New Delhi, May 19: Union cabinet today approved an agreement with Swiss government for cooperation and assistance in disaster management. The agreement envisages coordination for early warning systems, including sharing of information on weather monitoring and prediction methods, an official spokesman told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
He said the pact is aimed at enhancing capacity building, preparedness and training of rescue teams and human resource development (HRD). Cooperation in HRD includes various modules for training the disaster managers at various levels, preparation of training syllabus, deputation of resource persons and trainers for getting specialised training, he said.
The two countries would together study emergency response mechanisms, training and equipping of specialised response units, he said, adding that the Swiss government would offer free of charge assistance in deployment of search and rescue teams in the event of disasters. However, India at its own cost would make available such logistic support as may be mutually agreed upon. Bureau Report