India is highly affected by climate change, with frequent extreme weather events like heavy rainfall, heat waves, and temperature fluctuations disrupting water resources, rural infrastructure, and public health. Women and rural households are the most vulnerable groups to these natural disasters.
The severity of climate events across agro-climatic zones complicates disaster response. With 65 per cent of India’s population living in rural areas, social protection systems are limited. Pollution as well as the overuse of land and water further reduce livelihood opportunities.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS), the world’s largest social assistance programme, offers monetary support to affected households and serves as a vital safety net during extreme weather events.
The ability of institutions to implement adaptive social protection through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in rural India has improved.
The project implements targeted measures to enhance adaptive social protection in rural India:
• It trains Mahatma Gandhi NREGS staff to implement adaptive social protection measures and introduces a digital decision-support tool to guide implementation.
• The project develops recommendations to expand permissible works under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS and conducts pilot demonstrations of adaptive social protection innovations.
• It facilitates multi-stakeholder dialogues and international exchanges between the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India and actors in social protection, disaster risk management, and climate change adaptation.