Good afternoon, friends. Namaste to all of you and I welcome you to this special briefing on Operation Brahma. Before I give you a snapshot of what all that has happened as part of Operation Brahma, and what we expect to happen subsequently, I would like to introduce the team here.

I have with me … we have members from NDRF, Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. We have on my left, as you can see, Brigadier T. Shiva from Integrated Defense Staff; Brigadier H.S. Mavi, Directorate of Military Operations; Air Commodore A.P. Singh, Air Headquarters; Commodore Raghu Nair from Naval Operations; and Shri Mohsen Shahedi, DIG, National Disaster Response Force on my left.

Friends, as you are well aware that a massive earthquake struck Myanmar yesterday around afternoon time. We all are aware of the kind of destruction that it has left. Massive loss of life and property has been reported.

Soon after the tragedy struck Myanmar, our Prime Minister conveyed his concerns and expressed that India was ready to provide all possible support to Myanmar, to the people of Myanmar and the Government of Myanmar in this hour of crisis. India, as you are aware, we have been actively playing the role of first responder in such situations during natural disasters, natural calamities.

You would also recall that last year when Cyclone Yagi had struck Myanmar, we had responded with assistance to the Government and people of Myanmar.

Today, Prime Minister spoke to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. He conveyed deepest condolences on behalf of the people and the Government of India for the loss of precious lives. He also conveyed that we stand in solidarity with the Government and people of Myanmar, and we would do our best to provide relief, rescue and whatever assistance required to deal with this calamity.

Today, early hours of today that is, we launched Operation Brahma. Brahma, as you know, is a God of Creation. At a time when we are extending a helping hand to the government of Myanmar, to the people of Myanmar to rebuild their country in the wake of the devastation, this particular name of the operation has a special resonance, a special meaning.

The first aircraft carrying 15 tons of relief material took off at around 3 AM this morning from Hindon Air Force Base. It reached Yangon at around 8 AM India time. Our Ambassador was there to receive the relief material, and thereafter he handed it over to the Chief Minister of Yangon. From there, these 15 tons of relief material have been sent out to those parts of the country which need help.

These 15 tons of material comprise tents, blankets, essential medicines, tarpaulins, sleeping bags, gensets, solar lamps, food packets, kitchen sets etc., also essential medicines. Thereafter, two Aircraft with search and rescue personnel and equipment along with canines have left.

One of them have left, I understand, and the other one is in the process of leaving for Naypyidaw. I will subsequently request our colleague to give you little more details of what these two aircraft … what essential commodities they are taking for the people of Myanmar. But in short, there are 80 NDRF search and rescue team personnel specialists along with equipment, relief material, and a canine squad is also part of this team.

Obviously, there are gensets, hygiene kits, food packets, essential medicines, kitchen sets which form part of this second tranche of relief material that is being sent to Naypyidaw. They are expected to reach Naypyidaw later this evening and thereafter they will be taken from there with the help of the local government. They will be taken to Mandalay, that area which has seen the maximum devastation.

The third tranche of support that we are providing comprises a field hospital. This field hospital has around 118 specialists including doctors and medics. This team is getting ready and will be leaving from Agra later this evening will be landing in Naypyidaw. And from Naypyidaw they will also be taken to Mandalay area in coordination with the support of the government of Myanmar.

Our Ambassador is presently in Naypyidaw and our team from the Embassy in Yangon is in Naypyidaw to coordinate all that is required for forward movement of personnel who are travelling from India. I also want to let you know that four Naval Ships with HADR assistance, two from Port Blair, and two from Visakhapatnam are getting ready. I will leave the exact details for my colleague to answer but I understand that two of them already have moved, and the other two will be moving either today in the evening or tomorrow shortly. The Indian Navy is in touch with their Myanmar counterpart from the Myanmar Navy for smooth landing and smooth carry out of this operation.

