India continues to maintain its streak of world-beating economic growth after GDP for the March quarter beat all expectations with a 6.1 per cent expansion that helped push the annual growth rate to 7.2 per cent. After this, the Indian economy is now USD 3.3 trillion in size. Asia’s third-largest economy beat all estimates to grow at 6.1 per cent in January-March, the last quarter of the 2022-23 fiscal, up from...

Private weather forecaster Skymet expects the upcoming June-September Monsoon to be 'below normal' to the tune of 94% of the long period average (LPA), raising concerns about food grain production in the country. In January, Skymet had forecast the Monsoon 2023 to be sub-par and now retains the same outlook.  "Courtesy Triple-Dip-La Nina, southwest Monsoon observed above normal/normal rainfall for the last four consecutive seasons. Now, La Nina has ended. Likelihood...

CNBC TV18 The Centre has allowed an early procurement of wheat procurement by states to avert the possibility of any distress sale by farmers. Despite the pre-Monsoon rains increasing moisture content in the rabi crop, government sources have maintained that the procurement cycle is on track and there hasn't been any adverse climatic impact on wheat harvest or supply so far. While government sources indicated that wheat procurement in Madhya Pradesh will...

Newsclick There is an acute shortage of teachers in government-run primary, upper primary and composite schools in Uttar Pradesh, despite the guidelines on the teacher-to-student ratio issued under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) of 2009. The new academic session of Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Board schools is about to begin next month (April 1) but about 51,000 posts of assistant teachers are lying vacant in the...

Hindu Businessline El Nino is one piece in the mammoth jigsaw puzzle that the Pacific Ocean and its seasonal climatic patterns typify. Being the largest single body of water, the Pacific has an outsized influence on weather and climate across the globe. During El Niño, trade winds weaken and warm water gets pushed back East of the Pacific, towards the West coast of the Americas.  Generally, El Niño occurs more frequently than...