- Why in news
- On 24 March 2026, the Agriculture Ministry told the Lok Sabha that ICAR's NICRA has assessed climate risk in 651 districts and found 310 vulnerable.
- What it is
- NICRA is a project run by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It studies how climate change affects crops, livestock and fisheries. It develops and demonstrates climate-resilient technologies through Krishi Vigyan Kendras and farmer-participatory village institutions.
- Implementing agency
- NICRA is implemented by ICAR under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
- Contingency plans
- District Agriculture Contingency Plans (DACPs) exist for the 651 districts, for use by State Departments of Agriculture.
- Village institutions
- Village Climate Risk Management Committees and seed and fodder banks have been set up with farmer participation.
- Stress-tolerant varieties
- Of 2900 varieties ICAR released in 2014-2024, 2661 tolerate one or more biotic or abiotic stresses.
Don’t confuse with NICRA vs KVK: NICRA is a research and demonstration project of ICAR; KVKs are district-level farm science centres that deliver its technologies.
Don’t confuse with Kisan Sarathi vs Bharat VISTAAR: KISAN SARATHI is an ICAR ICT platform for digital advisories; Bharat VISTAAR is the Agriculture Ministry's AI multilingual platform.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Identifies the most climate-vulnerable districts so adaptation can be targeted.
- Builds farmers' adaptive capacity through local technologies, seed banks and village institutions.
Problems
- Only 448 villages in 151 districts are covered, against 310 vulnerable districts.
- Small and marginal farmers need technical help and last-mile reach for advisories.
Way forward
- Extend technical assistance to more vulnerable districts and link DACPs to state planning.
- Scale stress-tolerant varieties and AI advisories in local languages.
Put in your answer
Resilient varieties: 2661 of 2900 ICAR varieties released in 2014-2024 tolerate stresses.
- 2018Mains ESSAY · Q1Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India
- 2026Mains GS1 · Q15Role of satellite technologies in climate-smart agriculture and food security
- 2016Mains GS1 · Q20Micro-watershed development for water conservation in drought-prone semi-arid regions
- 2018Prelims Q35Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture: statements on origin and obligations
- 2021Prelims Q59Climate-Smart Village approach, CCAFS, CGIAR and ICRISAT statements
- 2026Prelims Q21India's climate response: LT-LEDS, BUR-4 emissions, climate-resilient development statements
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Statements
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements:
- 1.National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) is implemented by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
- 2.Under NICRA, the district-level risk and vulnerability assessment of agriculture followed the protocols of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
- 3.Of the districts found vulnerable under NICRA, the number categorised as 'very high' is larger than the number categorised as 'high'.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
True or false?
1 of 8
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.NICRA is implemented by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
True. ICAR implements NICRA.
2.Under NICRA, the district-level vulnerability assessment was carried out as per IPCC protocols.
True. Assessment followed IPCC protocols for 651 districts.
3.Of the districts found vulnerable, 201 are categorised as 'very high' and 109 as 'high' vulnerability.
False. 109 are 'very high' and 201 are 'highly' vulnerable.
4.District Agriculture Contingency Plans prepared under NICRA are meant for use by State Departments of Agriculture.
True. DACPs recommend location-specific crops, varieties and practices for State Agriculture Departments.
5.Model Climate Resilient Villages under NICRA are demonstrated through Krishi Vigyan Kendras and cover 151 climatically vulnerable districts.
True. 448 villages in 151 districts, via KVKs.
6.Under NICRA, climate-resilient technologies are demonstrated in villages by the State Disaster Management Authorities.
False. They are demonstrated through Krishi Vigyan Kendras.
7.The Krishi Vigyan Kendra network established by ICAR has 731 KVKs.
True. ICAR has established 731 KVKs.
8.Bharat VISTAAR currently supports 11 languages, while Kisan-Mitra supports Hindi and English only.
False. Bharat VISTAAR currently supports Hindi and English (11 planned); Kisane-Mitra chatbot supports 11 regional languages.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.