Monsoon 4 per cent above normal

India's southwest monsoon was around 11 per cent more than normal during the week ended Wednesday, which has pushed the overall rains received so far in this season to four per cent more than normal.

However, there were still pockets of distress, particularly in Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat, where the showers till date were almost 44 per cent less than normal.

11% More than normal was India's southwest monsoon during the week ended Wednesday
44% Less than normal was monsoon in Saurashtra and Kutch, both in Gujarat

25% More-than-normal rainfall between June 1 and July 14 over MP, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh

The monsoon, which covered the entire country on Thursday, almost two days ahead of its scheduled progress, is now expected to take a lull over central and western India, where it had been pounding hard for the past few weeks.

The rainfall over central India which comprises of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh, has been almost 25 per cent more than normal between June 1 and July 14.

The rains also lifted the water levels in more than 90-odd reservoirs, which were at 15 per cent of their capacity for the last several weeks.

The timely coverage of rains would aid in the planting of crops such as rice, soya beans, cotton, and pulses in the summer sowing season that starts in June.

The monsoon had hit Kerala on June 8, seven days after its normal onset date, which marks the start of the rainy season in the country.

In mid-June, its progress had reduced considerably due to lack of traction near Karwar (Karnataka). However, after that, it made a rapid progress.

In Gujarat, too, the rains, which were more than 55 per cent less than normal, lowered the deficit, but still stood at 44 per cent of the long period average (LPA).

Going by IMD (India Meteorological Department) data, Gujarat has received 119.4 mm (millimetre) rains as on Thursday during the entire monsoon season of 2016 as against normal rainfall of 212.9 mm. The south-western monsoon has now spread across Gujarat in the last couple of days. IMD also forecast medium to heavy rains in the coming days of this month.

The pick-up in rains pushed up kharif sowing in the state and the total area covered, which was only 554,800 hectares as on June 30, has reached 3.2 million hectares on Monday.

However, compared to last year, sowing is still lagging behind by almost 33 per cent as it was done on 4.84 million hectares in the corresponding period of 2015.

Water supply department data shows as on July 14, live water storage in 204 dams, including Narmada, is about 8,347.6 million cubic metres (mcm) that is about 40 per cent of design gross storage capacity of 21,040.08 mcm.

In Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Telengana, the rains have spurred pulses, oilseeds, and maize sowing.

AP and Telangana have a normal crop area of 4.096 million hectares and 4.344 million hectares, respectively, in the kharif season.

So far, the sowing operations were completed in 33 per cent and 51 per cent of the normal crop area in AP and Telangana, respectively, according to the data updated by the respective agriculture departments on Wednesday. Unlike in the previous years both the states have received normal to excess rainfall from June till July 12.

Paddy is the largest crop in AP with a normal cropped area of 16.03 lakh hectares in the Kharif season while the paddy plantation takes place at the fag end of the season.

In Telangana paddy is the second largest crop with a normal cropped area of 9.86 lakh hectares while cotton occupies the largest area of 17.09 lakh hectares in the Kharif season.