55% of cultivable land still doesn't come under irrigation.
Analysts welcomed the better Q2 GDP readings of 4.8 per cent, which came in above their expectations, but warned that the planned expenditure cuts by the government will be the key thing to watch out going forward.
Farmers in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana anticipate a sharp decline in vegetable output this year, due to sustained declines in the water table after consecutive years of below-average rain. Prices of vegetables are expected to stay high for the next four to six weeks.
Nearly 21 per cent of the country has received "deficient" rainfall till July 31, the India Meteorological Department on Monday said.
According to an IMD forecast issued on Thursday, a heatwave spell will persist over northwest and central India during the next five days and over east India during the next three days.
A tormenting heatwave swept through North India on Sunday with the mercury crossing 49 degrees Celsius in pockets of Delhi, while the weather office forecast some relief Monday onwards.
'We will have to wait for one more year to cross the 7% mark, which should be possible in the absence of any disruptive reform,' points out CARE Ratings Chief Economist Madan Sabnavis.
Total area sown till last Friday was 16.56 mn hectares, up 23%.
Some low-lying places like Hindmata, and areas in Dadar and Sion, including the Gandhi Market and road number 24 in Sion, were inundated, forcing pedestrians to wade through the water and making it difficult for motorists to commute.
Gold prices this year are higher than last year, and the goods and services tax is an additional burden for consumers
TCS was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, sliding 3.17 per cent, followed by HCL Tech, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, RIL, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank and L&T, down up to 2.34 per cent.
Total area impacted across India pegged at 18.9 mn hectares.
A minister said the country had 7% less rain than normal.
Rain deficiency in eastern and western Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya is 20-46 per cent less than normal as of June 17.
Extending losses for 7th session, Nifty fell below the 8,000 mark for the first time since Nov 25
'Storms push a lot of water into land, then there is heavy rainfall due to the cyclone.' 'Along with this, we see the gradual rising of the sea level.' 'We see this during and after the latest Cyclone Tauktae.' 'This kind of overlapping events are increasing and we do not know much about how to tackle them.'
However, the areas under paddy - the biggest cereal grown during the kharif season - continue to be less than last year, mainly due to delayed onset of rains and also on account of shift towards the more lucrative maize.
The government on Wednesday said any attempt by China to set up a hydropower station on the Brahmaputra river will act as an encroachment on the entitled rights of lower riparian states like India and Bangladesh and adversely affect the availability of water in its basin during the lean season.
Heavy rains had battered the metropolis on Sunday and Monday as well.
Sanjiv Mehta, chairman of the country's largest consumer goods company, HUL, believes that the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic between April and June this year has been a mere pause in India's consumption story, and that it will not change the country's overall growth trajectory. India is poised for growth, especially in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, Mehta told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday. The signs of recovery are becoming evident with many states lifting lockdown restrictions in recent weeks.
This piece of forecast from the India Meteorological Department and the European Centre for Medium-Range weather Forecasts may bring cheer to Indian farmers
Waterlogging was reported from areas like Dadar, Wadala, Worli, Kurla, Chembur, Bandra, Andheri, Kandivili, Vikhroli, Kanjurmarg and Bhandup, among others.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended up 129 points at 26,843 and the Nifty50 ended up 39 points at 8,220.
The agriculture sector has witnessed feeble growth on account of drought for two successive years
A portion of the 15-foot tall private compound wall, totally wet due to heavy rains lashing the area for the past few days, fell on the adjoining tiled-roof houses in Nadur village.
Sensex, Nifty end the day in red ahaead of F&O expiry.
Till Thursday, the country had received 41 per cent less June rainfall than normal - the scantiest in a decade and one of the rarest occasions when the shortfall in the month was more than 30 per cent - private weather forecaster Skymet said in its daily weather forecast on Friday.
Till Thursday, the country had received 41 per cent less June rainfall than normal -- the scantiest in a decade and one of the rarest occasions when the shortfall in the month was more than 30 per cent -- private weather forecaster Skymet said in its daily weather forecast on Friday.
Intense spells of rain are likely to continue in the districts of Thane, Raigad and Mumbai during next four hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Very light rains and thundershowers occurred at isolated places in Uttar Pradesh though, and a fresh warning of heavy showers was issued in Himachal Pradesh as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in several parts of the country, including the northern region, over the next six-seven days.
A private sector weather forecaster, Skymet, and some global forecasters have already issued warnings for this year that this could happen.
This is the second time in a week that the Karnataka state capital is witnessing such severe waterlogging.
The S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices added 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively
'When you are travelling in Mumbai when the air quality is bad, you feel suffocated.' 'You may feel uncomfortable breathing Delhi air, but the level of discomfort is higher in Mumbai.'
.jpg)
The agency also warned the government of overshooting the fiscal deficit target at 4.8 per cent due to poor revenue growth and pegged it at 5.2 per cent this fiscal.
The NCEAR has indicated some improvement in the fourth quarter of the current financial year.
A well-marked low pressure over Bay of Bengal and Indian ocean is likely to concentrate into a depression in the next 24 hours, and bring heavy rainfall to coastal Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Puducherry from December 1, MeT office said on Tuesday.
The headline HSBC Services Business Activity Index was at a 17-month peak of 54.4 in June rising from a modest 50.2 in May, HSBC said adding that 'the Modi wave has struck the service sector'.
Flood victims have been fighting for survival and living in temporary shelters nearby railway tracks with lack of food items. They are yet to get any help from the government, reports M I Khan.
ADB, however, has cut its growth forecast for developing Asia to 6.1 per cent from the earlier 6.3 per cent in view of subdued economic activity in the US and China.
