UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India loses 0.4% of its GDP every year to natural disasters

Q1. Among the following natural hazard categories, which one accounts for the single largest share of disaster-related economic losses in India?

  • A. Earthquakes
  • B. Tropical cyclones
  • C. Floods
  • D. Droughts

Q2. With reference to disaster management in India, consider the following statements: 1. India's average annual economic loss from natural disasters over 1990-2024 is estimated at about 0.4% of GDP. 2. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is the successor to the Hyogo Framework for Action. 3. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is chaired ex officio by the Union Home Minister. 4. The Ministry of Home Affairs is the nodal ministry of the Union Government for the management of natural disasters. Which of the statements given above are correctly identified?

  1. India's average annual economic loss from natural disasters over 1990-2024 is estimated at about 0.4% of GDP.
  2. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is the successor to the Hyogo Framework for Action.
  3. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is chaired ex officio by the Union Home Minister.
  4. The Ministry of Home Affairs is the nodal ministry of the Union Government for the management of natural disasters.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1, 2 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q3. At the level of the Union Government, which of the following is the nodal ministry for the management of natural disasters in India?

  • A. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • B. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • C. Ministry of Home Affairs
  • D. Ministry of Finance

Q4. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), with the Prime Minister as its ex officio chairperson, was constituted under which one of the following statutes?

  • A. The National Security Act, 1980
  • B. The Disaster Management Act, 2005
  • C. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
  • D. The Civil Defence Act, 1968

Q5. In the context of disaster risk finance, the term 'parametric insurance' is best described as:

  • A. An insurance contract that indemnifies the insured only after a physical damage assessment is completed by a surveyor.
  • B. An insurance arrangement under which a pre-agreed payout is automatically triggered when an objective physical parameter, such as rainfall, wind speed or seismic magnitude, crosses a defined threshold.
  • C. A mandatory cess levied on infrastructure projects in disaster-prone districts to build a sovereign reinsurance pool.
  • D. A category of catastrophe bonds whose coupon rate is linked to the credit rating of the issuing sovereign.