Nair, who was till now officiating as the Special Director General (Operations) in the CRPF, is expected to take over the new charge tomorrow and will be in office May 2013.
The 1978-Bihar cadre officer will also head the Civil Defence.
The NDRF has deployed ten battalions (around 10,000 personnel) across the country for undertaking relief and rescue operations.
Nair, who takes over the command of the new force under the Home Ministry, has been credited with the overhaul of the operations setup of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) with regard to its extensive deployment in anti-naxal operations.
The post of Director General NDRF and Civil Defence fell vacant some time back after incumbent Rajiv was appointed as the new CISF chief.