IMD rules out deficient monsoon, says rainfall to be normal or excess

New Delhi: Ruling out the possibility of a deficient monsoon, India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday said 96 percent chances are that the rainfall this year would be normal to excess. Releasing the second long-range forecast, IMD Director General Laxman Singh Rathore said North-West India will receive 108 percent rainfall of the Long Period Average (LPA) while central India and southern peninsula will receive 113 per cent of LPA.

The North-Eastern region is expected to get 94 percent of rainfall which is “below normal”. Anything less than 90 percent of the LPA is termed as a “deficient” monsoon and 90-96 percent of the LPA is rated as “below normal”. Monsoon is considered “normal” if the LPA is between 96 and 104 percent of the LPA. “Above normal” monsoon is between 104-110 percent of the LPA and anything beyond 110 percent is considered “excess”. Agriculture, which contributes 15 percent to India’s GDP and employs about 60 percent of the country’s population, is heavily dependent on the monsoon as only 40 percent of the cultivable area is under irrigation. Due to poor monsoon in 2015-16 crop year (July-June), 10 states have declared drought and the Centre has sanctioned about Rs 10,000 crore by way of relief to help the farmers.