Manual for Drought Management
Also called: Drought Manual 2016 · Topic: Natural Hazards and Disaster Management in India · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Manual for Drought Management is a rulebook from the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. It came out in 2016 and was updated in 2020. It explains how drought is officially declared in India. The state government declares a drought, not the Centre. Rainfall shortage is the one compulsory test. The state must also check "impact indicators", which are signs of real harm on the ground: crop condition, soil moisture, water levels in rivers and reservoirs, and satellite images of crop health. A "severe" drought needs at least three impact indicators in the severe range, and a "moderate" drought needs two. This label matters because a state can ask for money from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF, the central fund for major disasters) only for a severe drought. The manual lets states declare drought as early as August.
Example
In 2026, Maharashtra declared drought in 265 talukas under the manual's first-stage "Trigger-1". The decision was based on the rainfall deficit and other set indicators after a weak monsoon.
Don't confuse with
- Meteorological drought: this is only about rainfall. IMD calls it a drought when rainfall is more than 25% below normal. Under the manual, a rainfall shortage alone is not enough for an official drought declaration.
- National Disaster Response Force: this is a rescue force formed in 2006. It is not the National Disaster Response Fund, which pays for drought relief.