OSDMA and CivicDataLab Sign Multi-Year MoU to Strengthen Risk-Informed and Data-Driven Disaster Risk Reduction in Odisha
Context:
On 2 September 2026, the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) signed a non-financial, multi-year MoU with CivicDataLab (CDL) to develop a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Disaster Risk Reduction across all 30 districts of the state. The MoU was signed at a ceremony in Bhubaneswar alongside a parallel agreement between OSDMA and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for a comprehensive Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (HRVA).
Smt. Susmita Behera, Executive Director, OSDMA, signed the MoUs in the presence of Sh. Suresh Pujari, Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management, Sh. Arvind Padhee, Addl. Chief Secretary, Department of Revenue and Disaster Management, Government of Odisha; Mrs. Angela Lusigi, UNDP India Resident Representative; and Mr. Gaurav Godhwani, Founder and CEO, CivicDataLab. Senior officials and representatives from 18 line Departments including Revenue and Disaster Management, Agriculture & Farmer’s Empowerment, etc were also present.
Under the MoU, CDL will extend its Intelligent Data Solutions for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDS-DRR) platform to Odisha, integrating datasets held across line departments, harmonising them into standardised formats, and delivering real-time dashboards and analytical insights to OSDMA and all DDMAs. At the signing, OSDMA convened 18 line departments to share data on a single unified platform. The first phase focuses on riverine floods, coastal floods and extreme heat across all 30 districts and their sub-districts, with cyclones, earthquakes, lightning and hazards such as air pollution to follow in subsequent phases.
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