Centre's norms for SDRFs: Agniveers, NCC holders preferred, 15% seats for women
Modeled on NDRF, they will enhance local disaster response and conduct safety audits at major tourist sites, while avoiding armed enforcement duties.
The Centre has issued detailed guidelines for raising, equipping, operationalising and training state disaster response forces (SDRFs) within the next five years. Preference is given to Agniveers and NCC certificate holders for direct recruitment, with 15% of openings reserved for women. These units will be modeled on the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to handle both natural and man-made disasters.
The amended disaster management act, 2025, mandates every state and union territory to have a specialised SDRF. The guidelines provide a comprehensive framework to create decentralised disaster response capacity, ensuring localised and timely response while NDRF focuses on larger scale events.
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