As I told you our Ambassador is presently in Naypyidaw, he is in touch with the Myanmar authorities as to what exactly are the requirements, do they need any food support, any food grain support etc. As also he will be discussing what sort of long-term support would be required because we understand that in the Mandalay area where the devastation caused by the earthquake is maximum, lot of bridges … there has been lot of damage to physical infrastructure. So, there I am sure lot of support would be required.

I would also like to convey I told you that Prime Minister spoke to Senior General this morning and he extended all support to the Government of Myanmar.

With that I will turn it over to my colleagues. But, before that let me tell you that our Embassy is very active, they are in touch with Indian community organizations. We have around 15,000 families, roughly around 50,000 to 60,000 Indian Nationals in Myanmar. So far no casualty has been reported among the Indian nationals, and we are in touch with all community organizations for their welfare, for their safety. We also have a large Indian diaspora in Myanmar, almost 2 million. We are also in touch with those organizations as well.

With that I would request our colleagues to pitch in. First, I will request if you could tell our media friends about the first tranche that went today in the morning.

So, as has been already elaborated by Additional Secretary Sir, NDRF team with a strength of 80 rescuers, this is the urban search and rescue team … this has been sent in two sorties, one sortie has already taken off and the second is about to take off from Indian air base. This has been dispatched with 80 rescuers, special equipments that includes all devices required for carrying out search and rescue operations and we have also got canines which will be good to use … and we feel that the next, as soon as they land … it will be very crucial next 24-48 hours finding lives in the golden period … would be gainfully engaged and we look forward to a very active involvement on ground.

We have also the reserve team, which is placed at Kolkata, so as and when the confirmation comes for a second team to be dispatched there, they are ready for takeoff as and when it is confirmed.

Thank you. Can I ask my colleague to brief our media friends on what comprises the field hospital.

Good evening friends. So, as far as the field hospital is concerned, as has been briefed, it is leaving from Agra. And as we talk, it is in the process of getting loaded, two aircrafts will be leaving with the field hospital. Incidentally, it is the same field hospital which participated in Operation Dost in Turkey. So, therefore, it carries institutional knowledge, and we have made sure that we have included officers who participated in that, so that they become active respondents and proactive in their response to this.

As far as the composition is concerned … it is 118 just to clear the air, that is the total strength that is going. They will be able to … they have the ability to split into two or three smaller teams as and when required, based on the situation on ground. They will provide a fully functional Operational Theater over there, facilities such as x-ray. We have also incorporated dental facilities in it. It includes doctors. We have six medical officers including two specifically lady medical officers to look at the gender aspects of looking after the patients. In terms of specialists, we have surgical capability, medical, anesthesiologist, ortho, all have been grouped along with this team to give it a comprehensive kind of a cover.

They are carrying advanced equipment, they are carrying vehicles, ambulances and essential medicines which we perceive would be required on ground based on experience in Op Dost. Lastly, Indian Army is ready to scale up as and when required and to do that, other field hospitals have been nominated and should the need be felt, Indian Army is ready to scale up the operation. Thank you.

Next, I request my colleague from Indian Navy to brief you on the naval ships that are headed towards Myanmar.

Good afternoon. So, we have got four ships that have been prepared for this HADR operation. The first of these ships sailed this morning at 2 o'clock at 2 AM carrying about 10 tons of relief material. The second ship is sailed at about 1400, that's 2 PM this afternoon. Those are INS ships Savitri and Satpura. These ships will reach off Yangon on the morning of the 31st. They will be able to enter only with the tide, given the conditions in Yangon port. And once they enter, we've got two ships under the Andaman and Nicobar command that are also loaded with HADR material. A total of about 50 tons of relief material is being transported to Yangon. This includes Clothing Brigs, which is daris, blankets, clothes for children, disposable clothes, etc. Medical Brigs, which contain essential medicines, rations, which include MREs, biscuits, noodles, milk powder and stuff like that. And lastly, it's also got things like soap, laundry detergent, and stuff that is used for sanitization.

