-The Business Standard As the southwest monsoon enters the last leg of its four-month journey, 2013 will be remembered as one of the best years in overall quantum and distribution of rainfall across India. More than expected rain so far have pushed up kharif sowing in a big way, which will not only add its bit to gross domestic product (GDP) growth but blunt inflationary pressures. If the intensity is maintained, India...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: At the halfway mark, the monsoon shows no signs of flagging and, on current projections, is set to cross 100% of its long period average, promising to relieve a stressed economy and ease the Manmohan Singh government's political burden. A bountiful monsoon is likely to benefit the kharif crop despite some hiccups in east India and the government is anticipating record rice production with the area...

-The Economic Times KOLKATA: Paddy farmers in eastern India are a bit worried over erratic rainfall this year. The spread of the rainfall has not been uniform across the region which has prompted states like West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha to prepare contingency plans if the trend continues for long. The states are looking at options such as short-duration crops and direct seeding as possible ways of growing paddy in...

-The Business Standard According to Uttarakhand govt, there are over 3,000 people missing in the natural calamity Members of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday, slammed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), as a "mere spectator" during a natural or man-made calamity in the country. The members raised doubts on NDMA's functioning and asked why it was unable to give specific recommendations to state governments. PAC members, who have started considering the...

-The Hindu This year, the monsoon has been in rumbustious form. It swept in to Kerala on June 1 and then headed off north with surprising rapidity. So much so that the rain-bearing cloud systems covered the whole country by June 16, a process that is typically completed only by around the middle of next month. Moreover, it has rained copiously. Consequently, about three-quarters of the country have received much...