Ever since the Central Rice Research Institute realised in late 1970s that the impact of modern rice varieties and the production technologies developed for favourable irrigated rice lands are not suitable for augmenting rice production in Eastern India possessing nearly 58 per cent of the total rice area of the country, establishment of centres to tackle specialised problems of this region received priority. Upland rice makes up nearly 13% of the world's harvested rice area and 4% of rice production but supports millions who are completely dependent on it for their livelihood. India has about 7.1 million ha under rainfed upland rice, of which 6.2 m ha is located in the eastern region covering the states of Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha and the eastern parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.Central Rainfed Upland Rice Research Station was established at Hazaribag in erstwhile Bihar (now Jharkhand) in 1980 to develop technologies for augmenting agricultural productivity with special emphasis on rainfed upland rice. Eastern India has about 23.7 million ha under rice, 22% of which is grown in rainfed uplands. While no situation fully characterizes upland rice in India, the most common components are aerobic soils, absence of surface water accumulation, dependence on rain, plain to slopping topography and direct seeding. However, semi-aerobic situations in which short duration rice are direct seeded under dry conditions but where water accumulates for short periods of time, are also considered under upland rice.