A series of meetings were organized by ADPC staff with the senior leadership of the Government of India during 6-7 August 2024 officials to discuss ideas for future programming around disaster and climate risk management in India and in the Bay of Bengal region.

Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, Additional Secretary (DM), of the Ministry of Home Affairs appreciated the efforts of ADPC and encouraged a hazard-specific demonstration of proof of concept for the future-focused solutions being considered in various states by ADPC. Mr Rajendra Singh, HOD and Member, Dr Krishna Vatsa, Member and Mr Saifi Rizvi, Advisor (Mitigation) of National Disaster Management Authority, encouraged ADPC to consider the impact of climate variability on at-risk populations and how existing climate data could be used by local authorities to prepare for response as well as recovery after disasters. The Director General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Mr Piyush Anand and his team of officers highlighted the legacy of past collaboration with ADPC for the ‘Program for Enhancement of Emergency Response’ (PEER) in South Asia to craft priority trainings for catering to future risks under the aegis of the NDRF Academy.

Together with Mr Hari Menon, Director India Country Office of the Gates Foundation and Ms. Pilar Pacheco, Senior Program Officer of the Gates Foundation in Seattle, Dr Sisira Madupperuma, Director Preparedness for Response and Recovery and Dr Mona Chhabra Anand, Technical Lead, Resilient Recovery at ADPC participated in these meetings.