Climate Adaptation Beyond NAPCC: India’s Comprehensive Measures for Resilience

While India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) sets the overarching framework for climate response, the country has developed numerous targeted adaptation measures that extend far beyond its eight core missions. From combating desertification to revolutionizing irrigation systems, these comprehensive initiatives address specific vulnerabilities across agriculture, water resources, and land management. Understanding these parallel efforts reveals the depth of India’s multi-pronged approach to building climate resilience for millions of vulnerable citizens.

India’s fight against desertification 🔗

Land degradation affects nearly one-third of India’s total land area, threatening agricultural productivity, biodiversity, and the livelihoods of communities in arid and semi-arid regions. Recognizing this challenge, India became an active participant in the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), signing it in 1994 and ratifying it in 1996.

National Action Programme to combat desertification 🔗

The National Action Programme (NAP) to Combat Desertification was prepared in 2001 as a comprehensive 20-year strategy coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. This programme embraces community-based approaches focusing on sustainable development, improving quality of life, raising awareness, managing drought, and strengthening local self-governance.

The NAP has undergone significant evolution. India revised its targets in 2019 and again in 2023, committing to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 and create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent through land-based interventions. The plan integrates with existing programmes such as MGNREGS for water conservation, the National Afforestation Programme for forest restoration, and PMKSY for irrigation planning.

Monitoring and assessment systems 🔗

A key component of desertification control involves scientific monitoring. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed the Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India, using satellite data to map degradation patterns and monitor changes over time. This geospatial database helps prioritize areas for intervention and supports ongoing National Action Plans and Sustainable Land and Ecosystem Management programmes.

India also demonstrated its leadership by hosting the 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to the UNCCD in New Delhi in 2019, where the Delhi Declaration emphasized better access to land and gender-sensitive transformative projects.

Watershed development for climate adaptation 🔗

Watershed development represents one of India’s most comprehensive approaches to climate adaptation. Watershed Development programmes aim to restore degraded watersheds in rainfed regions to increase their capacity to capture and store rainwater, reduce soil erosion, and improve soil nutrient and carbon content for greater agricultural yields.

Evolution of watershed programmes 🔗

India’s watershed development approach has evolved significantly since its inception. The Integrated Watershed Management Programme has been adopted in India since 1987 for conservation, sustainable use, and restoration of natural resources to enhance livelihoods and build resilience in dryland agriculture.

In 2015-16, the programme was amalgamated as the Watershed Development Component of PMKSY. The Government of India approved WDC-PMKSY 2.0 in December 2021 for the period 2021-2026 with a physical target of 49.50 lakh hectares and a Central financial outlay of Rs. 8,134 crore. The unit cost increased substantially, from Rs. 12,000 per hectare to Rs. 22,000 per hectare for plain areas, and up to Rs. 28,000 per hectare for hilly and difficult areas.

Climate-focused watershed interventions 🔗

Modern watershed projects explicitly incorporate climate adaptation measures. The programme includes clear risk management plans for adaptation and mitigation of climate variability, diversification through integrated farming systems, building climate projections into water harvesting designs, and providing agro-meteorological advisories to deal with climate-induced uncertainties.

Research demonstrates the effectiveness of these interventions. A study of a semi-arid watershed in Western India found that climate-resilient practices reduced average annual soil erosion from 12 tonnes per hectare per year to 6 tonnes, while community-based water resource infrastructure increased storage capacity by 40 percent.

Irrigation efficiency and command area development 🔗

Water management is central to agricultural climate adaptation. The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was launched on July 1, 2015 with the vision of extending irrigation coverage under the motto “Har Khet Ko Paani” (water to every field) and improving water use efficiency through “Per Drop More Crop.”

Components and objectives 🔗

PMKSY represents a convergence of multiple irrigation initiatives. The scheme amalgamated the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Integrated Watershed Management Programme, and the On Farm Water Management component. Its objectives include expanding cultivable area under assured irrigation, enhancing adoption of precision irrigation and water-saving technologies, and promoting sustainable water conservation practices.

The Union Budget 2025-26 allocated Rs. 8,259.85 crore to PMKSY, reinforcing the government’s commitment to irrigation infrastructure. In April 2025, the Union Cabinet approved Rs. 1,600 crore for the Modernization of Command Area Development and Water Management sub-scheme to improve water management and irrigation efficiency across command areas.

National Water Mission integration 🔗

The Command Area Development programme, originally launched in 1974-75, has been integrated with the National Water Mission established under NAPCC. This integration aims to achieve approximately 20 percent improvement in irrigation efficiency through modernization of command areas, crucial for protecting agriculture from climate vulnerability.

