Mumbai: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), in
collaboration with The Gates Foundation and Dalberg Advisors has announced the launch of 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.
The Challenge is open for applications and details are available at https://www.climatestackinnovationchallenge.com/
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.
Speaking on
the occasion, Dr. Shaji, Chairman, NABARD stated that, “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 Hon’ble Prime
Minister’s vision of leveraging technology to build a more resilient rural
India”
Objective
The Challenge
seeks to mobilize India’s scientific and innovation ecosystem to contribute to
the development of a National Climate Stack. Specifically, the Challenge seeks proposals that:
- Credible near-term (10–15 year) climate hazard forecasting
frameworks that can serve as the foundational forecasting layer of the
Climate Stack
- Practical use-case dashboards built on top of the hazard layer to
demonstrate operational applications and system integration
Together,
these efforts aim to move from climate data aggregation toward operational
climate intelligence for agriculture, rural finance, and public planning.
Challenge Structure
and Timelines
The Innovation
Challenge will follow a structured, multi-stage process:
- Open Call (6th March 2026): A national call inviting proposals from research
institutions, universities, startups, and private-sector innovators.
- Screening and Shortlisting (March–April 2026): Structured review of submissions to shortlist
high-potential teams based on eligibility, problem understanding, and
proposed methodology.
- Guided Model Development (April–May 2026): Shortlisted teams will participate in a 6–8 week
development sprint to refine and document their climate hazard models,
with expert inputs.
- Technical Validation and Jury Selection (May–June
2026): Independent technical assessment followed by
jury-led selection of final awardees.
Submissions will be
assessed on scientific rigor, explainability, practical relevance,
interoperability, and scalability.
DiCRA and Governance
The Challenge
is anchored in DiCRA (Data in Climate Resilient Agriculture -
https://dicra.nabard.org/), NABARD’s climate data platform. Through this
initiative, NABARD seeks to strengthen DiCRA’s evolution from a digital public
good into a digital public infrastructure capable of supporting interoperable,
forecasting-enabled climate intelligence.
NABARD will serve as the anchor institution for the Challenge with The Gates Foundation and Dalberg Advisors acting as strategic partners.
Awards and Way
Forward
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.