SatSure Analytics, EXPERIQS, and VARSAPRADAYA have developed tech-led solutions to improve climate intelligence for agriculture and strengthen rural risk management.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has recognized three startups for developing digital solutions to help India’s agricultural sector respond more effectively to climate-related risks. SatSure Analytics India Pvt Ltd, EXPERIQS Pvt Ltd, and VARSAPRADAYA Pvt Ltd have emerged as the top three winners of the National Climate Stock Innovation Challenge.
The initiative focuses on building stronger digital infrastructure for climate-resilient agriculture, with better access to localized data expected to support decision-making across the rural economy.
The winning solutions are based on the DiCRA framework.
The winning solutions are based on the Data in Climate Resilient Agriculture (DiCRA) framework, which combines satellite imagery, artificial intelligence and climate modelling to generate insights for agricultural applications. SatSure Analytics secured the first position with a climate vulnerability index designed to assess and rank villages according to their exposure to weather-related risks.
EXPERIQS, which ranked second, developed a drought-monitoring platform to identify changing drought conditions and assess their potential impact on crop cycles. The third-place solution from VARSAPRADAYA focuses on hazard scoring and irrigation planning, using data to support agricultural management and resource allocation.
Why does climate data matter to rural finance?
Climate-related uncertainty is a significant concern for financial institutions with exposure to rural and agricultural lending. Crop failures caused by droughts, excessive rainfall or other extreme weather events can affect farm incomes and, in turn, borrowers’ ability to repay loans. More precise information about local climate and agricultural risks could therefore help banks, non-banking financial companies and insurers improve their assessment of rural exposure.
This growing intersection of technology, agriculture, and finance is contributing to interest in climate fintech, where data-driven tools are increasingly considered for risk assessment and financial planning. Recognition through the challenge is only an early step. The broader significance of these technologies will depend on whether they can be deployed reliably across India’s varied agricultural regions and climatic conditions. The accuracy of predictive models will also remain important as weather patterns become increasingly difficult to anticipate. Errors in climate-risk assessments could affect lending decisions, insurance pricing and agricultural planning.
The next stage to watch will be how NABARD incorporates the winning technologies into its broader digital framework.
