The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024,

 The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024, introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 1, 2024, aims to improve India's disaster management framework: 

Establish Urban Disaster Management Authorities (UDMAs) 

Empower National and State Disaster Management Authorities (NDMA and SDMAs) 

Create a comprehensive disaster database 

Provide statutory status to existing bodies 

Empower the state government to constitute a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) 

Insert a new Section 60A to empower the Central and State governments to impose penalties 

The bill has been criticized for potential centralization of power, resource allocation issues, and concerns over constitutional validity. 

Here are some other details about the bill:

The bill seeks to amend the 2005 Disaster Management Act. 

The bill mandates the creation of a disaster database that will include information on disaster assessment, fund allocation, expenditure, preparedness and mitigation plans, and a risk register. 

The bill provides statutory status to existing bodies such as the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) and the High Level Committee (HLC).