And apart from this, in case there is any other further requirement of relief material, there are additional ships that are available at Visakhapatnam as well as Sri Vijaya Puram and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Thank you.

Okay, with that, let me open the floor for questions.

Smita Sharma, I work independently. Just two quick questions. One is, if one of you could give us a sense of what's the assessment so far of the kind of scale of damage and destruction, we are looking at Mandalay. The assessment being shared with the local authorities, other than of course the roads being cut off, the challenges that the forces will face even in reaching and operating there? And B, has there been … because I don't think Myanmar is allowing international journalists to come in at this stage, which is normally a norm during most natural calamities, has that been raised at all? Has Myanmar said that they would not be welcoming or allowing press to come in and report?

Two quick questions. First is, what's the big message India is sending by its quick deployment? The first of the military aircrafts reached earlier this morning, within 24 hours. And the second is, there are other teams as well, the Chinese, the Russians are also reaching. Will the Indian teams also work with their international counterparts?

Thank you Sir, Keshav Padmanabhan from ThePrint. I just wanted to understand two things. The first is, are we coordinating with any of our partners such as the QUAD because the U.S. has said that they will be sending relief? Other close partners like Singapore has also sent 80 rescue personnel. So, I just wanted to understand, are we looking at that kind of international cooperation here? And the second question, knowing the situation in Myanmar, are we solely working with the government of Myanmar or how are we reaching areas that may be outside of government control that requires this? So, I just wanted to understand that complexity, if possible. Thank you.

Sir Niraj hu, News18 India se. Sir aapne kaha ki Bharatiya samudaye ke logo me ab tak kisi casualty ki khabar nahi aai hain ab tak. To unse sampark sadhne ke liye kis tarah ki koshish ki ja rahi hain?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, I am Niraj from News18 India. Sir, you said that there has been no news of any casualties among the Indian community so far. So, what kind of efforts are being made to establish contact with them?

Okay, first let me come to Smita, your question. Regarding the damage and assessment, we all understand that the scale of damage has been quite extensive. Prime Minister, as I told you, he spoke this morning to Senior General of Myanmar. They discussed the situation. The Government there will come out with the latest updates. Also, they are assessing as to what is required and how much is the damage. But it has been extensive. This is what we understand. And Prime Minister expressed his readiness to extend all possible support from our side.

As far as participation of international journalists, I think this is something that you'll have to speak to the Myanmar Embassy here and get an answer, as to what sort of support they are providing.

Siddhant, the big message, in all situations you would have seen over the last several years, India has been the first responder. We talked about Operation Dost. When Cyclone Yagi struck Myanmar that time again, India had launched an operation. We provided relief material, humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar. Not just to people in Myanmar but several other countries that were impacted. It is part of our policy to be the first responder. We want, when we say, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, The World is One Family, we also want to mean it, we want to prove that by action. And therefore, we are very humbled when we have this opportunity to respond to crisis such as what has happened in Myanmar and extend our support to people.

Keshav, are we coordinating with other partners? Right now, it’s too early, we are speaking to Government of Myanmar because in such situations, you have to go by what the Government asks for and you will have to coordinate closely with them. Because they are there, we are there to provide support to them and in international operations what happens was that when you are doing search and rescue operations obviously there are occasions there you have to combine, because you have to save lives, you have to provide the best to people in whatever manner possible. So, for the present we are coordinating with Government of Myanmar and if there is request from the Government of Myanmar for further collaboration and cooperation we will take into account.

