Soil erosion is still a serious environmental issue in India and other parts of the globe, despite years of research and significant expenditure in repair and prevention. Furthermore, the issue is being exacerbated by changing climate and/or weather patterns. Our goal was to look at historical and present soil conservation programs in India to see how production, environmental, social, economic, and regulatory concerns have influenced soil and water conservation, as well as the incentives required to solve the most pressing issues. Institutions and operations must be coordinated using a comprehensive approach to ensure success in soil and water conservation programs, we discovered. Watershed programs have been shown to be one of the most successful methods for bringing socioeconomic development to India's various regions. Watershed management has quietly transformed agriculture in both dryland and rain fed regions by harmonizing different sectors via technical soil and water conservation interventions and land-use diversification. Significant outcomes from various watershed-scale soil and water conservation programs and interventions that were successful in decreasing land degradation and increasing productivity in various areas of the nation are highlighted.