Recently, the Maharashtra government made it compulsory for all the sugarcane farmers to switch to drip method of irrigation over a period of 3 years. The report investigates its effect on small and marginal sugarcane farmers in terms of the initial investment, adoption challenges and the said benefits of this technology. The targeted beneficiaries of the recent policy change were identified using Agriculture Census data 2011-12 at the taluka level. Based on secondary data analysis and available contacts, Baramati taluka (Pune) and Osmanabad taluka (Ruibhar village) were chosen as the study area. Baramati has numerous farmers using drip technology whereas Ruibhar has both types of irrigation – furrow and drip. Additionally, drip irrigation was also studied in detail to understand its technical characteristics and policy interventions by government in micro irrigation sector as a whole. Key outcomes of these field visits and data analysis include identification of the barriers in adopting drip irrigation technology and another research question of how irrigation schedules – both furrow and drip methods – are impacting the yield, water and electricity consumption, which will be pursued in the second phase of the M.Tech project.