaster financing mechanisms, Centre-state fiscal transfers, and specific relief provisions for ecologically fragile and disaster-prone hill states like Himachal Pradesh.

Summary

The Central government has released financial assistance exceeding ₹979 crore to Himachal Pradesh for disaster relief operations and rehabilitation during the financial year 2025-26, bolstering the state's disaster management capabilities in response to recurring weather-related vulnerabilities.

Key Points

  • The Central government released over ₹979 crore to Himachal Pradesh for disaster relief during the financial year 2025-26.
  • The funds are aimed at assisting the state in managing disaster relief operations, rebuilding infrastructure, and addressing damages caused by natural calamities like cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides in the hilly terrain.
  • Highlights the financial mechanism and center-state fiscal transfers for disaster management under the SDRF/NDRF framework.

Important Terms

State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)

The primary fund maintained by state governments under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to meet immediate relief expenditure during notified disasters like floods and landslides.

UPSC context

HPAS Paper-III (Disaster Management): Tests knowledge of disaster financing, relief mechanisms, and state-level institutional frameworks.

Source
National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF)

A central fund under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, used to provide supplementary financial assistance to states when a disaster of severe nature overwhelms the SDRF.

UPSC context

HPAS Paper-III (Disaster Management & Centre-State Relations): Important for understanding central grants, fiscal federalism, and calamity management.

Source

Prelims Trap

NDRF is an executive-only fund with no statutory backing under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Aspirants often assume NDRF is entirely funded through general budgetary allocations without statutory backing, missing its grounding in the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Static Concepts Connected

Polity & Governance - Centre-State Relations / Disaster Management

What are the key funding mechanisms and sharing ratios under the SDRF and NDRF framework in India?

  • Legal Basis: Statutory backing under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, creating distinct financial mechanisms for calamity response.
  • SDRF Sharing Ratio: Centre contributes 75% for general states and 90% for special category/hilly states (including Himachal Pradesh), with the remainder by the state.
  • NDRF Role: Maintained by the Central Government to supplement SDRF when a calamity is of a severe nature surpassing state financial capacity.
  • NDRF Financing: Financed via a National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) or general budgetary allocations.

Cross-Topic Patterns

  • Disaster Relief vs. Hill-State Fiscal Federalism

    Himachal's fragile topography and recurring cloudbursts tie center-state disaster financing directly to climate adaptation policies and hill-state fiscal federalism debates under the Finance Commission.

Expect a statement-based question on SDRF/NDRF funding sharing ratios (90:10 for special category states) and statutory backing.

Linked PYQs · 1

Linked PYQs · 1

  • 2025HPAS_PRELIMSGS1

    Mountain Soil Zone in Himachal Pradesh is found between :