-The Times of India   PUNE/NEW DELHI: Acknowledging the shadow of El Nino on this year's monsoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday predicted below normal June-September rains at 95% of the long period average. In its first long period forecast for this year, IMD said there was a 56% probability of below normal to deficient rains, as compared to a 44% chance of rains being normal or better. The department...

-Reuters   PUNE: India and its South Asian neighbours are expected to see below average to average rains this year if the El Nino weather pattern gains strength during the four-month monsoon season, a forum of weather experts said on Wednesday. Poor monsoons could dent crop output in India - the world's No.2 rice and sugar producer, while less rains in soybean areas could make the country, already the world's top importer...

-Bloomberg   Actual rainfall may be five per cent more or less than the prediction The monsoon in India, which provides about 70 per cent of annual rainfall, will be normal this year amid forecasts for the emergence of an El Niño that previously caused droughts, government officials said. Rain could be 96 per cent of a 50-year average of 89 cm (35 inches) in the June-September period, said two officials with direct knowledge...

-Deccan Herald   Barely emerging out of the shadows of freak weather, the warning of a weak monsoon will push millions of farmers into dire straits. In the midst of all the noise and muck-slinging that dominates the election campaigns there is bad news on the horizon. No, I am not talking of the possibility of a hung Parliament where the numbers don't add up for any political front, but the possibility of...

-The Hindu   Price rise is one of the key issues in this election, and the latest data on inflation spell bad news for the incumbent UPA government; the monster is rearing its head again after lying low over the last three months. Retail inflation, specifically food price inflation, has rebounded in March on the back of rising prices of vegetables and fruits. Wholesale food prices rose 9.9 per cent with rice...