National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) on Wednesday stressed conducting frequent mock exercises to enhance disaster preparedness across the country and shifting from reactive response to proactive resilience. Lt Gen Hasnain was speaking at the Western Command Disaster Management Conclave on ‘Disaster Risk Resilience’ organised by the Western Command Headquarters, in collaboration with the NDMA, at Chandimandir, Panchkula. “Such exercises focus on strengthening response coordination, testing emergency plans, and better preparedness for various disasters among agencies that are involved to tackle them,” Lt Gen Hasnain said, delivering the opening address. Delivering a plenary address, Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, reiterated the Indian Army’s role as the “preferred responder” in extreme crisis situations. A dedicated panel discussion featuring KK Pant, Additional Chief Secretary, Himachal Pradesh, Snober Jamil from the State Disaster Management Authority, Jammu & Kashmir, and Mohsen Shahidi, DIG Operations, HQ NDRF, examined gaps in state-level frameworks and the game-changing potential of artificial intelligence in disaster management.