Monsoon covers whole country 17 days in advance, boost to kharif sowing

Pick-up in rains should aid kharif sowing, which till June 29 was 22% lower than last year due to break in showers in most of central, northern and eastern India

The southwest monsoon seems to have picked up pace after a break, covering the entire country on Friday, almost 17 days ahead of schedule, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The pick-up in rains should aid sowing of kharif crops, which till June 29 was almost 21.60 per cent lower than last year mainly due to break in showers between June 13 and June 26-27 in most of central, northern and eastern India.

The worst impacted has been sowing of pulses, oilseeds and cotton as the monsoon didn't reach Central and North India on time.

The data showed that till June 29, oilseeds sowing has been around 44.03 per cent down as compared to same period last year, while pulses have been sown in around 41.08 per cent less area. Coarse cereals planting has also been around 30 per cent lower.

However, with the pick up in monsoon rains, most experts said sowing will now quicken and cover the deficit in the coming weeks mainly in Central, North and West India where it has been raining incessantly the past few days.

The revival in monsoon has also bridged the deficit in June showers from almost 10 per cent last week to less than 6 per cent on Friday.

The monsoon, meanwhile, reached Sriganganagar, its last outpost in the country in western Rajasthan, on Friday, well ahead of the normal onset on July 15.

"The monsoon today covered the entire country," Additional Director General Mritunjay Mohapatra said, adding that the entire country starts getting rain by July 1, save west Rajasthanm which receives it later.

But this year, due to good easterly rains, the monsoon has taken the rains to the entire country early, Mohapatra added.

The four-month monsoon season normally begins on June 1 and ends on September 30.

This year, monsoon touched Kerala on May 29, three days ahead of its normal onset date of June 1. It battered the western coast in the first half of June.

The Southwest Monsoon gives 70 per cent rains to the country, where agriculture remains a major contributor to the GDP.