Navy-hosted joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise begins in Goa

HADR operations form a key component in the Navy's benign role, as climate change has significantly increased vulnerability of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) to natural disasters, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

New Delhi: The 2023 edition of an annual humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise involving the participation of all three armed forces, paramilitary forces and several disaster response organisations began in Goa on Monday, officials said.

The annual joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) exercise — CHAKRAVAT — is being hosted by the Indian Navy and will conclude on October 11. It is an outcome of the prime minster’s directive promulgated during the Combined Commanders’ Conference 2015.

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HADR operations form a key component in the Navy’s benign role, as climate change has significantly increased vulnerability of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) to natural disasters, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Since its first edition in 2015, CHAKRAVAT has transformed itself into a multi-agency endeavour involving participation of all three Services, paramilitary forces, as well as several disaster response organisations, NGOs, academic institutions and international organisations, it said.

The 2023 edition would further synergise efforts at the national level among all stakeholders as well as witness participation from eight countries of the IOR, officials said.
The exercise has been conducted by the Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force (IAF) by rotation since 2016. The last edition of the exercise was conducted in Agra by the IAF.

Developing collective and coordinated effective response mechanisms to address humanitarian crises and natural disasters are “one of the most visible elements” in India’s inclusive vision for the oceans — SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region) — it said.

“The challenge posed by climate change is accentuated by the limited capacity of littoral IOR states to address this rapidly growing threat. Therefore, Indian armed forces have been frequently called upon to render assistance to our friends and partners in the region, thereby, strengthening the need and our resolve to be the ‘first responder’ in the region.

“While the three Services continue to provide relief and succour in the event of a calamity, a whole-of-government approach would further enhance our preparedness and response to such unfortunate events,” the statement said.

The AJHE-23, planned over three days includes a seminar, a table-top exercise and a multi-agency capability demonstration.

The exercise will witness participation from various national agencies such as National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), National Institute for Disaster Management (NIDM), Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Coast Guard, India Meteorological Department (IMD), National Remote Sensing Agencies (NRSA), State Disaster Management Agency (SDMA) and State Fire Services of Goa, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Central Water Commission (CWC), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and representatives from Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and from friendly foreign countries, it said.

An industrial display has been planned on October 10-11 wherein various HADR equipment will be showcased by FICCI, Army, Navy, IAF, ICG, NDRF, SDMA and NSRC.
In addition, a multi-agency capability demonstration will be conducted on October 11, which will showcase drills on rescue and relief to highlight the nuances and important lessons, the statement said.

The logo for this year’s exercise depicts crests and logos of all participating agencies and flags of all nations subsumed into one single entity to signify that HADR will hinge on joint and integrated action by the all the agencies, it added.