One day consultation workshop on SukhaRakshak AI(Artificial Intelligence) for Drought Management in India was organized by International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and ICAR-CRIDA at ICAR- Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture Hyderabad on 13-8-2025. The work shop aim is to present SukhaRakshak AI to key stakeholders, gather feedback from users and decision-makers, and co-design strategies for field-level deployment and scaling.
SukhaRakshak AI (“Drought Protector”) India’s first anticipatory, AI-powered drought advisory system is developed by IWMI in collaboration with ICAR and CRIDA.
SukhaRakshak AI leverages artificial intelligence, satellite-based earth observation, probabilistic weather forecasts, and localized agriculture contingency plans to deliver personalized, predictive drought advisories in over 20 Indian languages. It empowers farmers to take timely decisions such as shifting to short-duration crops, adopting water saving practices, or preparing livestock feed alternatives before the drought’s impacts escalate.
The event brought together Dr. Alok Sikka, Country Representative India & Bangladesh / Senior Fellow, IWMI; Dr. Giriraj Amarnath, Principal Researcher & Research Group Lead – Water Data for Climate Resilience, IWMI; Dr. Vinod Kumar Singh, Director, ICAR-CRIDA; Dr. K.V. Rao, Head Divisional Resource Management (DRM) ,ICAR-CRIDA; and Dr. Susama Sudhishri, Technical Expert, National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, along with agricultural extension officers from Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), state government officials, NGOs, researchers, and agriculture experts, Scientists from CRIDA
Dr. K.V. Rao welcomed dignitaries and participants, underlining the urgency of addressing water scarcity and the importance of AI integration in drought monitoring.
Dr. Giriraj Amarnath highlighted the key challenges, the need for holistic drought management, and the importance of quality data and collective action.
Dr. V.K. Singh showcased SukhaRakshak-AI’s features, language accessibility, and integration potential with contingency plans, noting the need for further upgrades.
Ms. Susama Sudhisri emphasized the criticality of managing India’s 51% rainfed cultivation area, outlining opportunities for scaling the tool across 12 states and integrating it with Krishi DSS.
Dr. Alok Sikka stressed the importance of actionable, AI-driven advisories, urged delegates to provide honest feedback for improvement, and called for validation and scaling before a national rollout.
Then presented an overview of SukhaRakshak-AI’s development, comparative advantages, pilot results, and next steps, including wider partnerships, integration with national systems, and regional scaling.
Later group discussions held on 1}Local Relevance and Advisory Design (2) Delivery Channels and Last-Mile Connectivity (3) Data, Forecast Integration, and Trust (4) Institutional Integration and Operationalization (5) Scaling and Sustainability .After group discussion group presentations held .
The user consultation workshop served as a pivotal platform for dialogue, co-creation, and alignment among key stakeholders involved in drought risk management, agricultural extension, AI innovation, and climate resilience in India This workshop provides a critical opportunity to validate system features, fine-tune its relevance to local needs, and explore avenues for institutional integration and scale-up.
A total of 60 participants from different Institutions along with agricultural extension officers from Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), state government officials, NGOs, researchers, and agriculture experts.
