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With the rise in global population, food demand is increasing particularly in densely populated south Asia. In India, the rainfed area covers about 55% of the net sown area (139.42 M ha) and about 61% of the farmers are cultivating crops under the rainfed region. Almost 80% of small and marginal farmers of the country depended on rainfed farming for their livelihoods. Rainfall is the main source of water in drylands. Coping with the extreme variability in rainfall, high‑intensity storms, and high frequency of dry spells are the key challenges in rainfed agriculture as it is com‑plex, highly diverse and risk prone. Soil organic carbon (SOC) has a critical role in soil plant water relationships and contributes to drought mitigation. Increasing SOC by 1% may increase the avail‑able water holding capacity (AWHC) by 2% to> 5%. Soil organic matter content (SOM) is also vital to soil processes like nutrient dynamics, water …