UPSC Prelims 2026 Q28: Rainfed Area Development under NMSA — Explained

Which among the following is/are the objective(s) of the Rainfed Area Development (RAD) initiative under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)?

1. Encouraging monoculture in rainfed areas

2. Increasing rice cultivation in irrigated regions

3. Enhancing productivity and minimising climatic risks through Integrated Farming Systems (IFS)

  1. 1 only
  2. 1 and 2
  3. 2 and 3
  4. 3 only

Answer: (d) 3 only

Statement-wise explanation

  • 1: incorrect — RAD does the opposite of monoculture. Under RAD, crops are grown together with horticulture, livestock, fisheries, agro-forestry and apiculture, in clusters. Its guidelines say plainly that a single cropping system is not recommended under NMSA, and they push farmers to add other sources of income.
  • 2: incorrect — RAD is for rainfed areas, as its name says. Irrigated rice is not its target. Nothing in RAD aims to grow more rice in irrigated regions. Rice-heavy, water-hungry cropping is in fact the kind of practice that sustainable-agriculture missions try to diversify away from.
  • 3: correct — The Agriculture Ministry's Rainfed Farming System division describes RAD this way: it 'focuses on Integrated Farming System (IFS) for enhancing productivity and minimizing risks associated with climatic variability'. RAD uses IFS models from ICAR that suit each agro-climatic zone. When a crop is lost to drought or flood, the allied activities still bring the farmer some income.

How to eliminate

The scheme's name settles most of this. Statement 2 is about 'irrigated regions', but the scheme is 'Rainfed Area Development', so it can be struck out at once. That removes the options containing 2. Statement 1, 'encouraging monoculture', clashes with the word 'Sustainable' in NMSA. Monoculture depletes soil and concentrates risk, and no climate-adaptation mission promotes it. That removes the options containing 1. Only '3 only' is left. Statement 3 also reads like official scheme language (productivity, climatic risk, IFS), which fits. You can solve this from the scheme's name and basic ideas of sustainability. The fact worth remembering is that RAD is the IFS-based component of NMSA.

Know more

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC, 2008). It was put into operation in 2014-15 to make Indian farming more productive, sustainable and climate-resilient, with special attention to rainfed areas.

Main components of NMSA

Component Focus
Rainfed Area Development (RAD) Cluster-based Integrated Farming Systems in rainfed areas
Soil Health Management (SHM) Soil testing, nutrient management, Soil Health Cards
On-Farm Water Management Micro-irrigation; moved to PMKSY 'Per Drop More Crop' from 2015-16
Climate Change & Sustainable Agriculture: Monitoring, Modelling & Networking Research and data on climate impacts
Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (added 2016-17) 'Har Medh Par Ped': trees on farm bunds

How RAD works

  • It takes an area/cluster approach, not support for individual crops.
  • It uses zone-specific IFS models developed by ICAR. Crops are combined with dairy, poultry, fisheries, horticulture, apiculture, vermicompost and green manuring.
  • When crops fail, the allied activities give a buffer of income. Diversity also improves soil and water use.
  • It gives ₹10,000 per cluster for building farmers' capacity.

Where the scheme stands now

  • From 2018-19, NMSA ran under the Green Revolution–Krishonnati Yojana umbrella. From 2022-23, RAD has been run under PM-RKVY.
  • Since 2014-15, ₹2,119.84 crore of central assistance has gone into RAD. It has covered about 8.50 lakh ha and helped about 14.35 lakh farmers.
  • A NITI Aayog evaluation in 2025 found that RAD interventions improved livelihood security and resilience to climatic shocks.

Why rainfed areas matter Roughly half of India's net sown area is rainfed. These lands grow most of India's pulses, oilseeds, millets and cotton. They also have the farmers most exposed to erratic monsoons, which is why NMSA singles them out.

In the news

RAD came up in Parliament replies of late 2025 and early 2026. These covered the NITI Aayog 2025 evaluation of RAD, its cumulative coverage (8.50 lakh ha, 14.35 lakh farmers), and its place under PM-RKVY. The question itself mostly tests the scheme's static objective.

NCERT Concepts to Revise

  • National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: RAD is a component of NMSA, so knowing the mission's sustainability aims helps judge which listed goals fit its approach.
  • Integrated farming system: Statement 3 depends on what Integrated Farming Systems are: combining crops with livestock, fisheries, horticulture and agro-forestry to spread risk and income.
  • Rainfed farming: RAD targets rainfed areas, so understanding rainfed farming's dependence on monsoon rains helps assess statements about monoculture and irrigated rice.
  • Dryland farming: Dryland farming's drought risks explain why rainfed programmes favour diversified, risk-reducing systems over single-crop or water-intensive cultivation.

Read more