Economic Outlook

20 Jun 01:43PM

Experts opine that a poor south west monsoon could spell disaster for India’s agriculture-based economy as a bad monsoon invariably means bad crop production and inflation. According to them, another disruption in the weather pattern can have serious consequences in terms of the country’s food security. In India, monsoon accounts for around 70 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall and irrigates 60 per cent of its net sown area. Nearly half of the population depends on agriculture directly or indirectly. While the India Meteorological Department has forecast a normal monsoon for the fiscal, its slow progress in the first half of June has raised apprehensions about a delay in the sowing of crops such as paddy.