eng Enviro Research Publishers Current Agriculture Research Journal 2347-4688 2321-9971 2024-08-30 12 5 515 529 20774 article Pavan Kumar Matham 1 Supriya Pattanayak 2 Nagesh Kolagani 3 Uma Shankari 4 Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM), Ramchandrapur, P.O.–Jatni, Bhubaneswar, Dist: Khurda, Odisha state, India School of Management, Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM), Ramchandrapur, P.O.–Jatni, Bhubaneswar, Dist: Khurda, Odisha state, India Saveetha School of Engineering, SIMATS, Chennai, India. E. Palaguttapalli Gram Panchayat, Chittoor district, AP state, India. Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN), Hyderabad, India Rainfed areas play a vital role in India's agriculture as they provide livelihood to 60% of the country's population and contribute substantially to its GDP. The productivity of rainfed areas is adversely affected by the increasing variability in rainfall. Climate change over the past few years has made rainfed agriculture precarious, with the impact being most harsh on small farmers. Rainfed area programmes implemented by the Governments over the last few decades to increase their productivity resulted mainly in increasing access to groundwater which are more beneficial to farmers who could afford them and less to those who depended solely on rainfall. These developmental initiatives are also not sustainable where governance systems are not strong. In contrast, there are well documented case studies across the country of rainfed crops being protected by the sustainable use of groundwater during critical dry spells. This paper reviews recent literature on rainfed agriculture, climate change and groundwater, with focus on productivity, sustainability and innovation to protect rainfed crops with limited groundwater resources. If the lessons learned from such experiments are incorporated into the design of rainfed area development programmes, greater benefit would accrue to rainfed areas and its farmers. https://www.agriculturejournal.org/volume12number2/rainfed-agriculture-and-use-of-groundwater-winners-and-losers-a-review-of-literature-of-experiences-in-india/ Climate change; Groundwater; India; Rainfed agriculture; Watershed development