 "drought, monsoon, agriculture")
India may receive below-average rainfall in the next two weeks with a large deficit in the soybean and cotton growing central and western regions, a weather department official said on Thursday, raising concerns over the output of summer-sown crops.
Monsoon rains are crucial for farm output and economic growth, as about 55% of India's arable land is rain-fed, and agriculture accounts for about 15% of a $2.5-trillion economy that is the third biggest in Asia.
"Weather model is showing deficiency in rainfall over central and western India in next two weeks," said an official with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), who declined
