315 districts mapped for contingency measures to rescue farming operation as rain deficit rises to 43%

The Union government has drawn up district-level contingency plans for 315 districts identified as vulnerable to a weak monsoon, as the 2026 kharif season be...

What Happened

The Union government has drawn up district-level contingency plans for 315 districts identified as vulnerable to a weak monsoon, as the 2026 kharif season begins with rainfall running approximately 43% below the long-period average.
Of the 315 mapped districts, 111 have been flagged as high-priority areas with limited irrigation coverage, making them especially susceptible to crop failure.
The affected districts are spread across 12 states, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh — all of which have large rain-fed agricultural areas.
The state-run weather office has forecast the lowest monsoon rainfall in 11 years, with an El Nino-weakened monsoon expected to persist through the 2026 kharif growing season.
The Centre has advised states to encourage cultivation of pulses, millets, and oilseeds — crops that require significantly less water than traditional water-intensive crops like paddy and sugarcane.
Farmers in rain-fed areas have been advised to shift to short-duration crop varieties that can mature within a compressed growing season, reducing dependence on sustained rainfall.

Static Topic Bridges

District Agriculture Contingency Plans (DACPs)

District Agriculture Contingency Plans are pre-prepared, district-specific action documents developed under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and state agriculture departments. They specify alternate crop varieties, agronomic practices, water harvesting methods, and resource deployment protocols that should be activated when rainfall is deficient by specified thresholds. The National Drought Management Policy (2016) mandates preparation and annual updating of contingency plans at the district level as a first-line response to agrarian distress.

DACPs are prepared for each district and updated annually, covering deficit, normal, and excess rainfall scenarios.
Key recommendations include substituting short-duration varieties, switching to drought-tolerant crops (millets, pulses, oilseeds), and deploying contingency seeds through state seed corporations.
The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, funds district-level climate adaptation including contingency planning.
ICAR's National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) supports the preparation and dissemination of these plans.

Connection to this news: The activation of contingency plans across 315 districts, including 111 high-priority areas, is a direct application of the DACP framework in response to the 2026 El Nino-driven rainfall deficiency.

Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)

The MSP is the floor price announced by the Union government at which it is committed to purchasing specified agricultural commodities from farmers, providing a safety net against market price crashes. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), a statutory advisory body under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, recommends MSPs for 23 kharif, rabi, and other crops annually. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) is the final approving authority for MSP announcements.

CACP considers A2+FL cost (actual paid-out costs plus imputed value of family labour) and C2 cost (comprehensive cost including imputed rent and interest on owned capital) while recommending MSP.
The government's stated policy (since 2018) is to set MSP at 1.5 times the A2+FL cost.
Key kharif MSP crops include paddy, jowar, bajra, maize, ragi, arhar (tur), moong, urad, cotton, groundnut, soybean, and sunflower.
During monsoon deficiency years, MSP serves as a critical backstop to prevent farm income collapse when yields fall.

Connection to this news: If the 2026 kharif crop output contracts due to rainfall deficiency across the 315 mapped districts, MSP-based procurement will be the key instrument to stabilise farm incomes, particularly for rain-fed crops like pulses and oilseeds.

El Nino and Its Impact on the Indian Monsoon

El Nino refers to the periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, which disrupts normal atmospheric circulation patterns. India's southwest monsoon (June–September), which delivers approximately 70% of India's annual rainfall, is historically correlated with El Nino events — warmer Pacific SSTs weaken the temperature differential between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, suppressing monsoon moisture inflow. Of India's 15 severe drought years since 1951, over 80% have coincided with El Nino events.

The Indian Monsoon accounts for approximately 70% of India's annual rainfall and irrigates nearly 55% of net sown area that is rain-fed.
Kharif crops — sown in June–July and harvested in October–November — account for roughly 50% of India's total foodgrain production.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) classifies rainfall below 90% of the long-period average (LPA) as deficient at the national scale.
In 2026, IMD forecast 92% of LPA for the season, classified as below-normal, with actual June rainfall running 43% below average at the time of the government's intervention.
Millets (bajra, jowar, ragi) require 30–40% less water than paddy and are being promoted under the National Food Security Mission and the International Year of Millets legacy framework.

Connection to this news: The 2026 El Nino-weakened monsoon directly triggered the government's activation of contingency planning for 315 districts, with crop diversification toward drought-tolerant varieties as the primary agronomic response.

Crop Diversification and Food Security

India's kharif food security depends disproportionately on paddy, which is water-intensive and cultivated extensively in rain-fed areas of eastern and peninsular India. During rainfall-deficient years, promoting alternate crops such as pulses, oilseeds, and coarse cereals (millets) reduces both crop failure risk and water stress. The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) mandates the supply of subsidised foodgrains to approximately 67% of India's population, making kharif production shortfalls a direct food security and fiscal concern.

NFSA, 2013 covers approximately 81.35 crore beneficiaries under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).
Pulses and oilseeds are strategically important as India remains a net importer of both: edible oil imports alone cost approximately $20 billion annually [Unverified — 2025 estimate].
Short-duration varieties of crops like soybean (90-day varieties), moong (60-day varieties), and groundnut can fit compressed growing seasons in moisture-stressed environments.
The government has promoted millet cultivation under the "Shree Anna" initiative following India's presidency of the International Year of Millets (2023).

Connection to this news: The government's advice to shift to pulses, millets, and oilseeds is both a contingency crop strategy and a structural diversification imperative — reducing import dependence while managing monsoon risk.

Key Facts & Data

Districts mapped under contingency plans: 315 (of which 111 are high-priority with limited irrigation).
States covered: 12, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.
Rainfall deficiency at time of intervention: approximately 43% below the long-period average.
IMD seasonal forecast: 92% of LPA (below-normal category: below 96% of LPA).
Forecast characterisation: lowest monsoon rainfall in 11 years (2026).
El Nino threshold: warming of sea surface temperatures by 0.5°C or more in the Nino 3.4 region for at least five consecutive overlapping three-month periods.
Kharif share of India's foodgrain production: approximately 50%.
Rain-fed area as share of net sown area: approximately 55%.
MSP-recommending body: Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
MSP approval authority: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
Legal basis for food security: National Food Security Act, 2013.