Examine the institutional architecture for managing rainfed and dryland agriculture in India, with special reference to the National Rainfed Area Authority.

Q. Examine the institutional architecture for managing rainfed and dryland agriculture in India, with special reference to the National Rainfed Area Authority. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Rainfed and dryland tracts account for a large share of India's net sown area and are the most climate-vulnerable segment of Indian agriculture. Their governance rests not on a single agency but on a layered architecture, at whose apex sits the National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), constituted by an order of 3 November 2006 [2].

The architecture: a multi-tier arrangement - Apex advisory body: NRAA, an expert body under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, mandated to give focused attention to rainfed and dryland development [1][2][3]. - Research arm: ICAR institutes such as ICAR-NBPGR, which supply the genetic and agronomic base for dryland farming [1]. - State tier: line departments and bodies like the Assam State Biodiversity Board, which localise implementation [1]. - Cross-sectoral overlap: rural development, water resources and environment ministries share the watershed and land-management space.

NRAA: design and mandate - Two-tier structure — a Governing Board chaired by the Union Agriculture Minister and co-chaired by the Union Minister of Rural Development, and an Executive Committee headed by a full-time CEO [2]. - Role is largely advisory and convergent rather than executive: it funds, appraises and coordinates rather than delivering schemes directly [2][3].

Convergence in practice - NRAA funded the project "In-situ Conservation and Management of Wild Rice (Oryza rufipogon), Sonitpur, Assam", implemented since 2022 by ICAR-NBPGR with the State Biodiversity Board [1]. - Its Borjuli site has been notified a Biodiversity Heritage Site, conserving wild genes for flood-, drought- and pest-tolerant rice [1][4].

Persisting gaps - Overlapping ministerial jurisdictions dilute accountability; NRAA's advisory character limits enforcement, and dryland investment remains modest relative to irrigated agriculture.

The Borjuli experience shows that the architecture works best when funder, research institute and State body converge on a defined outcome. Strengthening NRAA's coordinating authority and mainstreaming climate-resilient germplasm into breeding programmes would make rainfed agriculture a pillar of food security and of SDG-2 and SDG-13.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. NRAA-Funded Wild Rice Conservation Project Secures Major Milestone in Assam, PIB (2 July 2026) — project title, funding by NRAA, ICAR-NBPGR and Assam State Biodiversity Board roles, Borjuli site, parent ministry 2. National Rainfed Area Authority, PIB — establishment order of 3 November 2006, two-tier Governing Board and Executive Committee structure, CEO 3. National Rainfed Area Authority, Government of India — NRAA's mandate for rainfed and dryland agriculture 4. Assam's Borjuli wetland notified as Biodiversity Heritage Site for wild rice conservation, DD News — Biodiversity Heritage Site notification and climate-resilience traits of wild rice