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.
Villpuram district in north Tamil Nadu continued to reel under unprecedented flooding on Monday following extremely heavy rainfall, virtually blocking access to villages and residential colonies as bridges and roads overflowed, inundating huge acreage of standing crops and leaving passengers stranded as rail and road traffic was hit.
As the southwest monsoon moves slowly across the southern peninsula, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its latest report said the overall rainfall during the second week of the four-month season was almost 50 per cent less than normal.
After remnants of cyclone Gulab that hit the eastern coast of the country brought torrential rains to central Maharashtra, a senior India Meteorological Department official said on Wednesday that we are witnessing a rare occurrence as the weather system might generate another cyclonic storm.
The Mumbai civic body and police have advised all people in the city and surrounding areas to stay indoors as much as possible.
Conditions were becoming favourable for further advance of the southwest monsoon over some more parts of the south peninsula and east India and adjoining areas between June 18 and 21.
La Nina, a weather pattern arising in the Pacific Ocean that causes heavy rain in South Asia, is assuming a neutral condition, senior India Meteorological Department officials have said. This suggests the country will have a near-normal southwest monsoon.
The necessary instrumentation will be installed by DOD within two years. The government has already sanctioned Rs 1,250 mn for the purpose.
This would be the second cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea this year.
India has roped in almost all the world's major weather forecasters in its effort to accurately forecast monsoon rains in the next four years.
The India meteorological department (IMD) on Wednesday evening issued a red alert for Mumbai and its neighbouring districts, predicting "extremely heavy rainfall".
The Met Office has issued a yellow alert, warning of moderate rain which could cause more problems to the residents of Delhi.
The Met office has issued a "red" warning for Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and west Rajasthan, stressing the need for "extreme care for vulnerable people".
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.
Heavy rains in Bengaluru on Wednesday night resulted in waterlogging, incidents of tree fall, damage to certain infrastructure and power outage in several parts.
Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Traffic Police asked commuters to take the alternate route.
India is likely to witness normal rainfall during the southwest monsoon season this year, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday. Rainfall will be 96 per cent to 104 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) of 87 cm of the 1971-2020 period, it noted. Earlier, the IMD used to consider the LPA of 88cm of the 1961-2010 period.
The city's 24-hour Air Quality Index, recorded at 4 pm every day, stood at 418, up from 334 the previous day, and it may trigger stringent restrictions under the third stage of the graded response action plan to mitigate hazardous conditions.
The average temperatures observed pan-India for April was 35.05 degrees, which was the fourth highest in 122 years.
As per IMD classification, "heavy to very heavy rainfall" means precipitation ranging from 64.5 mm to 204.4 mm in a period of 24 hours.
The meteorological department in India has predicted that there will be normal monsoon rains next month that will result in better crops for the country's 234 million farmers.
The government on Wednesday raised the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy by 5.35 per cent to Rs 2,300 per quintal for the 2024-25 kharif marketing season. The hike in paddy support price comes despite the government sitting on surplus rice stocks, but it is significant ahead of elections in states like Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Delhi.
IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that inducing artificial rain can only be attempted when there are clouds or moisture available.
The met department said that rainfall in August is projected to be within the normal range at 97% of LPA. In August and September, India receives around 43 mm of rainfall.
As the weather improved in parts of north India, which was pummelled by heavy rains for days, authorities on Wednesday worked on a war footing to rescue stranded tourists, restore vehicular traffic on arterial roads and prevent floodwaters from entering new areas.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy visited some inundated areas in their respective territories.
So far, over 30 people have died across Northeastern states due to heavy rainfalls, floods and landslides, according to media reports.
Flight services at Mumbai airport were severely impacted on Monday due to low visibility after heavy rains in the city, leading to runway operations being shut for over an hour and approximately 50 flights being cancelled, sources said.
After making landfall near Puducherry on November 30, Cyclone Fengal weakened on Sunday, but torrential downpour under its influence paralysed the union territory, with the Army stepping in to evacuate stranded persons in inundated streets.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a 'Red Alert' and predicted 'very heavy' to 'extremely heavy' rainfall across several districts of Assam over the next five days.
The cyclone will make a landfall at around 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Thursday
This is for the second time this month that Mumbai has recorded the highest maximum temperature in the country.
The administration is geared up for more showers as the India meteorological department has warned of heavy to very heavy rains with isolated extremely heavy rains in several districts of the state till Thursday morning.
Even as Mumbaikars got some respite from the downpour on Friday morning, the India meteorological department has issued a red alert for the city and its suburbs warning that very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places during the day, the civic officials said.
Northwest, central and east India are predicted to record maximum temperatures three to five degrees above normal over the next five days, the India meteorological department (IMD) said on Thursday.
The searing heat pushed the city's peak power demand to its highest for May, while the Delhi government directed the schools that have not closed for summer vacations to do so with immediate effect.
India will launch its own composite index next year to quantify the impact of heat on its population and generate impact-based heat wave alerts for specific locations, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
The four-month monsoon season from June to September accounts for 75 per cent of rainfall in the country.
Mumbai, its satellite cities, north and central Maharashtra and south Gujarat received rains on Wednesday owing to a low-pressure area in the Arabian Sea and a western disturbance, the India meteorological department said.
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