Heavy rainfall over the past week narrowed the overall monsoon deficit in the country to 14%. Bringing some relief to farmers concerned about weak rains in July and August, rainfall during the past few days also hit some rain-starved regions such as Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan and accelerated crop growth.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), water levels in most reservoirs of South India have increased significantly during past week. Increase in reservoirs will boost crop production in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana where rain deficit was more than 25%. However, there is no respite for the farmers of Punjab and Haryana where rain deficit is still 59% and above. The IMD stated that country's major reservoirs were filled to 71% (110.22 billion cubic metres) of the total capacity of 155.05 billion cubic metres, down from 82% last year, but better than the 10-year average of 69%.
Around 55% of agricultural land in the country depends entirely on rain. Timely and normal monsoon is also vital for rabi season (winter crops) also as it raises the water table and moisture content in the soil. Though, agriculture sector accounts for only about 15% of the economy, monsoon has a wider impact because it affects millions of people in villages who depend upon agriculture. Further, a poor monsoon can impact India’s exports, stoke inflation particularly food inflation and lead to lower demand for products ranging from cars to consumer goods.