- Why in news
- On 4 February 2026, the Minister of State for Home Affairs told the Rajya Sabha about the Landslide Risk Mitigation Scheme (LRMS) for four States, and a Rs 1,000 crore national project for 15 States.
- What it is
- The Landslide Risk Mitigation Scheme (LRMS) is a Ministry of Home Affairs scheme launched in July 2019. It gives central assistance to landslide-prone States for preparedness and for building the capacity to take up larger mitigation projects later.
- States covered
- LRMS was approved in 2019 for Sikkim, Mizoram, Nagaland and Uttarakhand.
- Launch and outlay
- LRMS was launched in July 2019 with a total outlay of Rs 43.91 crore, under the head of improving disaster risk governance of SDMAs/DDMAs.
- Outcomes
- The scheme's outcomes covered landslide mitigation, real time monitoring, awareness programmes, and capacity building and training.
- National project
- A separate National Landslide Risk Mitigation project of Rs 1,000 crore has been approved for 15 landslide-prone States, funded from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF).
Don’t confuse with NDMF vs NDRF: The National Disaster Mitigation Fund pays for mitigation projects. The National Disaster Response Fund pays for relief and response after a disaster.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Landslides are a recurring hazard in the Himalayan and Western Ghats States; the schemes fund preparedness and monitoring, not only relief.
Problems
- LRMS was small (Rs 43.91 crore across four States) compared with the scale of landslide-prone terrain.
Way forward
- Use the Rs 1,000 crore national project to scale up real time monitoring and mitigation in all 15 States.
Put in your answer
LRMS outlay: LRMS had a total outlay of Rs 43.91 crore across four States, focused on mitigation, monitoring, awareness and training.
National project: Rs 1,000 crore from NDMF is approved for landslide mitigation in 15 States.
- 2021Mains GS3 · Q18Causes and effects of landslides; components of National Landslide Risk Management Strategy
- 2019Mains GS3 · Q18How hazard zonation mapping aids landslide disaster mitigation and preparedness
- 2016Mains GS1 · Q14Causes of Himalayan landslides and suitable mitigation measures
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Scheme in four states (Sikkim, Mizoram, Nagaland, Uttarakhand), Rs 43.91 crore, plus a Rs 1,000 crore national project; disaster topics are set rarely.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.