South Asia, the most populous and vulnerable regions of the world facing challenges of natural resource degradation (soil, water and energy). Western Indo-Gangetic plains (IGP) of South Asia through intensive rice-wheat (RW) system played a crucial role in food security to feed the billions. In traditional RW system, repeated tillage, residue burning and over-pumping of ground water are the major causes of concern for systems sustainability, resource deterioration and environmental pollution. To address these issues in RW system, conservation agriculture (CA) based sustainable intensification practice including diversified rotations and precision input (water, nitrogen) management are needed to achieve sustainability with higher profitability in IGP. At ICAR-CSSRI-CIMMYT strategic research platform at Karnal (29°70′N, 76°96′E), India, six management scenarios (Sc) consisting i) conventional-till (CT) rice-CT wheat (Sc.1; farmers’ practice; FP); ii) CT rice-Zero tillage (ZT) wheat-ZT mungbean with flood irrigation (Sc.2); iii) ZT rice-ZT wheat-ZT mungbean with flood irrigation (Sc.3) ZT maize-ZT wheat-ZT mungbean with flood irrigation (Sc.4); v) ZT rice-ZT wheat-ZT mungbean with subsurface drip irrigation (SSDI) (Sc.5); vi) ZT maize-ZT wheat-ZT mungbean with SSDI (Sc.6) were evaluated. On 2year mean basis, wheat yield was increased by 14 and 17% and net returns by 27 and 42% with flood and SSDI irrigation, respectively in CA- based system over farmers’ practice. In CA-based system, irrigation water productivity (WPI) of wheat was increased by one time (100%) with flood and one and half times with SSDI system over farmers’ practice. Rice-wheat system with full CA+SSDI (Sc.5) recorded similar productivity with ~55% (133 cm/yr) saving in irrigation water and increased irrigation water productivity (WPI) by almost two times compared to farmers’ practice (FP). However, substitution of rice with maize [maize-wheat (MW) system] with full CA+SSDI (Sc.6) recorded ~10% higher productivity, saved 88% (200 cm/yr) of irrigation water and increased WPI by eight times compared to conventional RW system. CA- based wheat systems with flood irrigation enhanced the crop productivity by ~13%, water productivity by ~44%, and profitability by 35% while saving in irrigation water by 35% compared to conventional-till (CT)-based systems. The SSDI system improved the nitrogen use efficiency by 20% in both CA- based RW and MW systems. Layering of adapted component technologies (water, nutrient etc.) with CA- based management practices showed the potential for sustaining the food bowl with higher productivity and economic profitability while conserving natural resources and ensuring food security under the emerging climate change scenario.