Monsoon covers India after reaching Rajasthan's Sriganganagar, says IMD; rains arrive 17 days ahead of schedule

New Delhi: The monsoon has covered the entire country, 17 days ahead of its normal onset date, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. The monsoon reached Sriganganagar, its last outpost in the country located in west Rajasthan. Its normal date to reach Sriganganagar was 15 July. “The monsoon [on Friday] covered the entire country,” Additional Director General Mritunjay Mohapatra said. [caption id=“attachment_4625441” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] The monsoon covers the entire country by 1 July but West Rajasthan gets rains later, he said. But this year, due to good easterly winds, it has taken the rains to the entire country early, Mohapatra added. The four-month monsoon season normally begins from 1 June and ends on 30 September. This year, monsoon touched Kerala on 29 May, three days ahead of its normal onset date of 1 June. It battered the western coast in the first half of June. However, after a brief lull, it made a steady advance. On Thursday, it reached Delhi, a day ahead of its schedule. The monsoon deficiency, which until early this week was 10 percent, went down to six percent on Friday. The Southwest Monsoon provides 70 percent rains to the country, where agriculture still remains a major contributor to the GDP.