A silver lining

Normal monsoon will support rural demand

The forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) of a normal monsoon this year has come as a silver lining in the general atmosphere of despondency created by the Covid-19 outbreak. This prediction, if true, bodes well for agriculture, which supports the livelihood of over half the population, as also for hydel power generation and other water-dependent industries. The agriculture and allied activities sector, which seems set to grow at 3.5 per cent in 2019-20, regardless of the of Covid-19 onslaught towards the end of the rabi season, can be expected to sustain or excel this level of growth in