India's crucial monsoon will be normal this year but with less heavier rains as the weather office on Friday marginally downgraded its earlier forecast.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday revised upwards the GDP growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.2 per cent from 7 per cent on rising private consumption and revival of demand in rural areas. Unveiling the bi-monthly monetary policy, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said estimates released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) placed India's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 8.2 per cent in 2023-24. "During 2024-25 so far, domestic economic activity has maintained resilience," he said, adding that manufacturing activity continues to gain ground on the back of strengthening domestic demand.
The Odisha government has asked all the district collectors to remain prepared for any eventuality, and directed the administration to evacuate people from low-lying areas in the event of heavy rain.
As heavy rains continue to lash Kerala, the India meteorological department on Friday issued an orange alert in eight districts in Kerala for Friday.
Rains have been 5% below normal so far, but Met department sticks to its forecast
The heavy rains led to water level in various dams in the state rising to the red alert mark, prompting the government to open one of the shutters of Cheruthoni dam of Idukki reservoir in the afternoon.
The IMD has issued a red-colour coded warning for the southern areas of Tamil Nadu Kerala in view of the brewing storm and said that these areas are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall.
Delhi sweltered under intense heat as the Safdarjung observatory, considered the official marker of the national capital, noted a high of 43.8 degrees Celsius, four notches above the normal average.
The IMD director said, the cyclonic storm Tauktae in the Arabian sea is moving away from the Kerala coast and is now approaching the Karnataka coast.
'Usually the average rainfall per day is around 8 mm and India is receiving 10 to 11 mm per day since the last one week.' 'July seems to be very good for the entire country.'
A thick layer of fog was seen in several parts of the city, weather officials said.
A total of 435 people died in the country due to extreme weather events during the last three months of the southwest monsoon, according to the data compiled by the India meteorological department.
Satellite imagery showed a dense elongated band of fog stretching from Punjab to the northeast.
She added that light rains are also expected in Banaskantha and Sabarkantha districts on October 16, adding that the possibility of light rains at a few places in Ahmedabad cannot be ruled out for that day also.
The news will augur well for the country as large parts have been witnessing agriculture distress and water levels in reservoirs in west and south India have dipped to low levels.
Heavy rains had battered the metropolis on Sunday and Monday as well.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) seems to have taken a cautious stand over the World Meteorological Organisation's (WMO) projection of a 'poor monsoon' due to a probable 'El Nino' impact. The IMD did not agree with WMO's projections, saying, "El Nino and the progress of monsoon are not mutually exclusive events", and remained non-committal over its earlier projection of a "normal monsoon" for the June-September 2009 season.
Among the Sensex constituents, 18 stocks closed in negative with UltraTech Cement, L&T, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance and Tech Mahindra being major laggards. Other heavyweights like Asian Paints, Maruti, Titan and JSW Steel also saw heavy selling. In contrast, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserve, HDFC Bank, ITC and SBI bucked the trend and ended the session with a gain of up to 2.09 per cent.
More than 39.8 lakh people in 27 of the 33 districts in the state were affected by the deluge on Thursday.
As Kerala battles severe heat, the meteorological department has issued a maximum temperature warning for 12 districts for the upcoming five days.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which closely monitors the cyclonic storm said, 'The SCS 'Mocha' intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm, lay centred at 05.30 hours IST of 12th May 2023 over central adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal near latitude 13.2N and long 88.1E, about 520 km west-northwest of Port Blair.'
With the prediction of an above normal monsoon in 2024, the government is expecting food prices to come down, the finance ministry's monthly economic report for March has said. The report, released on Thursday, said robust foreign inflows and comfortable trade deficits were expected to keep the rupee within a comfortable range. "Further easing of food prices is on the anvil as IMD (India Meteorological Department) has predicted above-normal rainfall during the monsoon season, which is likely to lead to higher production, assuming good spatial and temporal distribution of the rainfall," the monthly report, released by the Department of Economic Affairs, said.
After churning across the Arabian Sea for more than 10 days, Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday.
Heavy falls at isolated places are very likely over Kerala on April 29 and 30. The system will not make landfall in Tamil Nadu, but may bring light rain in some northern parts, it said.
Meanwhile, trains ran on time on the Main and Western lines of the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) on Saturday.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is unlikely to cut the benchmark interest rate at its upcoming monetary policy review meeting, taking place soon after the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results, amid inflation challenges, said experts. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) may also refrain from rate cut as economic growth is picking up, notwithstanding the elevated interest rate of 6.5 per cent (repo) prevailing since February 2023. The meeting of the Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das headed MPC is scheduled for June 5 to 7.
While it hit the national capital two days before schedule, its entry into the financial capital is two weeks late, the Met office said.
The five warmest years in Indian weather history have occurred in the past 14 years -- the others being 2009, 2017 and 2010, in order of intensity.
This should augur well for the rabi crops as delayed withdrawal will leave enough moisture in the soil for early sowing.
While the IMD had forecast a 'normal' monsoon for the entire season, Skymet stated that rain this year would be 'below normal', report Sanjeeb Mukherjee and Sahil Makkar.
The depression formed over Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea would turn into a cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours and reach near the Gujarat coast on the morning of May 18, officials said.
Tourist centres have been closed in many districts, including Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram, and a night travel ban has been imposed in the hilly areas of Idukki district.
The southwest monsoon season concluded on Saturday with India receiving 'below-average' cumulative rainfall -- 820 mm compared to the long-period average of 868.6 mm -- in an El Nino year.
This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season.
As India's electricity demand soars, the power ministry on Tuesday reviewed the power supply situation to ensure 'zero load shedding' during the summer months. The ministry has drafted plans ranging from delaying planned maintenance of thermal power stations to mandatory operations of imported coal-based and gas-based stations till September. In a series of meetings with industry stakeholders, Union Minister for Power, New, and Renewable Energy R K Singh emphasised the importance of adequate planning to avoid situations where one state has surplus power while another state faces shortages.
Southwest monsoon has furthered advanced into some parts of south Arabian Sea
Aizawl has been cut off from the rest of the country due to a landslide on National Highway 6 at Hunthar.
The air quality is expected to improve further due to wind speed favourable for the dispersion of pollutants.
'Very severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy at 2330 hrs IST of 9th June over east-central Arabian Sea near lat 16.0N & long 67.4E. Likely to intensify further & move north-northeastwards during the next 24hrs,' the IMD said in a tweet.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances