National Climate Stack Innovation Challenge to Strengthen Rural Climate Resilience

Key facts

• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) launched the National Climate Stack Innovation Challenge in collaboration with The Gates Foundation and Dalberg Advisors.
• The initiative aims to build a National Climate Stack to strengthen climate resilience in rural India by integrating fragmented climate datasets and forecasting models.
• The challenge seeks proposals for credible near-term (10-15 year) climate hazard forecasting frameworks and practical use-case dashboards for agriculture and rural finance.
• The open call for proposals from research institutions, universities, startups, and private-sector innovators is scheduled for 6th March 2026.
• The screening and shortlisting of high-potential teams based on eligibility and methodology will take place between March and April 2026.
• Shortlisted teams will participate in a 6-8 week guided model development sprint between April and May 2026 to refine climate hazard models.
• Technical validation and jury-led selection of final awardees will be conducted between May and June 2026 based on scientific rigour and scalability.
• The target beneficiaries include the agriculture, rural finance, and public planning sectors in rural India.
• The initiative aligns with the Honourable Prime Minister’s vision of leveraging technology to democratise climate data for a more resilient rural India.
• The Ministry and total budget outlay for the initiative are not specified in the article.