We are glad to announce that Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute (RKMVERI) will be conducting a special colloquium on “Measuring Disaster Risks and Resilience in India” on 10 March 2023, 12 noon at Seminar Hall, Narendrapur Campus.

Speaker : Dr. P G Dhar Chakrabarti, Swami Vivekananda Chair Professor
Co-ordinator: Abhijit Chakrabarti

This talk is based on a yearlong study conducted by the speaker to develop a Disaster Scorecard that would rank 640 districts of India in disaster risks and 29 States and 7 Union Territories in both disaster risks and resilience. Disaster risk is defined as ‘exposure’ of ‘vulnerabilities’ to ‘hazards’. Data on multiple parameters of 14 hazards, 14 vulnerabilities and 2 exposures were collected from primary sources and methodologies were developed for measuring risks through combination of different weights on these parameters. Districts, States and Union Territories were ranked on each hazard, vulnerability and exposure as well as composite risks of disasters. Resilience of the State Governments and Union Territory Administration were measured through 7 generic indicators each having 10 indicators, based on global and national frameworks for reducing risks and building resilience to disasters. In the absence of any database on resilience a comprehensive set of questionnaires was developed for collecting information from the State governments and Union Territory administration. Quantitative norms for evaluation were developed and statistical techniques were applied for measuring progress on each indicator as well as on composite resilience index. This is a pioneering study on measuring risks and resilience in India, and the first study of its kind globally. The study was conducted for the Ministry of Home Affairs and supported by the UNDP.