Delhi consultation seeks to fix data bottlenecks in rainfed area project planning

The National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) held a national consultation in New Delhi on 8 July 2026 focused on removing bottlenecks in accessing quality data for planning and implementing development projects in India’s rainfed regions, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said. The event, 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.

The ministry said quality, reliable and easily accessible data forms the foundation of effective planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development interventions in rainfed regions, covering areas such as rainfall, soils, land use, water resources, crop performance, socio-economic conditions, climate risks, watershed characteristics and natural resources.

Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar, CEO of NRAA, said the consultation gave research organisations a platform to showcase their data-sharing capabilities while allowing state line departments to raise the challenges they face in acquiring quality data. He said standardised data should be easily accessible to help formulate more impactful, outcome-oriented strategies.

Two technical sessions were held. The first covered data collection and storage and dissemination challenges, with presentations from IMD, NBSSLUP, BISA-IARI, IWMI, MNCFC and CRIDA. The second addressed data requirements for project planning and bottlenecks faced by users, with representatives from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar actively raising their concerns.