The southwest monsoon has started showing much needed signs of revival in the past few days, after a subdued spell from June-end to mid-July that fuelled inflationary concerns on the back of a dip in kharif sowing.
The rains, which are not only crucial for Indian agriculture but also have a significant bearing on the countryтАЩs overall economic sentiment, were 10 per cent above normal till end June.
But after June 19, there was virtually no rain, which left large parts of North, West and Central India parched.
Data shows that between July 1 and 18, the southwest monsoon was cumulatively 26 per cent below normal. However, there has been a revival of sorts since then and the monsoon not only enveloped the whole country but also managed to wipe off some of the deficit.
Till July 23, the southwest monsoon recorded rainfall two per cent below normal.
For the week ended July 23, 35 per cent of the countryтАЩs 694 districts received deficient rain, as against 42 per cent during the previous week. According to a Crisil Research report released last week, northwest India recorded a high deficit of 55 per cent between June 23 and July 12.
There was a 58 per cent deficit in rains between June 23 and July 12 over Rajasthan and the shortfall in Central India was 39 per cent during this period, with Gujarat accounting for 67 per cent of the shortage.
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