NDMA Releases India’s First Guidelines for Disaster Victim Identification

In a significant step towards strengthening disaster response and humanitarian handling of mass fatalities, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) released India’s first-ever guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) in January 2026.

The guidelines aim to ensure recognition, registration and dignified handover of human remains to families during mass fatality incidents, addressing a long-standing challenge where victims of disasters often remained unidentified or were difficult to identify.

The NDMA document clearly lays down the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders, including the police, health officials, forensic experts and emergency responders. It also stresses the importance of a unified command structure to effectively manage the four stages of the DVI process—from scene recovery to final identification and handover.

A key feature of the guidelines is the emphasis on forensic archaeology, which involves systematic excavation and application of stratigraphic principles to locate and recover human remains and associated evidence embedded in soil over time. Such techniques are particularly crucial in disasters like landslides, building collapses and debris-heavy incidents, where bodies are fragmented and the spatial context of evidence is severely compromised.

The document draws lessons from past disasters, notably the Air India plane crash, highlighting the value of forensic odontology alongside DNA analysis in identifying victims. In this context, the NDMA has recommended the creation of a National Dental Data Registry, which would allow ante-mortem dental records to be systematically compared with post-mortem findings, improving accuracy and speed of identification.

The guidelines are aligned with Interpol’s DVI Guidelines (2023), which recognise fingerprints, dental examination (odontology) and DNA profiling as the three primary scientific identifiers. Features such as tattoos, scars and personal ornaments are classified as secondary identifiers and are not considered sufficiently reliable on their own.