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The rice‒wheat farming system is considered as the greatest energy-intensive agricultural practice in South‒East Asia. In light of declining system production and profitability, burning of residues, soil erosion, depletion of renewable resources, and environmental degradation, the sustainability of the rice‒wheat cropping system is being questioned. As a result, energy and money efficient conservation agricultural methods are becoming more and more necessary to accomplish sustainable output. A field experiment was carried out in this regard to evaluate the effects of varying degrees of rice residue retention and nutrient management options on zero-tillage grown wheat growth, yield, phenology, economics, energy budgeting, and CO2 emissions. In the experiment, there were five different nutrient management options (recommended dose and Nutrient Expert based dose with and without seed inoculating biofertilizer Azotobacter and Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria, PSB in short along with a control) and four different rice residue load treatments (rice residues retained at 0, 15, 30, and 45 cm from the ground level). The treatments that managed nutrients using Nutrient Expert (NE) and kept residues at a height of 15 and 30 cm above ground, both with and without biofertilizer inoculation, showed better growth and yield in both years. Higher net energy, energy productivity and energy use efficiency were achieved with the treatment combination that kept residues at a height of 30 cm and suggested nutrients using NE software or recommended fertilizer doses (RDF), which included inoculating seeds with biofertilizers. Under the treatments where fertilizers were given more often, there was a larger release of CO2. The treatment that kept residues at a height of 30 cm and used NE software to recommend nutrients along with seed inoculation of biofertilizers (R2N5) resulted in higher gross returns (₹111,315 ha−1 and ₹109,342 ha−1), net returns (₹60,957 ha−1 and ₹61,797 ha−1), and B:C (2.21 and 2.30) during 2021–2022 and 2022–2023, respectively. Therefore, maintaining residues at their ideal level, managing nutrients through NE, and incorporating biofertilizers into the seeds could be advantageous for wheat production and result in an energy-efficient and lucrative cropping system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]