NDMA’s Landmark DVI Framework: Institutionalising Scientific and Humane Management of Mass Fatalities

Why in News ?

A series of major disasters struck India in 2025, exposing serious gaps in the identification and management of disaster victims.In response, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has released India’s first comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for handling Mass Fatality Incidents (MFIs).The guidelines, titled “National Disaster Management Guidelines on Comprehensive Disaster Victim Identification and Management”, were released on Republic Day by the Ministry of Home Affairs, marking 25 years since the 2001 Gujarat earthquake.

Background and Context

• India is among the world’s most disaster-prone countries, facing:
  • Natural hazards (earthquakes, floods, cyclones, landslides),
  • Industrial accidents,
  • Terror incidents and transport disasters.
• While disaster response mechanisms have strengthened over time, mass fatality management has remained:
  • Fragmented,
  • Ad hoc,
  • Largely dependent on local capacities and improvisation.
• The absence of a nationally standardised framework has often resulted in:
  • Delayed or incorrect identification of victims,
  • Inadequate handling of human remains,
  • Prolonged distress for families,
  • Administrative and legal complications.
• The release of this SOP reflects:
  • A maturation of India’s disaster governance,
  • Alignment with international humanitarian and forensic standards,
  • Recognition of victim dignity as a central pillar of disaster response.

Need for these Guidelines

India witnessed at least five major mass fatality events in 2025, including:

• Air India crash, Ahmedabad (June)
• Chemical factory explosion, Sangareddy, Telangana (June)
• Gambhira bridge collapse, Vadodara (July)
• Flash floods, Dharali, Uttarakhand (August)
• Delhi car bomb blast (November)

In several of these incidents:

• Victims remained unidentified or were identified after significant delays.
• Families faced prolonged uncertainty, emotional trauma, and legal hurdles.
• Authorities struggled with:
  • Fragmented remains,
  • Lack of forensic infrastructure,
  • Poor inter-agency coordination.

These recurring challenges underscored the urgent need for a uniform, scientific, and humane national protocol.

Key Objectives of the SOP

• Ensure: Scientific, coordinated, and humane identification of disaster victims.
• Enable: Dignified handling, documentation, and handover of human remains.
• Address: Institutional, logistical, and forensic gaps.
• Standardise: Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders across local, State, and Central levels.
• Align: Indian practices with international standards such as those of Interpol.

Salient Features of the SOP

1. Four-Stage Victim Identification Process

The SOP adopts a globally accepted structured approach:

1. Systematic recovery of human remains
2. Collection of post-mortem data (physical, dental, forensic details)
3. Collection of ante-mortem data from families (medical records, dental records, personal identifiers)
4. Reconciliation and identification, followed by dignified release of remains to families

2. National Dental Data Registry

• One of the most innovative recommendations.
• Recognises that:
  • Teeth and jaws often survive fire, explosions, and decomposition,
  • Dental records are among the most reliable identifiers.
• Aligns India’s approach with Interpol Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) standards.
• Aims to institutionalise forensic odontology as a core component of disaster response.

3. Use of Advanced Forensic Disciplines

The SOP integrates multiple forensic branches, including:

• Forensic odontology: Dental identification.
• Forensic archaeology: Recovery and identification of remains months or years after disasters, especially in landslides or buried sites.
• Forensic anthropology, pathology, and DNA analysis: For comprehensive identification.

This holistic approach brings together science under a single coordinated framework.

4. Humanitarian Forensics Approach

The guidelines explicitly recognise that:

• Mass autopsies may not always be feasible or culturally acceptable.
• Emphasis is placed on:
  • Sensitivity to community customs and religious practices,
  • Emotional support and counselling for families,
  • Dignity of the deceased over mere procedural compliance.

Institutional and Operational Framework

• The SOP clearly defines:
  • Composition of identification teams,
  • Roles of police, medical officers, forensic experts, administrative officials, and disaster response agencies.
• It promotes:
  • Multi-agency coordination,
  • Clear command and leadership structures,
  • Standard operating hierarchies at disaster sites.
• Acknowledges the reality of:
  • Overlapping jurisdictions,
  • Multiple responders,
  • High-pressure operational environments during disasters.

Challenges Highlighted in the Document

1. Operational Challenges

• Fragmentation and commingling of remains.
• Rapid decomposition in hot and humid climates.
• Charring in fires and displacement during floods and landslides.

2. Logistical Gaps

• Inadequate mortuary capacity.
• Lack of cold chain transport and storage.
• Absence of reliable passenger manifests or records in many disaster scenarios.

3. Institutional Lacunae

• Shortage of trained forensic manpower.
• Weak inter-agency coordination mechanisms.
• Leadership and command challenges during large-scale disasters.

Way Forward Suggested by NDMA

• Create: Dedicated organisational structures for Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) across India.
• Train: Experts from all relevant forensic fields on a continuous basis.
• Form: Specialised DVI teams, ideally in every State.
• Fast-track: Implementation of the SOP on a “war footing”.
• Adapt: Interpol best practices, contextualised to Indian socio-cultural and administrative realities.
• Strengthen: Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and post-disaster governance.
• Integrate: Science, technology, and humanitarian values in disaster response.
• Reinforce: India’s compliance with international forensic and humanitarian standards.

Significance of the SOP

• Institutionalisation of Best Practices:
  • Shifts India from ad hoc responses to a standardised national framework.
• Victim-Centric Approach:
  • Places dignity, identity, and family well-being at the heart of disaster management.
• Governance Reform:
  • Strengthens inter-agency coordination and accountability.
• Global Alignment:
  • Brings India in line with international forensic and humanitarian norms.
• Disaster Preparedness:
  • Enhances India’s capacity to respond to future mass fatality events with efficiency, compassion, and scientific rigour.