Nagaland & SBI sign MoU for disaster risk management system

August 3, 2024 20 Views No Comment

Our Correspondent
Kohima | August 3

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Disaster Risk Transfer Parametric Insurance Solution (DRTPS) was signed here today between Government of Nagaland and SBI (State Bank of India) General Insurance Company Limited in the presence of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.

The DRTPS is to ensure that the population and critical infrastructure are financially protected in the event of a disaster and to increase the ability of the state government to respond more quickly and efficiently to disasters and also to ‘Build Back Better’ in the event of major disaster. DRTPS is a unique parametric multi-year risk transfer insurance solution based on the ground weather station data.

“This insurance covers the whole state,” said Rio, during press briefing after signing MoU at Chief Minister’s office chamber, Kohima. The scheme is for a period of 2024-2027.

“We don’t know when disaster will come. We don’t have our own resources. Though we will be paying a premium, God forbid, but if anything, worse come also, they (Agencies) will come to our rescue and we are happy and grateful to many agencies,” Rio highlighted. This insurance will give us protection, he added. Rio stressed on the need to evolve the public as this is insuring all the citizens.

Earlier, the MoU signing ceremony was chaired by Dr J. Alam, Chief Secretary Nagaland.

The ceremony witnessed remarks from Naveen Chandra Jha, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer SBI General Insurance, Eugen Doce (Via VC), Co-Head, InsuResilence Solution Fund Management Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Gemeinnutzige GmbH, Frankfurt Germany, Prashant Kumar Goyal (Via VC), Joint Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Govt of India and Sanjeev Kumar Jindal (Via VC), Additional Secretary, DM Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India. Concluding remarks was given by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.

Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Village Guards minister CL John, Roads & Bridges minister G. Kaito Aye and NSDMA & NRE Advisor Z. Nyusietho Nyuthe also present at the ceremony.

DRTPS for financial resilient, safe livelihoods
The Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) will be implementing DRTPS over three years for the state of Nagaland. This multi–year DRTPS is a unique risk transfer solution implemented for the first time by the Government of Nagaland. “The good practices and knowledge gain from this risk transfer solution/scheme will serve as a torch-bearer in the risk transfer sector for Indian states, the NSDMA stated.

DRTPS is especially relevant in the context of an increase in extreme weather occurrences caused by climate change, the NSDMA maintained adding that the unpredictable and unprecedented nature of catastrophic weather events has resulted in economic loses for numerous regions and nations world- wide.

The vision of DRTPS is for financial resilient and safe livelihoods for sustainable development.

It may be mentioned that NSDMA has implemented DRTPS as a key financial tool for funding disasters since 2020- the first and the only state in the country to implement such programmes with the support from InsuResilience Solution Fund (ISF) from Frankfurt School of Financial Management (funded by KfW).

“Those few years of implementation have been a great experimental learning and turns out to be an excellent knowledge base to design future parametric insurance solutions which many Indian states including MHA is looking as a model to replicate, according to NSDMA.

DRTPS’s specific target
•    To establish an effective and efficient disaster risk management systems in all districts.
•    To facilitate community-based disaster risk management for resilient community.
•    To build effective and sustainable risk transfer initiative among the community.
•    To create a platform for public private partnership in risk transfer initiative in the event of major disaster.