New Delhi: India is staring at "deficient" monsoon which could lead to shortfall in agricultural production as a major part of the country is still dependent on rainfall to irrigate the fields. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has revised its monsoon rainfall forecast from 93 to 88% ie "below normal" to "deficient", said Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan.
Harsh Vardhan added that India's North-West region which includes Delhi, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan will be affected as per the IMD forecast.
The MET department has said that the monsoon is now expected to hit the Kerala coast by the June 4, three days after its normal onset date.
The Southwest Monsoon had advanced over the Bay of Bengal by May 21. However, its progress has been sluggish because of anti-cyclone in the Arabian Sea.
The timely onset of the south-west monsoon is crucial for sowing of kharif (summer) crops such as paddy and a deficit in rainfall may hit output. Agriculture is heavily dependent on the monsoon as only 40 per cent of the cultivable area is under irrigation. Last year, the country had received 12 per cent less rains, which hit production of grains, cotton and oilseeds.
Agriculture growth stood at 0.2 per cent in 2014-15 fiscal. According to the government's estimate, total food grains production has declined to 251.12 million tonnes in 2014-15 crop year (July-June) from a record production of 265.04 million tonnes in 2014.
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