Currently, only cyclones, drought, earthquakes, fire, floods, tsunamis, hailstorms, landslides, avalanches, cloud bursts and pest attacks are treated as natural calamities, and are eligible for relief under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

"The Cabinet decided to include cold waves/ frost as an eligible calamity for relief under the funds (SDRF and NDRF)," an official release said. The decision comes following the recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on inclusion of cold waves and frost in the list of calamities eligible for assistance.


The GoM, comprised former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, home minister P. Chidambaram and planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The proposal was taken by the GoM upon requests from the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. The state faced damage to rabi crops such as wheat and pulses last year due to extreme cold weather.

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By Levasto India on 01:18. Filed under Business . Follow any responses to the RSS 2.0. Leave a response