-The Hindu The Hindu decided to find out whether these forecasts have worked in the past. Answer (based on 10 years of forecast data): not very accurately Chennai: Following the India Meteorological Department’s forecast of an ‘above normal’ monsoon of 106 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) on Tuesday, The Hindu decided to find out whether these forecasts have worked in the past. Answer (based on 10 years of forecast...

-The Indian Express Every crisis produces its fall guy. This time, it is sugarcane that’s bearing the brunt of the blame for drought, especially in Maharashtra’s worst-affected Marathwada region. Sugarcane, no doubt, requires 2,100-2,200 mm of water, more than the 1,400 mm or so for paddy, 900 mm for cotton, 600 mm for jowar (sorghum) and arhar (pigeon-pea), 550 mm for wheat, and under 500 mm for soyabean and chana (chickpea). But then,...

-The Hindu Central Water Commission data on live storage show that only 23 per cent of capacity is available, and this is well below last year. Water levels in major reservoirs of the country are alarmingly low, weekly data released by Central Water Commission (CWC) shows. CWC, a technical organisation under the aegis of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, monitors live storage status of 91 major reservoirs in the...

-Livemint.com One year after the implementation of 14th Finance Commission recommendations, 14 states have cut back on rural spending New Delhi: At a time when everybody is talking about rural distress, it seems many state governments have decided to turn their back on farmers. Data from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Analysis of State Budgets report shows that 14 out of 31 states cut their rural spending in 2015-16 compared...

-The Hindu Waning El Nino among factors underlying Met office’s optimism. In line with recent predictions by private weather forecasters, India’s official weather forecasting agency too has said the monsoon is likely to be “above normal” and likely to be 106 per cent of the average of 89 cm. Monsoon rains within 96 per cent and 104 per cent of this average are considered “normal” in the terminology of the India Meteorological Department...