India will work with other partner countries and stakeholders to build a coalition or centre for promoting disaster resilient infrastructure in the region, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. He said this will help generate new knowledge for hazard risk assessment, disaster resilient technologies and mechanisms for integrating risk reduction in infrastructure financings.

He said the country will work towards risk coverage for all – starting from poor households to small and medium enterprises to multinational corporations to nation states.

"Currently, in most countries of the region, penetration of insurance is limited to the middle and upper-middle income groups. We need to think big and also think innovatively. States have an important role in not just regulating but also encouraging coverage for those who need it the most. In India, we have taken bold steps to ensure financial inclusion and risk insurance for the poorest," Modi said.

"The Jan Dhan Yojana has brought millions of people into the banking system. The Suraksha Bima Yojana provides risk insurance to millions who need it the most. We have launched the Fasal Bima Yojana, which will provide risk cover to millions of farmers. These are the basic building blocks of resilience at the household level," he added.

Modi added that for disaster risk related to other hazards such as chemical hazards, forest fires, cyclones, different types of floods, we need to evolve globally accepted risk categories. "This will help ensure that we have a common understanding of the nature and severity of disaster risks in different parts of the world," he said.

He added that social media is transforming disaster response. "It is helping response agencies in quickly organising themselves, and enabling citizens to connect more easily with authorities. In disaster after disaster, the affected people are using social media to help each other," he added.

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