Kharif sowing picks up; rice, arhar, soybean, cotton below last year level

Work demand for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) continued to remain robust with almost 33.70 million households seeking work under the scheme, which is 6.40 per cent more than the same period last year and 6.20 per cent more than April. The demand month-on-month is highest since June 2021, provisional data showed. Work demand for MGNREGS usually goes up in the April to June months as there is very little work for manual casual labour. 

Sowing of several major kharif crops, such as rice, arhar, soybean and cotton, continued to be below last year’s level during the week ended June 30 despite a pick-up in rains as the onset of the showers was delayed in many parts.