NRAA Holds High-Level Technical Meeting on Watershed Development and Management to Discuss New Guidelines

The National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, organized a high-level meeting on September 22, 2026, at the NASC complex in New Delhi. The meeting was conducted by the National Level Technical Committee (NLTC) as part of the 'REWARD' (Rejuvenating Watersheds for Climate-Resilient Agriculture through Innovative Development) program. The session was chaired by Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar, IAS, CEO of the NRAA.

Key attendees at the meeting included Dr. A.K. Nayak, DDG (NRM) of ICAR; Mr. Nitin Khade, IAS, Joint Secretary (WM) of DoLR; Dr. Subrat Panda, IAS, Director (DSC & WD) of Odisha; and Mr. Upendra Pratap Singh, Commissioner of WDD Karnataka, who joined online. Approximately 45 participants attended, including scientists from state-level nodal agencies of Odisha and Karnataka, ICAR institutes, agricultural universities, IITs, non-governmental organizations, and consortium partners. The meeting was coordinated by Dr. Susama Sudhishree, Technical Expert of NRAA.

During the proceedings, NRAA CEO Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar emphasized the verification of claims made in the draft National Technical Guidelines (NTG) based on data from the REWARD program. He advised the state governments of Odisha and Karnataka to share watershed data and the Decision Support System (DSS) with all stakeholders. Dr. A.K. Nayak of ICAR highlighted the need to integrate Land Resource Inventory (LRI) and hydrology for better watershed planning, suggesting that the methodologies for achieving results be clearly detailed in the NTG and that web portals be developed promptly.

Mr. Nitin Khade, Joint Secretary of DoLR, suggested that the duration for preparing Detailed Project Reports (DPR) could be reduced from six months to three months to ensure more time for the implementation of tasks. He also mentioned the importance of including aspects of convergence from various sectors within the NTG.

At the start of the meeting, Dr. Susama Sudhishree presented the report from the previous meeting and the amendments made to the second draft of the National Technical Guidelines. She requested state-level nodal agencies to share data to facilitate analysis and report preparation. The National Technical Guidelines currently under development will be utilized for future generations of watershed development across the country under the watershed development component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana 3.0.