Neraj, aapka sawal bhartiya samuday ko lekar hain, kis prakar se hum log unse sampark banaye hue hain. Toh main aapko bata du ki digital madhyam se bhi hum log unse jude hue hain, hum logon ne apne mission ke handle se dekha hoga ki ek emergency helpline number ka hum logon ne jikar kiya hain ki kisi bhi bhartiya samuday ya koi aur bhartiya diaspora ke koi sadasya jinko is prakar ki koi madad chahiye uske liye hum taiyar hain. Aur wahan par embassy mei jo hamare log hain woh jo bhartiya samuday ki jitne sansthayain hain unse judi hui hain lagatar ye janne ke liye ki samuday main sab log surakshit hain aur unki jo bhi kuch emergency hoti hain unko kis prakar se attend kiya jaye. Aur jaise ki maine bataya ki kisi prakar ki casuality ki khabar nahi aayi hain abhi tak bhartiya samuday mei, bhartiya nagrik ke sandarbh mei.

[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] Niraj, your question is regarding the Indian community and how we stay connected with them. I would like to inform you that we are also connected with them through digital means. You may have seen through our mission's official handle that we have mentioned an emergency helpline number, which is available for any Indian community member or any Indian diaspora member who may need assistance.

Additionally, our embassy personnel remain in constant touch with various organizations within the Indian community to ensure that everyone is safe and to address any emergencies that may arise.

As I mentioned earlier, so far, there have been no reports of any casualties among the Indian community … in case of Indian citizens.

Ajay Banerjee, The Tribune: Sir, good evening, I am Ajay Banarjee from The Tribune. I have two questions, one for Commodore Nair. Sir those ships, navy ships which go to Myanmar how long we expect them to stay there? Will they be at the Jetty or will they send some forces inside to do some HADR? And second question to you sir, is the BIMSTEC on track, I know FS said yesterday, it’s on the track. Is it on track?

[Inaudible]

Sir, Sudhi Ranjan from Bloomberg. I just wanted an understanding, if there is a request from areas which are rebel held for HADR, for relief and assistance, what will be the Government of India's stand? And also, I just wanted a clarification on the ships. Four ships have already left or are on the way. If we could get a clarification. The military hospitals, are they already up or likely to be up? Two is the correct number ? A clarification on that.

Tripti Lahiri with the Wall Street Journal. Two questions. Based on the discussions you have had with the Myanmar Government, can you say whether the situation is worse than that of the 2015 Nepal earthquake? Are you able to the toll is already, or will exceed that? And secondly, are you having discussions or early-stage discussions on the possibility of, in later sorties or relief sorties, taking small contingents of journalists to document the situation?

So, first let me answer questions pertaining to me and thereafter I will hand it over to you. On BIMSTEC, yes, we had a briefing by Foreign Secretary yesterday on the visit of Prime Minister to both Thailand and Sri Lanka. As we have conveyed to you, the visit stands.

Sudhi your question regarding … at this point in time, as I told you, we are talking with the Government of Myanmar. We are coordinating our rescue efforts, relief efforts through the Government of Myanmar. That is where it is, and we will coordinate through them.

In regard to Tripti, your question on the assessment part, this is something that the Government of Myanmar has to make a decision on. Obviously, the intensity of the earthquake was upwards of 7 Richter. It has caused lot of damage. It will take some time for them to assess, but we understand that the damage has been extensive. So, we will have to wait for the figures that come out of Myanmar or which is put out by the Myanmar Government.

In regard to journalists, again this is a question that we will have to take to the Myanmar side for them to answer.

With that, I request my colleague here to answer some of the questions.

Ajay, to your question first, the ships will go alongside the jetty there and our Embassy and the Naval Attaché there are making arrangements for the ships to go alongside. Our stay will be just long enough to disembark, so that we can vacate the berth and leave it vacant for other ships that need to go alongside with relief material. As you know, we ourselves are sending four ships, so we will need to keep vacating the berths so that the other ones can berth.

As regards the number of ships, the second question, there are four ships, two of them are already underway. One sailed at 2 o'clock this morning and the other one at 2 in the afternoon. Both ships are expected to reach Yangon, as I mentioned earlier, on the 31st. Then there are two ships which are on standby at Sri Vijaya Puram in the Andamans and they will sail tomorrow. They will reach at about the same time when the first two ships are leaving that place.

