India to host first BIMSTEC Exercise in October

Indian will host its first 'BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017'
It will be conducted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as the lead agency from October 10-13.

• The exercise will be a platform for sharing Best Practices on all aspects of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), strengthening regional response and coordination for Disaster Management among the BIMSTEC member countries. 
• Delegates from all seven nations of the 'Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation' (BIMSTEC), the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and senior officers from the Nodal Ministries are participating in the event. 
• The main focus of BIMSTEC DMEx-2017 will be on tendsting the region's preparedness and resilience towards effective activation of inter-Governmental interaction a agreements for immediate deployment of regional resources for disaster response. 
• It will help create synergy and synchronise the efforts to institutionalise regional cooperation among the member countries.
• The exercise will help strengthen the effective utilisation of the Search & Rescue Teams for Disaster Relief and Emergency Response, including Emergency Rapid Assessment Teams and Management of mass casualties, especially in situations involving breakdown of infrastructure and communication. 

What is BIMSTEC?

• BIMSTEC region is home to around 1.5 billion people, constituting around 22 per cent of the global population with a combined GDP of USD 2.7 trillion economy. 
• Majority of the BIMSTEC countries are situated in the South Asian Region (SAR), prone to natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, earthquakes, avalanches and drought.