Investing.com — India has prepared contingency plans for more than 300 districts facing risks from a weak monsoon as the country increases preparations for the summer-sown season, Farm Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Tuesday.
Monsoon rains have fallen about 43% below average so far, and the weather office has forecast weak rains through the week ending July 2, Chouhan told reporters after chairing a meeting with state farm ministers, officials and scientists.
The India Meteorological Department defines average rainfall as between 96% and 104% of a 50-year average of 87 centimeters for the June-September monsoon season. The weather office forecast last month an El Niño-weakened monsoon in 2026 that would bring the lowest rainfall in 11 years.
The monsoon delivers about 70% of annual rains in the world’s most populous nation of 1.4 billion people. The seasonal rains are essential for replenishing water sources in India, where nearly half of farmland lacks irrigation and about half the population relies on farming for income.
India holds sufficient stocks of staples such as rice and wheat, Chouhan said.
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