NEW DELHI: India's monsoon rains were 31 percent below average for the week ended June 25, weather office data showed on Thursday, the third straight week of poor rains after a delayed onset.

The June-September seasonal rains were 45 percent below average in the previous week as the progress of the monsoon halted after covering half of India four days later than the usual date.

India's farm sector shares around 14 percent of its nearly $2 trillion economy, and two-thirds of its 1.2 billion population live in rural areas.