The large scale adoption of long duration coarse grain rice varieties and combine harvesting have increased the incidences of in-situ rice residue burning in Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). Crop residue burning in addition to causing environmental pollution, is also responsible for loss of precious nutrients (complete nitrogen, about one fourth of phosphorus & potash and about three fourth of sulphur) and efficacy of soil active herbicides. The alternatives to rice residue burning are its removal, incorporation or retention. The in-situ management options are better and further, retention is more advantageous than incorporation in term of energy, time and cost effectiveness. In addition, the surface retention has a series of positive effects, such as, moisture conservation, weed suppression, temperature moderation, and improved soil health. Residue management practices (surface retention or incorporation) also influence the nutrient availability, crop water requirement, weed dynamics, herbicide efficacy, insect-pest infestation and mitigation of climate change effect on long term basis. Hence, the agronomic practices need to be adjusted to prevent temporal nitrogen immobilization, hindrance in precise seeding, weed flora shift, and new insect-pest incidents. Suitable machineries for seeding and harvesting are of paramount importance for proper crop establishment under in-situ residue management practices. Combines fitted with straw management system for uniform spread of straw help in efficient running of conservation agriculture (CA) seeding machines like Turbo Happy Seeder and Rotary Disc Drill. Moreover, for smooth running of CA machinery, the height of anchored straw should be kept as much as possible, so that lesser loose straw is present. The adoption of CA practices (no-tillage and residue retention) in wheat under rice-wheat system can help in improving wheat yield by advanced sowing and reduced problem of Phalaris minor Retz. Moreover, fertilizer application method and timing needs to be fine tuned under in-situ residue management options. The nitrogen top dressing should be done just before irrigation to avoid interception by surface retained residue which can enhance volatilization and immobilization losses of nitrogen. Higher efficacy of pre-emergence herbicides in surface retained residue scenario could also be realized by increasing the spray volume along with modifying the application time and placement of herbicides. Therefore, a paradigm shift in agronomic practices, with respect to paddy straw management, is required for enhancing system productivity and resource use efficiency. DOI: http://doi.org/10.25174/2249-4065/2019/96323