MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The monsoon, which accounts for about 75% of India’s annual rainfall, is the lifeblood of its nearly $3 trillion agriculture-dependent economy.
Asia’s third-largest economy and the world’s top producer of a host of critical crops such as rice, wheat and sugar has received 11% more than average monsoon rain since the four-month season began on June 1. An average monsoon is rainfall between 96% and 104% of a 50-year average of 89cm over the season.
However, the uneven nature of this year’s monsoon - patchy in some areas, with torrential downpours in others - has raised concerns about crop yields and output, complicating government efforts to tame inflation.
The spread and distribution of monsoon rainfall has been erratic across India. Overall monsoon rains were 8% below average in June, with a shortfall as high as 54% in some regions.
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