Beyond Battlefield: Indian Armed Forces in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

• HADR = Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief; Indian Armed Forces act as first responders alongside their primary mandate of defending sovereignty.
• Tri-services (Army, Navy, Air Force) plus Indian Coast Guard deploy manpower, airlift, sealift and field hospitals for domestic disasters and overseas crises.
• Examinable for governance (civil-military coordination via NDMA), IR (defence diplomacy / "first responder in IOR") and disaster management.