Indian agriculture’s response to global warming

The impact of global warming is no longer a distant threat—it is a daily reality felt in the parched fields of Rajasthan, the flood-hit rice belts of Punjab, and across India’s climate-vulnerable agri-ecosystem. Agriculture, the backbone of India's rural economy and a livelihood for more than 50% of the population, is increasingly at the mercy of erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, unseasonal hailstorms, and rising temperatures.

Though India is only a marginal contributor to global emissions, it bears a disproportionate burden of climate-induced agricultural vulnerability. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has already flagged India’s agricultural sector as highly sensitive to climate variability. Now, with 310 out of 651 agricultural districts classified as ‘highly’ or ‘very highly’ vulnerable, this crisis demands urgent and collective action.

Fortunately, the Indian government is not standing still. Through the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and its embedded National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), a strategic policy framework aims to improve ecological sustainability, climate resilience, and water-use efficiency. But are these measures enough?

Let’s take a closer look. The Per Drop More Crop initiative has introduced micro-irrigation to address water stress. The Rainfed Area Development Programme promotes integrated farming systems to reduce climate risk. Soil health is being revived through schemes encouraging organic and judicious fertiliser use. The Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture and the National Bamboo Mission further reinforce efforts for sustainable agriculture.

Perhaps most crucially, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and the Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme are shielding farmers financially from unpredictable crop losses. While these insurance schemes are essential, adaptation—not just risk compensation—must be our long-term goal.

India’s scientific establishment, through the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), has pioneered the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project. With over ₹1,060 crore allocated, NICRA focuses on climate-resilient technologies, district-level risk assessment, and building adaptive capacity among farmers.

A key achievement under NICRA is the development of 2,900 new crop varieties over the past decade, with over 2,600 designed to tolerate biotic and abiotic stresses such as drought, flood, salinity, and extreme temperatures. These scientific breakthroughs represent India’s readiness to adapt at the genetic level of agriculture.

Furthermore, 448 Climate Resilient Villages (CRVs) have been piloted across 28 states and union territories. In Rajasthan alone, 35 CRVs across 13 districts are helping farmers adopt innovative practices—like zero tillage, direct seeding of rice, and water-saving irrigation—to withstand climatic extremes.

Despite these policy and scientific advances, systemic challenges persist. Awareness and adoption of climate-resilient technologies remain low in many vulnerable regions. Insurance coverage is uneven, and schemes like PMFBY often face implementation bottlenecks. The fragmented landholding pattern, absence of robust climate data at the farm level, and limited extension services further slowdown impact.

Additionally, the climate crisis exacerbates farmer distress in states like Punjab, where drought and desertification are altering soil profiles and cropping patterns. Such shifts threaten not only food security but also the socio-economic fabric of rural India.

To complement government-led missions, India’s agri-startup ecosystem is rapidly emerging as a powerful enabler of climate-resilient agriculture. With over 2,000+ agri-startups across the country, this new generation of innovators is deploying AI, IoT, remote sensing, and satellite-based analytics to provide real-time, hyperlocal advisories on weather forecasting, irrigation cycles, and soil health management.

From low-cost drip systems to climate-smart greenhouses, and from bio-based inputs to precision farming solutions, startups are democratising access to climate innovation while accelerating on-ground adoption.

The ministry of science and technology and the ministry of education have spearheaded landmark investments to establish Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs) and Centers of Excellence (CoEs). These initiatives represent a bold, structured approach to funding cutting-edge research, deep-tech startups, entrepreneurial capacity building, human skilling, and global-industry partnerships. Programmes like the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems ( ₹3,660 crore) and the CoE for AI in Agriculture, Healthcare, and Sustainable Cities ( ₹990 crore+) are at the heart of this transformation.

At the centre of this movement is iHub AWaDH at IIT Ropar, supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under NM-ICPS. With a budgetary outlay of ₹110 crore+, iHub AWaDH has built one of India’s most diverse deep-tech portfolios in agritech and water-tech, now comprising 140+ startups, collectively valued at over ₹1,300 crore.

These startups have raised ₹102 crore+ in external investments, with ₹17 crore deployed internally through government-backed funding programs like DST NM-ICPS, Startup India Seed Fund, MeitY Startup Hub, and CSR Funds from HDFC. These numbers testify to the ecosystem's growing depth and credibility.

Initiatives like SAMRIDHI, SPRINT, WATER Innovation Challenge, the WISE Fund (supporting women-led climate tech ventures), and ATMAN (focusing on agri-deeptech acceleration) demonstrate how startup innovation is being seamlessly integrated into national policy frameworks.

Moreover, the establishment of 12 Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) labs across 9+ states, under the NM-ICPS mission, and programmes like SPRINT (12 editions) are giving student innovators, agri-tech entrepreneurs, and rural startups access to prototyping, experimentation, and validation infrastructure—through grants, mentorship, access to networks, and labs—thus bridging the last-mile gap in climate technology access.

Adding another layer of institutional commitment, the Ministry of Education (MoE) launched a ₹990 crore+ Centres of Excellence (CoE) programme, with a dedicated CoE on AI in agriculture awarded to IIT Ropar under the banner of Annam.ai, with a specific budget of ₹330 Cr. This CoE is tasked with revolutionising agriculture using AI-powered tools across biodiversity, nutrient intelligence, crop health, and livestock monitoring.

India's response to climate threats in agriculture must now shift from fragmented schemes to a national climate-smart agriculture mission. This includes:

· Mainstreaming climate resilience in all agri-schemes—from PM-KISAN to PMFBY.

· Boosting public-private partnerships to scale up innovations in drought-resistant crops and precision farming.

· Expanding CRVs as models of best practice in every vulnerable district.

· Strengthening agri-infrastructure for water storage, solar irrigation, and resilient supply chains.

· Investing in data and digitisation to enable real-time agro-advisory services based on hyperlocal weather forecasting.

· Upskilling extension workers to become climate educators.

· Deploying more funds, establishing CPS Labs, and expanding SPRINT programmes nationwide across other institutions and hubs.

Above all, climate literacy among farmers must become a national priority. Awareness is the first line of defence—and our farmers deserve timely, credible, and actionable information.

India cannot afford to let its agricultural sector remain the frontline victim of a crisis it didn’t cause. As we march towards the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047, climate-resilient agriculture must be at the heart of this development narrative.

It is time to turn every village into a climate-resilient unit, every farmer into an empowered change-maker, and every policy into a shield against climate shocks. With the 3I3P model—innovation, investment, implementation, and programme-policy process—India can rise as a global model of sustainable and climate-smart agriculture.

This article is authored by Pilot Neeraj Sehrawat, chief strategy officer, Kailash Kher Foundation and Mukesh Kestwal, chief innovation officer, IIT Ropar.