Climate resilience

Policies and Schemes

Climate finance and management of climate change risks

Agrometeorology is the study of weather and its impact on agriculture

To combat climate change, farms need reliable access to water. Climate change leads to unpredictable weather, like droughts and floods. By using water wisely and adopting efficient techniques, farmers can ensure sustainable crop production and build resilience

/climate-resilience/awards-for-climate-resilience

Provides information on Awards for Climate Resilience

/climate-resilience/district-contingency-plans-for-weather-aberrations

Provides district contingency plans for 
weather aberrations evolved by ICAR-CRIDA

Climate change can directly affect food security by impacting crop yields, livestock health, and access to clean water, potentially leading to malnutrition. Practices like crop diversification, integrated pest management, kitchen gardens and sustainable water use can help produce more nutritious food while mitigating climate change impact

/climate-resilience/10-ways-to-protect-nature-and-the-environment

Provides ten ways of how we can protect Nature and the Environment

March end every year - Earth Hour has been known for the “lights off” moment, with individuals from around the globe switching off their lights to show symbolic support for the planet.

/climate-resilience/the-impact-of-disasters-on-agriculture-and-food-security

The FAO flagship publication - The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security

/climate-resilience/10-things-we-should-give-back-to-nature

Nature has been our greatest provider—offering clean air, fertile soil, fresh water, and awe-inspiring landscapes without ever sending a bill. But as cities expand, industries accelerate, and consumption rises, humanity has taken more than we return. Climate change, habitat loss, pollution, and species extinction are not isolated problems—they’re symptoms of an imbalanced relationship.

Provides an overview or Urban resilience amidst the challenges of climate change.

/climate-resilience/climate-friendly-lifestyle-practices-in-india

The topic briefly outlines the Climate friendly lifestyle practices in India.

SMART AXOM is a real-time early warnings/alerts platform that provides enabling analytics in Spatial Domain for Monitoring and Management of Disaster Events.

/climate-resilience/traditional-knowledge

Provides a collection of traditional knowledge practices and systems that enabled climate resilience

/climate-resilience/building-a-resilient-future-understanding-and-achieving-climate-resilience

Climate resilience refers to the ability of a system – whether it's a community, an ecosystem, or infrastructure – to anticipate, absorb, accommodate, or recover from the effects of a hazardous climate-related event in a timely and efficient manner. 

Primary sources of livelihood in rural economies like agriculture, fishing, and livestock rearing are often heavily affected due to climate change. Adaptation and resilience-building are crucial for coping with extreme weather and changing environmental conditions.

With the rising temperature and increasing climatic change events, women are much more vulnerable and susceptible to risk. Empowering women is a way forward towards achieving sustainability, poverty elimination, rural economic development, climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation.

How is climate resilience and agriculture interlinked? 

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/mangrove-initiative-for-shoreline-habitats-and-tangible-incomes

Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) envisages to develop and conserve Mangroves ecosystem in the coastal region of the country.

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/bird-conservation-avian-conservation-and-ecology

Bird conservation and avian ecology are fundamental to maintaining Earth’s biodiversity and ecological balance. Birds are deeply connected to forests, wetlands, agriculture, oceans, climate systems, and human civilization itself. Their ecological roles as pollinators, seed dispersers, scavengers, predators, and environmental indicators make them indispensable components of healthy ecosystems.

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/waste-management-innovations-in-himalayan-states

Provides policy reforms that promote innovative waste management in Himalayan States.

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/initiatives-to-promote-organic-and-climate-smart-farming

Brief overview of the government's initiatives to Promote Organic and Climate Smart Farming is provided here.

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/framework-on-water-governance-standards-in-agriculture

The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Famers Welfare has formulated a Framework on Water Governance Standards (WSG) in Agriculture to be implemented by each State/UT to enable communities to achieving better water governance.

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/schemes-to-address-climate-change

Provides information on schemes implemented to address Climate Change

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/climate-action-special-panchayat-award

Details about Climate Action Special Panchayat Award of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj is provided here. 

