-The Hindu Business Line A short delay does not impact sowing as there is a sufficient window The onset of Monsoon over Kerala has been less than reassuring. Not only is it late by five days compared with the normal date of June 1, but it has also failed to arrive in the eight-day window set around the median of May 30. The conspicuous lack of flourish has led many to doubt...

-Livemint.com Politicians prefer a short-term response over a more nuanced, structural solution to the problem of rural distress Confirming everyone’s worst fears, last week the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast a deficient Monsoon this year. The next day, some of the newspapers wrongly reported it as a drought (guess breathless reporting is no longer a preserve of the electronic media), adding to the disappointment of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) refusal...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Private forecasters are counting on temperature changes in the Indian Ocean to strengthen the Monsoon current like it did in 1997, when rainfall was normal, despite a strong El Nino. While forecasters are divided about the Monsoon outlook, experts say that India has become less vulnerable to Monsoon rain as the share of winter-sown crops has risen over the years, while only 40% of rural households...

-Deccan Herald Poor Monsoon forcing govt to intensify implementation Notwithstanding the scathing attack on UPA’s schemes, the Modi government would fall back on the previous regime’s flagship programme to rescue the rural economy from second consecutive deficient Monsoon. The government would intensify implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in drought hit areas to stop the slide in rural incomes. Officials revealed that the main thrust in MGNREGA implementation in drought affected...

-Outlook Pulses are falling off the poor man’s plate. Price rise may hit the middle class next. Pulses—all-important as a source of protein—are set to be spoilers this year in the government’s endeavour to keep a check on food inflation. Already, over the last nine months, the prices of some pulses have jumped 64 per cent in major cities. This is because of below-normal Monsoon last year, compounded by untimely rain and...