India

Vision

Aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, focused on economic growth, sustainability, market and technology-led innovations, and global competitiveness, the India Policy Innovation Hub informs policies towards transformation of India’s agri-food system into a high-productivity, climate-resilient, water-secure, inclusive and globally competitive sector.

The Hub will inform framing, designing and evaluate policies and investments related to:

• Evidence-based support for cropping systems transitions and natural resource management towards sustainable soil and water use, enhanced water productivity for resilient agri-food systems.
• Advancing diversification of rice–wheat systems toward higher-value, nutrition-rich and water-efficient crops, which is consistent with food security and sustainability goals.
• Bridging yield gaps, improved market integration both domestically and internationally and repurposing subsidies for enhancing farm income and resilience.
• Strengthening India’s role as a stable and responsible global agri-food supplier, while ensuring domestic food and nutrition security.
• Enhanced participation and high value positioning in Agri-food Global Value Chain.
• Agri value chain transformation through agrifood enterprises as driver of overall growth.
• Upscaling adoption of frontier and innovative technologies such as AI as growth and sustainability driver.

This vision positions agricultural transformation as a central pillar of India’s economic growth and environmental sustainability agenda.

Mission

The India Policy Innovation Hub advances India’s agri-food transformation through three integrated mission pillars:

Pillar 1: Policy Analytics
Generate actionable, forward-looking policy intelligence using advanced CGIAR modelling systems and empirical analyses adapted to Indian economic, agroecological and social realities:

• Economywide trade and subsidy landscape, empirical analysis and simulation
• Climate change impact assessments and climate smart investment prioritization 
• Groundwater and water productivity analytics
• Food policy trade-offs in the context of agriculture-nutrition- environment-livelihoods nexus

Pillar 2: Institutional Embedding & Capacity Strengthening
Embed advanced policy analysis within national institutions to strengthen and support evidence-based decision-making capacity:

• Integration of modelling and analytics for evidence-based decision making within ministries
• Long-term institutionalization of policy analytics

Pillar 3: Strengthening Research - Policy Engagement
Provide a platform for effective and regular engagement of research and policy stakeholders to support designing, stress-testing, and phased implementation of policy l reforms in:

• Repurposing Subsidy towards sustainable choices
• Groundwater governance and irrigation investment and policy designs 
• Trade and value chain integration strategies  
• Agricultural diversification pathways by leveraging policies and market integration
• Strengthening agriculture-nutrition linkages 

The Hub works alongside policymakers to translate evidence into politically and institutionally feasible and fiscally responsible reform pathways.

Flagship Initiatives

To operationalize its mission, the India Policy Innovation Hub anchors its work around high-impact flagship initiatives designed to deliver measurable structural outcomes.

• Repurposing subsidies balancing environmental sustainability, farmers’ income and economic efficiency
• Crop diversification, regenerative agriculture and ecological intensification
• Groundwater governance and natural resource management
• Market and trade for resilient agri-food system

A core pillar of the India Policy Innovation Hub is strengthening of analytical capacity and expertise, ensuring that Indian institutions can lead and disseminate complex agricultural policy analysis.  

A. Governance & Ownership Model: The Hub follows a co-development and joint-ownership approach:

• CGIAR-developed, open-access modelling and other analytical tools customized for Indian policy contexts.
• Technical architecture integrated within government systems through structured collaboration agreements.
• Policy analysis and validation conducted jointly with NARS and ministry technical teams.
• Embedding analytical systems in public policy assets rather than externally managed tools.

B. Capacity Strengthening & Knowledge Transfer: Capacity strengthening includes:

• Structured training workshops for ministry analysts and NARS.
• Collaborative policy studies and scenario co-design exercises.
• Development of policy simulation manuals and technical documentation.
• Peer-learning exchanges across ministries and states.

We deploy specialized science to solve specific bottlenecks in the Indian agri-food system:

• AOW 1 on Foresight & Prioritization: Developing Economywide Risk Profiles to identify vulnerabilities in food security and align with social inclusion and climate goals.
• AOW 2 on Market-Led Transformation: Analysing sustainable cropping systems diversification pathways and the impact of trade shifts and productivity shocks (e.g., seeds, fertilizer subsidies) on agricultural profits, nutrition and resource use efficiency. 
• AOW 3 on Governance & Policy Repurposing: Conducting Policy Information and Learning Agenda for Water Productivity (PILA4WP) analysis and mapping the policy landscape of the Ganges Basin to enhance water productivity and irrigation environments.
• AOW 4 on Water-Energy-Food-Environment (WEFE) Nexus: Implementing an Integrated Hydrological Model to identify groundwater hotspots in the Ganges Basin and integrated landscape level assessments identifying policy levers for sustainable land and water use and conservation.  
• AOW 6 on Social Policies and Employment: Supporting the design and evaluation of large-scale anti-poverty and job creation programs. 

