Diamond Toons launches comics for disaster awareness

On the occasion of its 21 Foundation Day, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) announced Little Chanakya, a character created by Diamond Toons, for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). The initiative aims to make disaster preparedness both relatable and memorable, especially for children and youth.

Disaster Risk Reduction content is often technical and hard to retain. To make safety guidance more engaging, NDMA is using storytelling through characters, an approach proven effective globally in Japan’s Bosai manga and the Philippines’ hazard comics. Children and youth play a vital role as messengers, spreading awareness from schools to homes and communities. This initiative aligns with NDMA’s IEC mandate under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

To mark this announcement, NDMA and Diamond Toons released a special talking comic titled Little Chanakya and Aapda Se Bachao. This format combines illustrated comics (print + digital) with animated micro-videos, humour, voice narration, motion effects, and interactivity, making it a IEC tool for behavioural change.

The comic covers 12 critical disasters which are earthquakes, floods, cyclones, heat waves, landslides, fire incidents, lightning strikes, droughts, tsunamis, chemical disasters, industrial/man-made disasters, and pandemic/epidemic outbreaks.

The comic explains do’s and don’t’s and provides safety tips, and emergency measures in a way that children can understand, remember, and share. The comic will be available in Hindi and 12 other languages.

Little Chanakya has already led several awareness campaigns in collaboration with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, National Health Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Namami Gange, FSSAI, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Election Commission of India, and Tourism Boards of Chhattisgarh and Delhi. These initiatives have reached children and youth across schools, libraries, community programs, and digital platforms in multiple Indian languages.

NDMA member and department head Rajendra Singh said, “This initiative reflects our commitment to preparing the next generation to act wisely and responsibly in times of crisis.”

NDMA director Mrinalini Srivastava added, “We believe in combining creativity with public safety. The Little Chanakya and Aapda Se Bachao talking comic simplifies life-saving messages into engaging stories, ensuring that children not only learn but also practice safety behaviour in their daily lives.”

Diamond Toons director Manish Verma shared, “Through this talking comic, we aim to improve recall of preparedness actions among children, foster a proactive safety mindset in communities, and strengthen the intergenerational transfer of disaster management knowledge from children to families. The rollout will leverage our integrated distribution network across print, schools, libraries, digital platforms, animation, outdoor campaigns, and social media.”

The initiative will roll out via a 360-degree distribution network, including storyboarding, school integration (with NCERT, CBSE, SCERT), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, digital outreach through WhatsApp comics, YouTube Shorts, and social media, community and library programs, interactive storytelling workshops, NDMA mock drill integration, and QR-coded posters linking to online visual stories.