The Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) is the breadbasket of south Asia. The region witnessed higher growth rates for food grain production compared with other regions of the world. Most of this area is under rice-wheat cropping systems covering a total of 13.5 million hectares in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Extensive irrigation infrastructure, mechanization and easy access to production inputs, marketing and grain procurement services have contributed to these increases, especially in the western parts of the IGP. However, growth rates have decreased even as there is a wider recognition of environmental issues arising from the intensive and sometimes excessive use of inputs. The long-term sustainability of these systems is now a subject of attention. There is a general consensus that quality of natural resource base needs to be improved for enhanced productivity in the eastern IGP. Also, it is believed that future productivity growth would come about through better risk management strategies in the drought and flood prone marginal tracts of the eastern Gangetic plains. Targeting the resource conserving technologies offers newer opportunities to provide for better livelihood for the resource poor, densely populated, small and marginal farmers of eastern Gangetic plains. Zero tillage allows farmers to establish a wheat crop almost immediately after rice harvest, thereby improving yields and input use efficiency. In eastern Indo Gangetic plains, November 15 to 10th December is recommended sowing time of wheat. Delay in sowing beyond 15th December reduces yield up to 55 per cent inspite of all input application. Conventionally farmers plough the fields by 4-5 times after rice harvest where rice-wheat is major cropping system. The soil of this region is heavy. Low water drainage, higher water holding capacity and excess soil moisture in these soils does not allow normal ploughing for wheat sowing even after harvest of rice in late December. The heavy clod formation also creates the problem in ploughing. All these compel for delay in wheat sowing by 15 –25 days and thus it goes till mid January. Due to this situation, the wheat sowing is delayed and consequently they harvest very poor yield. Conservation technology through zero tilled machines were adopted in farmers field of Sone Canal Command of Patna, which is the one of the oldest canal command of British India started in 1864. On-farm trials on various zero tillage methods in wheat was conducted at 67 farmer's fields with maximum yield was 35.5 q/ha under field king rotary disc drill with control traffic where crop was sown in rice residue. The next higher yielder method was zero till wheat in zero till rice (double zero till) with yield of 31.96 q/ha. Zero till equal row and paired row were also better performer over conventional rice–wheat system (24.52 q/ha). There was saving of Rs. 1500 – 1700/ha under tillage operation. Yield gain was 9.0 q/ha under timely sowing and about 2.5 q/ha under extreme late sowing. There was no saving of water due to field-to-field irrigation, as the area is canal irrigated without irrigation channels in the field. Maximum total benefit was Rs. 8,500/ha. Biophysical performance, economic gains, resource conservation, effect on weed, irrigation water and crop vigor; benefits and constraints; yield and social performance and response of stakeholders were observed. Linkages of zero tillage technology with livelihood improvement were also studied.