The National Level Technical Committee (NLTC) met on September 22, 2026, under the REWARD programme to discuss the draft National Technical Guidelines. The guidelines will be utilized for future watershed development in India as part of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana 3.0.
On September 22, 2026, the National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, organized a National Level Technical Committee (NLTC) meeting under the REWARD (Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development) programme at NASC Complex in New Delhi. The Chief Executive Officer of NRAA, Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar, IAS, presided over the gathering which included Dr. A. K. Nayak, DDG (NRM), ICAR , Shri Nitin Khade, IAS, Joint Secretary (WM), DoLR, Dr. Subrat Panda, IAS, Director (DSC&WD), Odisha, Shri Upendra Pratap Singh, Commissioner, WDD, Karnataka (online), and approximately 45 other participants from various technical partners, ICAR Institutes, Agricultural Universities, IIT, NGOs, consortium partners, REWARD PMU team of DoLR and NRAA, and CoE-WM. Dr. Susama Sudhishri, Technical Expert (Watershed Development) and PI-REWARD, NRAA, coordinated the meeting.
Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar emphasized on the validation of statements made in the draft NTG based on data collected in the REWARD programme. He also advised state governments, specifically Odisha and Karnataka, to share their watershed data and Decision Support System with all stakeholders. Dr. A. K. Nayak, DDG (NRM), ICAR, emphasized on integrating Land Resource Inventory (LRI) and Hydrology for improved planning of watersheds.
Dr. A. K. Nayak also suggested that methodologies adopted to arrive at certain results should be clearly written in the NTG, and web portals should be developed promptly. Shri Nitin Khade opined that the preparation time for DPR may be compressed from 6 months to 3 months for more execution time, and aspects of convergence of sectors should be explored and included in the NTG.
At the start of the meeting, Dr. Susama Sudhishri presented the action taken report of the last NLTC meeting and also presented the additions made in the draft of the National Technical Guidelines (NTG).
Source:
Press Information Bureau
