Monsoon deficit widens to 10%

Raises fears of the first drought in six years

Monsoon rainfall deficit has widened to 10% as a strengthening El Nino weather pattern trimmed rainfall, the weather department said, raising fears of the first drought in six years.

The June-September monsoon rains determine farmers' earnings as more than half of farm land lacks irrigation. Though agriculture accounts for about 15% of India's $2 trillion economy, three-fifths of its 1.25 billion people depend on it for their livelihood.

The rainfall is likely to remain subdued even this week over most parts of the country, a weather department official said, raising concerns over output from summer-sown crops such as cotton, oilseeds, paddy and pulses.