The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), in collaboration with the Gates Foundation and Dalberg Advisors, launched the National Climate Stack Innovation Challenge, a national initiative to strengthen India’s climate resilience architecture by building the foundational layers of a National Climate Stack for rural India.
A media statement said that India’s climate risks are intensifying with heatwaves, floods, droughts, and cyclones placing increasing pressure on agriculture and rural livelihoods. While climate data availability has improved, near-term hazard forecasting remains fragmented across datasets and siloed models. Existing risk management systems remain largely reactive, underscoring the need for forward-looking, interoperable, and decision-ready climate intelligence, it said.
Unified climate data
Quoting Shaji KV, Chairman of NABARD, the statement said: “At a national level, we have indeed covered a vast distance in climate data collation and analysis. The challenge is that these datasets sit in isolated websites. The National Climate Stack Innovation Challenge is an effort to bring the best minds to come forward and help us develop a solution which brings all these data streams together in a seamless manner. The larger objective is to develop a tech solution which truly democratizes climate data in a way which has not been done till now. In that way this challenge is in complete sync with the Prime Minister’s vision of leveraging technology to build a more resilient rural India.”
Open for innovators
The Challenge seeks to mobilise India’s scientific and innovation ecosystem to contribute to the development of a National Climate Stack.
The Innovation Challenge will follow a structured, multi-stage process. Applications open on March 6 for innovators to develop near-term climate-hazard forecasting models and practical dashboards. Submissions will be assessed on scientific rigour, explainability, practical relevance, interoperability, and scalability.
Awards for solutions
The top three solutions will receive awards of ₹15 lakh, ₹10 lakh, and ₹5 lakh, respectively. Selected solutions may also be considered for post-Challenge pilots and adoption pathways through NABARD and partner programmes, the statement said.
