India is facing various challenges in agriculture sector for sustaining soil fertility and food grains production, besides environmental degradation and food security of the country in the event of ever increasing demands of food grains production with limited cultivable land. Cultivable land and maintaining its soil fertility are one of the major tasks which supports about 17.6% of its population and leads to fact that, our natural resources are under considerable strain. Food grains are a major source of energy and are thus are vital for food and nutritional security. Besides, technological advances and use of machinery for crop harvesting leave behind large quantities of crop residues, which is burnt by farmers as cheap and easiest method with misconception that, burning of crop residues enhances soil fertility and helps in control weeds, insects and pests. From various studies, it is concluded that burning of crop residues result in heavy loss of organic carbon as well as soil nutrients, emits large amount of submicron aerosols and trace gases like Carbon dioxide (CO₂), Sculpture dioxide (SO₂), Carbon mono-oxide (CO) and smoke, thereby posing problem to environment and human health hazards. As per Ministry of New and Renewal Energy, about 500 Mt of crop residues are generated annually in India, used as animal feeding, soil mulching, composting, uses in mushroom production etc. As such, crop residues have tremendous plant nutrients, however, a large quantity of the crop residues (about 93 Mt) is burnt on-farm and primarily to clear the field for sowing of the successive crop and farmer also burn due to shortage of labour farmer can’t be able to manage the residues, so they simple burn it (NPMCR, 2019). Crop residues also act as an alternate host for many of the insect, pest and diseases(Cox et al., 2004).In view of above, efforts were made to collect the data and suggest various technical and policy options for crop residue management to prohibit crop residue burning, enhancing soil fertility besides prevention of environmental degradation. The major recommendations includes, incorporation of crop residue in to the soil, adoption suitable crop rotation as recommended by ICAR or in Soil Health Care provided to the farmers, promotion of alternate competitive methods of utilizing residues in Small Scale Industries  for use of crop residue/rice straw in paper/board/panel and packing material and biomass power plants establishment in Public Private Partnership mode to ensure economic return to the farmers and sustaining soil fertility and food grains production, besides prevention of environmental degradation in the country.

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