The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, has conducted a comprehensive study on cropping patterns and hydrological realities across India. The study utilized Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) data and monthly gridded GRACE satellite data, revealing a significant mismatch between water demand of existing cropping patterns and water availability in groundwater-depleted states, particularly in Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, which encompass the arid and semi-arid climates of the country.
ICAR has prepared an 'Atlas of cropping systems in India' and identified alternative cropping systems as sustainable alternatives to cereal-dominated systems, considering prevailing agro-climatic conditions, resource availability including water availability, and market opportunities. The council has also developed agro-ecological and district-specific crop plans for 14 major crops: rice, wheat, maize, pearl millet, sorghum, pigeon pea, chickpea, soybean, mustard, groundnut, cotton, sugarcane, potato, and onion, using combined indices including Relative Spread Index (RSI), Relative Yield Index (RYI), Sustainable Yield Index (SYI), and Soil-climate suitability index (SCSI).
The assessment identified that rice, sugarcane, cotton, and jute are major water-intensive crops occupying about 62.7 million hectares, representing nearly one-third of the country's gross cropped area. Specifically, about 2.89 million hectares of rice are cultivated in 68 districts receiving less than 650 mm annual rainfall, accounting for approximately 5.67% of the total rice area (51 million hectares). Similarly, about 0.721 million hectares of sugarcane are cultivated in 91 districts receiving less than 700 mm annual rainfall, representing about 10.76% of the total sugarcane cultivated area (6.7 million hectares).
The Government is promoting crop diversification from water-intensive crops to relatively low water-requiring crops such as pulses, oilseeds, millets, and horticultural crops, considering local water availability, soil characteristics, agro-climatic suitability, and sustainable use of natural resources. Under the Pilot Project on Crop Diversification, ICAR has implemented location-specific crop diversification interventions in 47 identified districts. To support diversified cropping systems, ICAR has standardized and promoted optimum irrigation scheduling and drip fertigation for different crops to enhance water-use efficiency and productivity. During 2023–24 to 2025–26, ICAR organized 457 training programmes benefiting 8,749 farmers and 4,592 extension functionaries to promote scientific crop diversification and sustainable crop management practices.
Multiple government schemes are being implemented to promote sustainable agriculture, including the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PM-DDKY) which promotes sustainable agriculture in 100 aspirational agricultural districts through convergence of interventions such as crop diversification, irrigation development, post-harvest infrastructure, natural and organic farming, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and Integrated Nutrient Management (INM). The Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) promotes efficient use of irrigation water through adoption of drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. The Soil Health Card Programme provides farmers with crop-specific fertilizer recommendations for improving soil fertility and nutrient use efficiency. The Watershed Development Component of PMKSY (WDC–PMKSY 2.0) promotes integrated watershed management through soil and water conservation, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, and restoration of degraded lands.
ICAR also promotes soil health management through soil test-based balanced and Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), Soil Test Crop Response (STCR)-based general fertilizer recommendations, and micronutrient mapping with location-specific nutrient recommendations. The council has developed rapid and efficient soil testing kits and digital decision-support tools disseminated through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), frontline demonstrations, and farmer capacity-building programmes.
For long-term water security and climate-resilient agriculture, ICAR is promoting rainwater harvesting, farm ponds, surface water storage structures, groundwater recharge, conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, multiple use of harvested water, in-situ moisture conservation, conservation agriculture, protective irrigation, micro-irrigation, and AI-, sensor- and weather-based irrigation scheduling and advisory systems. Specific technologies being promoted include Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), System of Rice Intensification (SRI), Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), raised-bed planting, laser land levelling, mulching, sprinkler and drip irrigation, and climate-resilient, water-efficient crop varieties.
Under the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), ICAR promotes climate-resilient crop varieties tolerant to drought, flood, salinity and heat stress, Climate Resilient Villages (CRVs) in 151 vulnerable districts, and District Agriculture Contingency Plans prepared for 651 districts, along with weather-based agro-advisories and farmer capacity building through KVKs. These initiatives are supported through Government schemes including the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), PMKSY-PDMC, WDC-PMKSY 2.0, and PM-DDKY.