The programme promotes micro-irrigation technologies including drip and sprinkler systems. The scheme enhances adoption of precision irrigation and explores feasibility of reusing treated municipal wastewater for peri-urban agriculture, representing a comprehensive approach to water resource management.

Crop diversification as adaptation strategy 🔗

Diversifying agricultural production provides a critical buffer against climate-induced crop failures. Research using dynamic panel-data approaches confirms that crop diversification serves as an important ex ante adaptation measure to climatic shocks, with adaptation benefits more apparent against severe shocks and in the long run.

Benefits of diversification 🔗

Crop diversification is recognized as one of the most feasible, cost-effective and rational ways of developing resilience to changing climate. It helps increase income of smallholder farmers, conserve natural resources, manage pests by breaking insect habitats and disease cycles, reduce weeds and soil erosion, and conserve soil moisture.

Encouraging farmers to grow climate-resilient grains such as millets addresses both nutrition gaps and ecological degradation. Millets are water-efficient, high in micronutrients, and well-suited to rainfed regions, making them increasingly important as climate variability intensifies.

Climate-resilient crop varieties 🔗

Development of hardy varieties supports diversification efforts. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has introduced 109 new crops to counter erratic rainfall, extreme temperatures, and soil degradation, including 69 field crops such as cereals and pulses, and 40 horticultural varieties. These varieties are bred for tolerance to heat, drought, flood, and salinity.

Specific innovations include sorghum hybrids that mature earlier than market varieties, drought-tolerant rice varieties, and multi-disease resistant crops. Climate-resilient rice varieties like DRR Dhan 42 and DRR Dhan 44 focus on drought resilience, while over 50 villages have been recognized as climate-smart rice cultivating villages through ICAR mentorship.

National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture 🔗

Launched in February 2011 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project represents India’s flagship initiative for building agricultural resilience. The project aims at strategic research on adaptation and mitigation, technology demonstration on farmers’ fields, and creating awareness among stakeholders.

Research and technology components 🔗

NICRA has three major objectives: strategic research, technology demonstrations, and capacity building. The research component covers crops, livestock, fisheries, and natural resource management. The project is implemented across 21 ICAR institutes, with seven core institutes hosting state-of-the-art research infrastructure including High Throughput Plant Phenomics facilities, Free Air Temperature Enrichment facilities, and CO₂ Temperature Gradient Chambers.

For enhancing resilience and adaptive capacity of farmers, NICRA has established Climate Resilient Villages in 448 locations across 151 climatically vulnerable districts covering 28 states and union territories. These villages serve as demonstration sites for location-specific climate-resilient technologies.

Achievements and impact 🔗

NICRA has developed 650 district agricultural contingency plans and conducted over 16,958 training programmes covering more than 5,14,816 stakeholders on climate change and resilient technologies. Custom hiring centers have been established in NICRA villages to ensure availability of farm implements for timely operations.

The technology demonstration component has delivered tangible results. Demonstrations include flood-tolerant and drought-tolerant paddy varieties, water-saving cultivation methods like System of Rice Intensification, location-specific cropping sequences, and diversification strategies. Interventions under livestock and fisheries modules have benefited thousands of farmers through improved fodder production, breed upgradation, and enhanced management practices.

Institutional innovations 🔗

NICRA emphasizes institutional strengthening at the village level. The project establishes seed banks, fodder banks, commodity groups, and custom hiring centers to build community resilience. Village Climate Risk Management Committees coordinate local adaptation efforts, while weather index-based insurance schemes and village-level weather stations support climate literacy and risk management.

Through the technology demonstration component, NICRA has benefited 6,93,629 farmers through technology demonstrations and 6,47,735 farmers through capacity building activities. The programme promotes technologies including conservation agriculture, crop diversification, agroforestry systems, zero-till sowing, integrated nutrient and pest management, and in-situ moisture conservation.

Convergence and future directions 🔗

India’s adaptation measures increasingly emphasize convergence across programmes. National programmes like the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture, NICRA, and the Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva focus on identifying and scaling climate-resilient practices and systems, while state-level implementation creates locally appropriate solutions.

The effectiveness of these measures depends on continued integration of scientific research, community participation, and policy support. Studies indicate that barriers to adaptation include high input costs, limited awareness, and inadequate institutional coordination. Successful scaling requires addressing these challenges while maintaining focus on vulnerable populations, particularly small and marginal farmers in rainfed regions.

What do you think? As climate impacts intensify, how can India better integrate traditional knowledge with modern technologies in its adaptation programmes? What role should local communities play in designing and implementing climate resilience measures?

References

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