-Hindustan Times Policy makers have no control over fickle weather whims and complex forecasts. Regardless of the eventual course and quality of summer rains brought on by drafts of breeze that stream 8,000 km from the southern Pacific, the early predictions did give an early heads up of what was likely in the next few months. Yet, every drought year, India’s response to deal with scanty summer rains has been knee-jerk, marked...

-Business Standard Encourages states on short-duration and less of rain-dependent crops, pushes seed availability in case of re-sowing as IMD predicts deficit in rainfall this year Mumbai/ Hyderabad: With the forecast of monsoon rain revised downward, the Union ministry of agriculture has directed states to be ready with contingency plans. Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan said rainfall would be only 88 per cent of the long-term average from the 93 per cent expected...

-Business Standard Modi's flagship programme faces an uphill task of total irrigation One of the major pre-poll promises of the Narendra Modi government has been his idea of 'per drop more crop', which, in other words, means an extensive network of canals and irrigation facilities for farming. Pradhan Mantri Sinchaee Yojana, initially under the ministry of water resources, got transferred to the department of agriculture and its nomenclature was changed to the Pradhan...

-PTI The government on Wednesday said it has put in place a contingency plan for 580 districts to tackle any situation arising out of below-normal monsoon. As per the weather department forecast, monsoon would be below normal this year due to an impact of El Nino. Monsoon rains are expected to arrive on time this year, hitting Kerala on June 1. Last year, the country had received 12 per cent less rains, affecting production...

-Al Jazeera The country's summer rains are due to start on June 1, but they may still leave some farmers disappointed. India’s monsoon rains, upon which the country relies so heavily, are expected to arrive "on time" according to the country’s Meteorological Department (IMD). The arrival of the summer monsoon is monitored very closely in India. Agriculture accounts for 15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), and it employs some 60 percent of...