-The Hindustan Times Despite a pickup in rainfall last week, the southwest monsoon remains in deficit by a significant 22%, almost certainly lowering annual production of grains, pulses and oilseeds, the three crops where sowing has been worst hit. The Met office’s estimate coincided with the release of food inflation data that showed a worrying 10.81% rise in June from a year earlier, up from a 10.74% rise in May, an...

-The Times of India After a good spell of rain over large parts of northwest India, including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand, a break in the monsoon system is likely over the next few days that can threaten to undo the gains recorded in July so far. Met officials say a break in rainfall is expected between Saturday and next Thursday. Only very light sporadic showers may occur over the region, with...

-MoneyLife.in Less than a week ago, the rainfall deficiency was nearly 50% of average. In a span of just six days, the deficiency was cut almost in half. Combine this feat with the fact that monsoon covered the entire country, four days earlier than normal and how does the glass now look? This is one season, so unpredictable that explains the heightened media interest in the monsoon progress. Much has been hyped...

-AFP Annual monsoon rains, crucial to India's economy, covered the country on Wednesday but remained 23 percent below average, sparking fears of their impact on two cereal-producing states. The pounding rains that sweep across the continent from June to September are dubbed the "economic lifeline" of India, which is one of the world's leading producers of rice, sugar, wheat and cotton. "The monsoon is covering the entire country today with parts of Gujarat...

-The Economic Times The monsoon has covered the key farming regions of central and northwestern parts of the country, giving a boost to sowing. However, the coarse grainproducing areas of western Rajasthan and Gujarat are yet to get any rain spell.  "The monsoon is progressing well. There are chances that rains will be good in July, allaying fears of a major crop loss. The July rain this time is likely to be...