India's fields are under siege. Heatwaves, floods, droughts, and cyclones are hitting harder and more often — and the people who grow the nation's food are bearing the brunt. But there's a problem hiding behind the problem: nobody can actually predict what's coming, at the scale that matters.

India's climate data is fragmented across institutions, siloed in proprietary models, and riddled with gaps in ground-truth validation. Without granular, decision-ready climate intelligence, farmers, banks, and policymakers are left planning entirely under uncertainty.

 That's the gap NABARD, the Gates Foundation, and Dalberg Advisors are now trying to close. They've launched the National Climate Stack Innovation Challenge — a national call to researchers, startups, universities, and private innovators to build credible 10–15 year climate hazard forecasting models and practical dashboards for rural India. 

The challenge is anchored in DiCRA, NABARD's existing climate data platform, with the goal of evolving it from a digital public good into full-scale, interoperable climate infrastructure. 

Applications opened on March 6, 2026. The top three winning solutions will receive prizes of ₹15 lakh, ₹10 lakh, and ₹5 lakh respectively — and standout entries may also be considered for real-world pilots through NABARD's partner programmes.