A below-par monsoon could imperil Bihar's agri sector, Assembly elections

If rainfall is below average this year, too, it would mark it as the fourth consecutive year that the agriculturally important state would get lesser rains from the Southwest monsoon

Last week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) released its first official forecast for the 2025 monsoon season, saying almost all parts of the country are expected to above-average rains this year.

 

However, the parts that it identified as those which could get below normal rains included North-East India, Tamil Nadu, parts of the Himalayan regions, and Bihar. Among these, Bihar and Tamil Nadu are agriculturally important regions. In the case of Tamil Nadu, IMD officials explained that it has a fallback option in the form of the North-East monsoon season that starts from October.

 

In fact, Tamil Nadu gets the