2026, Vol. 8, Issue 1, Part A

The evolution of disaster management in India reflects a paradigm shift from colonial-era reactive "scarcity relief" to a proactive, technology-driven "zero-casualty" framework. This study examines the instrumental role of political leadership and high-level committees in driving this transition. Through a qualitative systematic review and critical policy analysis, the research evaluates how the strategic visions of leaders-ranging from early proponents of social resilience like Mahatma Gandhi to modern architects of institutionalization like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr. Manmohan Singh culminated in the Disaster Management Act of 2005. The findings highlight how the creation of a three-tier governance structure (NDMA, SDMA, and DDMA) shifted disaster management from a peripheral administrative task to a core component of national security and development. Furthermore, the paper analyzes the "Odisha Model" as a benchmark for state-level political will and discusses the integration of advanced technologies like Artificial Neural Networks and GNSS-R signals into governance. The study concludes that while India has achieved global leadership in disaster resilience, addressing the "implementation gap" between high-level policy and local-level action remains the final frontier for leadership in disaster risk reduction.