The Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju laid the foundation stone of the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), here today.Kiren Rijiju said that India is a huge country and the world expects India to play a leadership role in handling disasters. The Minister said that NIDM got its recognition in the year 2003, followed by the statutory status in the year 2005 and now the role of NIDM has become even more crucial in the wake of India’s vulnerability to natural disasters. He said that NIDM has come a long way due to its hard work and also expressed the hope that NIDM will reach newer heights in the future. The laying of foundation stone of NIDM is just a beginning, he added. Shri Rijiju said that NIDM is an institute of national importance. He assured that the Ministry of Home Affairs will provide all the support to NIDM for taking the capacity building forward.Speaking on the occasion, Member Secretary, NDMA, Shri R. K. Jain said that for any institute to give its best, a building of its own has to be there. It will further boost the morale of the staff and officers, he added. Shri R K Jain said that National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and NIDM work as a team in the field of disaster and at the same time he stressed upon the participation of community. He suggested that NIDM should focus more on training and capacity building of communities and also partner with other agencies (private and Government) to increase its reach. Senior officers of MHA, NIDM, NDMA and NBCC (India) Limited were present on the occasion.