Your question about the status of the field hospital. Initially, there is one field hospital which is going today. It is in the process of getting loaded right now. Later in the evening it shall fly, and we expect it to reach late at night so that it can be effective tomorrow onwards. Second part, if there is a requirement for committing others, we have kept people on standby, but they will be committed only if required.

Sir, we know that there are four Indian Warships. How many Indian Air Force transport planes will be going or have left? If we can get a ball point figure. And also in terms of the relief, 50 tons on the Indian Navy warships, and how much has been sent from the transport aircrafts?

Main Sachin Budholiya hoon UNI se. Sir, Mera sawal wahi Sidhant ka tha ki, Indian Air Force ne kitni sorties plan ki hain, kitna gaya hain aur total material kitna tha? Dusra Mandalay mei bhi airport hain kya? Hum Naypyidaw land kar rahe hain toh Mandalay mei landing ki facility nahi hain kya?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] I am Sachin Budholiya from UNI. Sir, my question is the same as Siddhant's. How many sorties have been planned by the Indian Air Force, how much has been dispatched, and what is the total amount of material? Secondly, are there airports in Mandalay as well? Since we are landing in Naypyidaw, doesn't Mandalay have a landing facility?

So, on the aircraft part I understand that one aircraft took off this morning and thereafter two more will be taking the SAR (Search and Rescue) team along with other essential commodities. And then in the evening when the field hospital is airlifted … two more aircrafts, so that makes it five for the time being. On the relief material, exactly what we will do is that we will share those details with you so that all of you have exact quantity of relief material that is being shipped from India, both by the Indian Navy and on the aircraft of Indian Air Force. We will do that.

Sachin, toh aapko bhi ye kitna saman, samgri hum rescue opration ke liye bhej rahe hain uske bare mei aur uske alawa maine jaisa bataya ki panch jahaj hamare yahan se ja rahe hain, sham tak ye paanch jahaj jayenge. Toh in sabke baare mei jo factual detail hain woh aapko hum abhi sanjha karenge thodi der baad, thick hain.

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sachin, so you also want to know about the amount of supplies and materials we are sending for the rescue operation, and in addition to that, as I mentioned, five aircraft are departing from here. These five aircraft will depart by evening. So, we will share the factual details about all of this with you shortly.

Is there a sense of how much of the affected area … is there a large part of the affected area which is under rebel control at the moment?

So, as I told you Smita, that we are closely coordinating with the Government of Myanmar. And we are there, our Ambassador is there in Naypyidaw. He is in talks with the Government there. And we are ready to extend all possible assistance that would be required from their side, from us.

One question, Sachin, aapne kahan tha, Myanmar mei kya us prakar ka … wahan se jo hain hamare jahaj ke log jo hain, wahan se Mandalay le jaye jayenge. Wahan ki jo unke Myanmar sarkar ke sarkari log hain unke sath aur wahan ki military hain unke sath coordination karke phir aage operation hoga. Mandalay mei bhi airport hain.

[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] One question, Sachin, you asked if our aircraft personnel from Myanmar will be taken to Mandalay. The coordination will be done with the Myanmar government officials and the military there, and then the operation will proceed further. Yes, there is airport in Mandalay as well.

There would be some issues, but the information I have is that they will be coordinating with the local Government and then our people will be going forward to Mandalay to carry out rescue operations and other assistance.

Kallol from The Hindu. Sir, Sagaing is very close to Manipur. So, did you during your brainstorming at any point also consider providing overland assistance to the victims in Sagaing region?

So at this point in time, I have told you all that we have done so far. The five aircraft that will be taking off has already taken off. And in addition, we have the ships that will be sailing to Myanmar.

In so far as other support that will be provided subsequently, we will keep you updated as to our efforts.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming at a short notice, we will keep you updated on Operation Brahma. Thank you very much.

March 29, 2025