India Donates $1Mln to Support Regional Disaster Warning System: UN

The government of India has transferred $1 million to support the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

MOSCOW, December 26 (Sputnik) — India has contributed $1 million to a UN-run program to support warning systems for potential disasters in the Indian Ocean and countries of Southeast Asia, a UN press release said Friday.

"The [$1 million] contribution from the Government of India will boost ESCAP's [United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific] efforts to strengthen early warning systems through regional and South-South cooperation, to ensure that vulnerable communities receive the timely warning information that is required to save lives and livelihoods in disasters," the ESCAP release said.

According to the release, the move is just one of the several measures the government of India is undertaking to develop warning systems in the region.

"India joins the international community in its efforts to prepare for any such natural calamity in the future by establishing effective early warning systems," Sushma Swaraj, Indian Minister of External Affairs, was quoted as saying in the press release.

The announcement comes just a day after the Indian government introduced the expansion of an SMS-based warning system, allowing the public at large to receive SMS alerts and warnings. Formerly, only Indian disaster managers, fishermen and farmers could receive the alerts.