BharatNotes Risk Assessment
noun phraseUsage in a UPSC answer
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) mandates district-level risk assessments that map exposure to floods, earthquakes, and cyclones, forming the basis for district disaster management plans under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
risk assessment (n phrase), assess (v), assessment (n), assessor (n), risk (n/v)
Root
Old Norse riskr / Italian risco = danger/reef + Latin assidere = to sit beside (ad- = near + sedere = to sit); assess originally meant 'to sit beside a judge to assist in estimation'
Etymology
Risk entered English from French/Italian maritime trade vocabulary in the 17th century; assessment from Medieval Latin assessmentum; the compound 'risk assessment' became institutionalised in disaster management through the UN-ISDR Terminology (2009) and Sendai Framework (2015)
Memory Hook
RISK + ASSESS: you ASSESS (sit beside and judge) the RISK — a careful examination of what could go wrong before disaster strikes
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
The systematic process of identifying hazards, analysing exposure and vulnerability, and evaluating the resulting risk. It is the practical expression of the first Sendai priority, understanding disaster risk, and everything downstream depends on it: zoning, building codes, insurance pricing, evacuation planning and resource pre-positioning all take their parameters from it. An assessment that is not translated into these decisions is an academic exercise.
Don’t Confuse It With
Risk assessment evaluates hazard, exposure and vulnerability together. Hazard mapping identifies where hazards may occur. Vulnerability assessment examines susceptibility to harm specifically. Risk perception is how communities themselves judge the risk, which often diverges from the technical assessment and shapes whether warnings are heeded.
Hindi Meaning
जोखिम आकलन (jokhim ākalan).
Common Questions
- What is disaster risk assessment?
- The systematic process of identifying hazards, analysing exposure and vulnerability, and evaluating the level of risk that results.
- What is risk assessment used for?
- It provides the parameters for land-use zoning, building codes, insurance, evacuation planning and the pre-positioning of relief resources.
Seen in UPSC Question Papers
- Mains 2013 · GS3 · 10 marks — Disaster Management
Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Risk Assessment” — proof this word earns its place on your list.
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