The India Policy Innovation Hub operates through structured, multi-tier partnerships that combine policy demand, technical co-development, and global scientific innovations. Engagements move beyond consultation toward institutional embedding, co-creation, and long-term capacity strengthening.

A. Policy Demand Partners (National Level)

• NITI Aayog – Strategic policy alignment, reform prioritization, and cross-ministerial coordination
• Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare – Agricultural policy design, subsidy reform analytics, diversification pathways, and income strategies
• Ministry of Jal Shakti – Groundwater governance and irrigation investment planning
• Ministry of Commerce and Industry – export strategy, and global market stability analysis
• Ministry of Rural Development
• National associations such as NAAS: National Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Engagement modalities include joint analytical platforms, embedded advisory support, technical working groups, and policy simulation exercises.

B. State Government Partnerships

Recognizing that agriculture is state subject and state organizations are required in implementation, the Hub engages directly with state governments to co-create, pilot and inform reform pathways. 

C. Technical & Knowledge Partners 

Indian Council of Agricultural Research –  co-development of policy tools, and domestic scientific integration.

Global CGIAR institutions provide advanced modelling and empirical analysis platforms, domain expertise, and methodological leadership and capacity partnership:

• International Food Policy Research Institute – Economywide modelling, trade simulation, and policy impact analytics.
• International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics – Dryland systems research, climate resilience, water-budgeting, diversification strategies, and inclusive agricultural transformation.
• International Rice Research Institute – Rice systems modelling and productivity analysis.
• International Water Management Institute – Hydrological modelling, and groundwater systems analysis.

Partnership modalities include joint model customization, co-authored policy analytics-based research outcomes, shared technical architecture, and long-term institutional embedding within India NARES including state agricultural universities and government policy cells.

• KPI 1: Number of Policy Recommendations (e.g., Sustainable crop diversification strategy report, Trade modelling reports for rice exports; Groundwater impact reports;).
• KPI 2: Number of Policies/Investments Informed (e.g., National Drought Mitigation Program; Crop Diversification and regenerative agriculture schemes; Fertilizer subsidy reforms;).
• KPI 3: Number of National and State level Institutions Strengthened (e.g., Knowledge asset transfer and expertise building with NITI Aayog, ICAR, and the Ministry of Agriculture).

India stands at a pivotal moment in its agricultural and economic transformation. Achieving the ambitions of Viksit Bharat 2047 requires coordinated reform, institutional capacity, and data-driven policy systems that enable informed, forward-looking decision-making.

The India Policy Innovation Hub envisions collaborative partnerships:

• Central Ministries to embed near real-time evidence and analytics into reform design, fiscal planning, and policy stress-testing.
• State Governments to partner on district-level diversification, groundwater transition, and market-led agricultural transformation using evidence-based planning tools.
• Research Institutions to co-develop and refine advanced, data-driven policy simulation platforms tailored to Indian realities.
• Development and Financing Partners to support scalable, fiscally responsible, and evidence-backed transition pathways.

By strengthening capacity for data-driven policies, India can accelerate reforms that enhance farmer incomes, secure water resources, stabilize markets, and reinforce global food leadership.

The India Policy Innovation Hub welcomes strategic partnerships to institutionalize evidence at the core of India’s agri-food transformation.

Impact: Science-backed policies that secure India’s water future, create high-quality rural jobs, and stabilize global food markets.

Policy oriented recent journal papers

• Links between protein-source diversity, household behavior, and protein consumption inadequacy in the Indian rural semi-arid tropics. 
• Effects of climate change on food security and nutrition in India: A systematic review. 

Policy oriented book chapter

• Transforming Drylands: Systems-Based Sustainable Agriculture in Arid Western Rajasthan.
• What do we know about the future of food systems in South Asia?
• Estimating the effect of biological nitrification inhibition-enabled sorghum on nitrogen fertilizer consumption, life cycle GHG emissions, farmer's benefit, and fertilizer subsidy from Indian sorghum production

Success story on Transformation

• From Struggle to Sustainability: How Latur Farmers Transformed Agriculture and Their Livelihoods in Maharashtra.
• Comprehensive Project on Rice-Fallow Management (2023-2024)

Hub in the News

• Hub launch news on the ICRISAT website

For additional information about the Policy Innovation Hub in India you can contact:

• Dr. Shahidur Rashid, Director-South Asia, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) - [email protected]
• Dr. Shalander Kumar, Global Theme Leader, Socioeconomics, Inclusion and Impact, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics - [email protected]

Additional contacts:

• Dr. Mamata Pradhan, Research Coordinator, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) - [email protected]
• Dr. Abhishek Das, Agricultural Economist, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics - [email protected]