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/national-repository-for-deep-sea-fauna

The Bhavasagara Referral Centre  of Center for Marine Living Resources & Ecology, Kochi, Kerala has been officially designated as a National Repository for Deep-Sea Fauna by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/india’s-intended-nationally-determined-contribution

This topic provides information about Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) that India has submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/national-wildlife-week

The National Wildlife Week is celebrated every year during October 2 - 8.

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/climate-finance-and-management-of-climate-change-risks

Reserve Bank of India has provided applicable guidelines as well as guidance related to climate finance and management of climate change risks.

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/national-climate-vulnerability-assessment-report

The National climate vulnerability assessment report released today has identified Jharkhand, Mizoram, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal as states highly vulnerable to climate change.

/climate-resilience/policies-and-schemes/global-forest-resources-assessment

The Global Forest Resources Assessment, published by the FAO, provides a comprehensive analysis of the world's forests, revealing trends in deforestation, forest management, and carbon stocks.

Provides information related to policies and scheme for climate resilience 

/climate-resilience/world-environment-day

The topic covers about World Environment Day - June 5. 

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks - Climate Finance and Management of Climate Change Risks) Directions, 2025. It provides applicable guidelines as well as guidance related to climate finance and management of climate change risks.
The objective is to enable commercial banks to carry out comprehensive assessment of climate change risks, integrate climate change risk considerations into their extant risk management frameworks and structures and optimise flow of credit to green activities / projects overcoming greenwashing challenges, protecting interest of the depositors, and thereby aiding customers to achieve their sustainability agenda.
<h3>Terminologies related to Climate finance</h3>
<ul>
<li>Green activities / projects means activities / projects meeting the requirements prescribed in the Directions;</li>
<li>Green deposit means an interest-bearing deposit, received by a bank for a fixed period and the proceeds of which are earmarked for allocation towards green finance;</li>
<li>Green finance means lending to and / or investing in green activities / projects meeting the requirements prescribed in paragraph 14 of these Directions. Such lending contributes to climate risk mitigation, climate adaptation and resilience, and other climate-related or environmental objectives - including biodiversity management and nature-based solution;</li>
<li>Greenwashing means the practice of marketing products / services as green, when in fact they do not meet requirements to be defined as green activities / projects</li>
</ul>
<h3>Overview of the guidelines</h3>
The key provisions of the guidelines are as follows.
Objective &amp; Scope
<ul>
<li>Frameworks for commercial banks to assess and manage climate change risks, prevent greenwashing, and direct credit towards environmentally sustainable activities.</li>
<li>Applies to all commercial banks operating in India (excluding Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, and Local Area Banks).</li>
</ul>
Key Provisions
<ul>
<li>Board Governance &amp; Policy: Banks offering green deposits must implement Board-approved Green Deposit Policies and Financing Frameworks, published publicly on their websites.</li>
<li>Green Deposit Features: Denominated only in INR with no differential interest rates compared to standard deposits; covered under DICGC insurance; permits premature withdrawal and overdraft facilities.</li>
<li>Eligible Financing Categories:
<ul>
<li>Renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, climate change adaptation, green buildings, and sustainable water/waste management.</li>
<li>Sustainable land use, organic farming, forestry, and biodiversity conservation.</li>
<li>Exclusions: Fossil fuel projects, nuclear power, direct waste incineration, palm oil, tobacco, weapons, alcohol, gaming, and hydropower plants &gt; 25 MW.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Temporary Allocation: Unallocated proceeds can be temporarily parked only in Level 1 High-Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA) for a maximum original tenure of 1 year.</li>
<li>Assurance &amp; Impact Reporting: Mandatory annual third-party verification/assurance regarding allocation and end-use of funds.</li>
<li>Annual impact assessment reports measuring specific indicators (e.g., GHG emissions avoided, MWh generated).</li>
<li>Annual reporting to the Board within 3 months of financial year-end and public disclosures on the bank's website.</li>
</ul>
<a title="External website that opens in new window" href="https://rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_ViewMasDirections.aspx?id=13138" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks - Climate Finance and Management of Climate Change Risks) Directions, 2025</a>