Drylands Must Be Reimagined Through Resilient Institutions, Digital Public Infrastructure And Community Action: Secretary, Department Of Land Resources (DoLR)

Key Highlights:

• Secretary, Department of Land Resources (DoLR), emphasized reimagining drylands through resilient institutions, Digital Public Infrastructure, and community action.
• This was stated at the Dryland Congress 2026 Partner Spotlight in New Delhi, focusing on climate-resilient drylands.
• Rainfed agriculture covers 43% of India’s net sown area (61.39 million hectares) and contributes 40% of food production.
• The Watershed Development Component (WDC) of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) has implemented 7,602 projects covering 34 million hectares.
• These projects created 0.9 million water harvesting structures, provided protective irrigation to 2 million hectares, and benefited nearly 6 million farmers.
• Watershed projects demonstrate a Benefit-Cost Ratio of approximately 2:1, improving groundwater, cultivated area, and farmers' incomes.

Detailed Insights:

• The initiative aims to shift from reactive drought response to proactive dryland resilience through integrated watershed development and technology.
• Integrated landscape management is crucial, as restoring landscapes and water cycles directly supports livelihoods.
• The DoLR Secretary highlighted that drylands are productive landscapes, not wastelands, despite climatic variability.
• A proposed Watershed Portal will provide an integrated Digital Public Infrastructure for managing watershed projects and geospatial data.
• Stronger partnerships among governments, research institutions, and communities are called for to develop a scalable Indian Dryland Development Roadmap.
• This roadmap is envisioned to contribute to the national goal of Viksit Bharat@2047 by demonstrating a global model for landscape restoration and rural prosperity.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Drylands: Arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas characterized by water scarcity and high climatic variability.
• Watershed Development: Integrated management of land, water, and vegetation within a watershed to conserve natural resources and improve livelihoods.
• Digital Public Infrastructure: Open and interoperable digital systems that facilitate public and private service delivery and innovation.
• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY): A national program aimed at providing assured irrigation to every farm and improving water use efficiency.