The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has recently initiated the “Scheme for Expansion and Modernization of Fire Services in the States (SEMFSS)” under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). This scheme aims to enhance fire services across various states, in response to a recommendation from the Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV-FC).
The Scheme for Expansion and Modernization of Fire Services in the States
The SEMFSS originates from the XV-FC’s recommendation, resulting in an allocation of 12.5% from both the NDRF and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for Funding Window of Preparedness and Capacity Building.
The main objective of SEMFSS is to enhance and update Fire Services in the states, ensuring that activities related to strengthening fire services at state-level, via preparedness and capacity-building factors of the NDRF are underway.
Funding and Allocation Details
Out of the total NDRF corpus, an amount of Rs. 5,000 Crore has been set aside for the priority of “Expanding and Modernization of Fire Services”. From the total outlay, Rs. 500 crores has been reserved to incentivise the states based on their legal and infrastructure-based reforms.
Regarding funding patterns, the state governments need to contribute 25% of the total cost of the projects or proposals from their budgetary resources in order to seek funds under the scheme. An exception has been made for the North-Eastern and Himalayan states, where they are obliged to contribute only 10%.
About the National Disaster Response Fund
The National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) was renamed as the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) following the enactment of the Disaster Management Act in 2005. Defined in Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the NDRF falls under the “Public Account” of the Government of India as “reserve funds not bearing interest“.
The fund was constituted under Article 266 (2) of the Indian Constitution and is used for those transactions where the government serves simply as a banker. Examples include provident funds and small savings.
Role and Financing of NDRF
Managed by the Central Government, the NDRF is employed for meeting the expenses of emergency response, relief and rehabilitation in the event of a disaster. It supplements the SDRF when a severe disaster takes place and adequate funds are unavailable in the SDRF. The SDRF primarily assists state governments in responding to notified disasters and covers immediate relief expenditure.
The NDRF is financed through a levy on several items eligible for excise and customs duty, which is annually approved through the Finance Bill.