News Excerpt:

The Union government is set to introduce a framework aimed at promoting climate-resilient agriculture in 50,000 villages within 310 climatically-vulnerable districts.

National Program on Climate Resilient Agriculture

• This initiative is part of a broader National program on climate-resilient agriculture, spearheaded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has developed over 2,000 such varieties, including both abiotic and biotic stress-tolerant types, to enhance food production.
• It is likely to include measures such as encouraging the cultivation of less water-intensive crops, conserving local water sources, and monitoring fertilizer usage.

Highly Vulnerable Districts

• A total of 310 districts across 28 states and Union Territories (UTs) in India have been classified as highly vulnerable under the National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) initiative.
• Uttar Pradesh tops the list with the most vulnerable districts, featuring 22 districts with "very high" vulnerability and 26 districts considered "highly" vulnerable.
• Following are Rajasthan with 17 districts, Bihar with 10, and Kerala with 8.
• The initiative will focus on these 310 districts over a five-year period, with most of the funding expected to come from existing schemes.