-Reuters
India’s monsoon rains revived in rice, oilseeds, lentils and cereals growing areas over the past week, weather office sources said on Thursday, snapping a two-week long lull and improving output prospects for the summer sown crops.
Last year, rainfall was 26 percent below normal in the week to Aug 11 after a weak start, but it picked up during the four-month season and ended normal.
It is expected that this year’s rains to have been above normal over the past the week, a sharp rise from the previous two weeks when the rains were 22-23 percent below average. The official data is to be released later on Thursday.
India’s June to September monsoon rains are crucial to crop output in 60 percent of the country that does not have adequate irrigation.