The IMD forecast of an above normal monsoon this year is expected to boost total food grain production and rural demand
After two consecutive deficient rainfall years, the country is expected to receive good rainfall this year.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above normal South-West monsoon in 2016.
IMD Director General Laxman Singh Rathore said the monsoon rainfall is likely to be 106% of the Long Period Average. This year the rainfall will be 6 percent more than normal, which was 14% deficient last year, he said.
On El-Nino phenomena, which not only affected the monsoon last year but also resulted in warmer winters, Rathore said the El-Nino conditions are weakening, which is good for monsoon.
The good rainfall will be a boon for the farmers who faced two deficient rainfall years consecutively. Southwest monsoon is crucial for the sowing of Kharif crops, which contribute to major part of country's total food grain output.
A little more than half of India's cultivable land depends on rainfall during southwest monsoon.
It also contributes about 70% of the total annual soil moisture.
The food grain production, which was affected due to poor rainfall, will get a boost that may help bring down the prices of essential commodities like pulses and oil seeds.
D K Srivastava, chief economic advisor, EY India, believes sufficient or excess rains in the current year could prop up growth in the agriculture sector by around three percentage points.
More positive news came in for the country as the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers published on Tuesday were also positive. The CPI eased to a six-month low of 4.83% in March from 5.26% in February while IIP turned positive at 2% in February.
Analysts have projected a GDP growth of 7-7.5% in the current fiscal and could even go higher.They expect the rural demand to revive after two slack years.
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