- Saturday, July 27, 2024
By: indiaweekly.biz Staff
INDIA’S monsoon rains were 35 per cent below average in the week ending on Wednesday (24), with little rainfall over the central, western and northern parts of the country, the weather office said, raising concerns over the output of summer-sown crops.
Monsoon rains are crucial for farm output and economic growth as about 55 per cent of India’s arable land is rain-supplied and agriculture forms about 15 per cent of a $2.5 trillion economy that is the third biggest in Asia.
The biggest soybean-growing central state of Madhya Pradesh received 67 per cent less rainfall than average in the week, while top cotton-producing Gujarat received 47 per cent less, data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed.
Overall, India has received 19 per cent less rain than average since the monsoon season began on June 1.
