India remained rainfall surplus for the second straight day on July 24, as the country registered 1.31 percent higher pouring than normal, according to data released by the Indian Meteorological Department.
The number of states facing normal or above normal stands at 25.
On the other hand, 11 states, mostly in the Northwest and east India, are still rainfall deficient.
Northwest and East India continue to face worse weather conditions than the rest of the country. Chandigarh experienced over 50 percent deficit, with Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana and Manipur experiencing over 40 percent deficit.
In monsoon parlance, a normal is calculated using a long-period average of 30 years for a specific region.
Data released by ministry of agriculture and farmer welfare showed that paddy, pulses and oilseeds experienced higher acreage as of July 19 from similar period in the previous year. While sowing under coarse cereals was down during this period. Overall sowing was 3.5 percent higher under Kharif crops.
The finance minister in her Budget speech expanded the mission on pulses and oilseeds to make India self-sufficient.
Uneven rainfall distribution contributed to rise in reservoir deficit to 13 percent compared as of July 18 with 10 percent compared to the previous week, according to data released by Central Water Commission.
Andhra Pradesh and Bihar continue to face over 60 percent deficit in capacity.
The government is hoping for a revival of its agricultural sector, which recorded 1.4 percent growth in FY24 compared to 4.7 percent in the previous year, also lower than the 3.7 percent long-term average.
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