Context

• The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has organized the second BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise as per the International Search & Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) guidelines for familiarization & exercise purposes.
• The International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) was established in 1991.
• It is a network of disaster-prone and disaster-responding countries and organizations dedicated to urban search and rescue (USAR) and operational field coordination.
• It aims to establish standards and classification for international USAR teams as well as a methodology for international response coordination in the aftermath of earthquakes and collapsed structure disasters.
• The Secretariat is located in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).