NEW DELHI, 10 July 2026: The National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) organised a national consultation to strengthen the generation, dissemination, and accessibility of quality data for improving project planning and implementation in India's rainfed regions.
The one-day consultation, titled "Quality Data Generation and Dissemination for Efficient Project Planning and Implementation in Rainfed Areas of India: Addressing Challenges to Remove Bottlenecks," was held at the NASC Complex, PUSA, New Delhi. The event brought together research institutions, technical agencies, and state government representatives to identify data gaps and improve access to reliable information for sustainable development.
The consultation aimed to provide a common platform for research organisations to showcase their data generation capabilities while enabling state line departments to highlight challenges in accessing quality datasets required for planning and implementing development projects in rainfed areas.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of NRAA, stressed that easy access to high-quality data is essential for making government schemes more effective at the grassroots level.
He said that comprehensive baseline data can significantly improve the implementation of ongoing programmes while helping policymakers develop more targeted and outcome-oriented strategies.
"The standardised quality data should be easily accessible to users so that effective strategies can be formulated for sustainable development of rainfed areas," Dr. Kumar said.
He added that the consultation would help NRAA better understand data requirements at the grassroots level and facilitate easier access to information for state agencies involved in planning rural development programmes.
The programme featured two technical sessions focusing on data generation, storage, dissemination, and user requirements.
During the first session, experts from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSSLUP), Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA)-IARI, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC), and ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) presented datasets developed by their respective organisations and discussed challenges related to data management and dissemination.
The second session focused on data requirements for project planning and bottlenecks faced by end users. Representatives from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar actively participated, highlighting issues related to data accessibility and availability.
Rainfed agriculture accounts for a significant share of India's cultivated land and supports millions of smallholder farmers. Experts at the consultation noted that reliable datasets covering rainfall, soil health, land use, water resources, crop performance, climate risks, and socio-economic indicators are critical for designing location-specific interventions, improving resource allocation, and strengthening climate resilience.
The consultation concluded with a call for greater collaboration between research institutions and state governments to develop an integrated, user-friendly data ecosystem that supports evidence-based policymaking and sustainable development in India's rainfed regions.
