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New Delhi, Sept 01: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and India Meteorological Department (IMD) signed an MoU to integrate IMD’s agro-meteorological data products into DiCRA (Data in Climate Resilient Agriculture), an open-source digital platform being supported by UNDP and NABARD. The objective is to primarily make this data freely accessible to farmers, financial institutions, policymakers, and researchers across India. The MoU was signed by Shri Sanjeev D. Rohilla, CGM, Department of Climate Action and Sustainability, NABARD and Shri Bikram Singh, Scientist-G & Head, RMC Mumbai, India Meteorological Department, in the presence of Dr Shaji Krishnan V., Chairman, NABARD, Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology, IMD and senior officials of both the organisations. The signing ceremony was attended by senior officers of NABARD and, along with representatives of partner organisations.

Under the MoU, IMD will provide a range of agro-meteorological data products through DiCRA, including district and block-level weather forecasts, agromet advisories, in-situ observations, and weather alerts. These products will be integrated into a dedicated Weather Portal within DiCRA’s existing suite of thematic portals, alongside DiCRA’s geospatial data on soil moisture, vegetation health, crop conditions, and climate vulnerability, helping users obtain decision-ready insights at the block and district levels.

NABARD will use DiCRA’s open APIs and data infrastructure to channel IMD’s agromet products — translated into actionable formats – through this network. District-level advisories, seasonal risk alerts, and weather-linked vulnerability assessments will be made available to researchers, policy makers, credit officers, field staff, and farmers through DiCRA’s web portal, mobile interface, and API integrations. The integration will also support NABARD’s existing weather portal within DiCRA, which is currently under development.