Drought has been recognised as a disaster in view of its spatial expanse, temporal duration, slow onset and lasting effect on various vulnerable sections. With a focus on the September 2010 guidelines from the National Disaster Management Authority, discuss the mechanism for preparedness to deal with the El Nino and La Nina fallouts in India.

Explains the current drought declaration and relief mechanism in an El Niño year and its weaknesses; it does not cover the 2010 NDMA guidelines, which you must add.

• Under the Manual for Drought Management (2016, updated 2020), States assess rainfall deviation, dry spells, vegetation data, soil moisture and crop sowing, then verify on the ground.
• Maharashtra's CM said crop-loss assessments would follow after 5 October as rules require; central NDRF help follows a State memorandum and an inter-ministerial team visit.
• Flag delays and rigid thresholds, and suggest real-time satellite and soil moisture data for phased declarations, weather-triggered insurance and notifying heatwaves as disasters.

Use the 2026 El Niño season to illustrate the drought risk the question describes and the preparedness measures that follow from IMD forecasts.

• IMD says strong El Niño conditions prevail and are expected to strengthen, while the Indian Ocean Dipole, which can offset El Niño when positive, is neutral.
• August 2026 rainfall was 16.3% below normal, the season deficit to end-August was about 14%, and September is forecast below 91% of the LPA of 167.9 mm.
• Preparedness: district crop advisories and contingency crop plans from IMD forecasts, priority to drinking water in reservoir releases, timely drought declaration under the Manual for Drought Management, and fodder banks.

Use the deficient, El Niño-driven 2026 monsoon as a current case of an El Niño fallout and of the forecasting and contingency steps preparedness requires.

• The 2026 monsoon gave 87% of the LPA (a 12.6% deficit), the weakest since 2015; El Niño developed in June and strengthened, and 2015, the last sub-90% season, was also an El Niño year.
• Early warning: IMD forecast 92% of LPA in April, cut it to 90% (plus or minus 4%) in late May, and now expects below-normal October to December rain in most parts.
• Preparedness steps: contingency crop plans, timely seed for short-duration crops, drought assessment under the Manual for Drought Management, and micro-irrigation and watershed work before the next El Niño.

Use the drought declaration steps, the SDRF to NDRF relief chain and the mitigation reforms to show how drought preparedness works in a deficit year and where it falls short.

• States declare drought under the Manual for Drought Management (updated 2020): rainfall triggers, impact indicators such as crop sowing, NDVI, NDWI and soil moisture, then ground truthing in sample villages.
• Karnataka got 495 mm of rain against a normal 766 mm from 1 June to 16 September 2026, a 35% deficit, and declared 177 taluks drought-hit in three stages.
• Preparedness should shift toward mitigation: watershed works, crop insurance, groundwater recharge, drought-tolerant crops and transparent satellite-based assessment, rather than relief alone.