India likely to receive average monsoon rains in 2018: Met department
Monsoon rains, the lifeline of the country's USD 2 trillion economy, are expected to be 97 per cent of a long-term average.
New Delhi: India is likely to receive average monsoon rains in 2018, the meteorological department said, raising the possibility of higher farm and economic growth in Asia’s third-biggest economy, where half of the farmland lacks irrigation.
Monsoon rains, the lifeline of the country’s USD 2 trillion economy, are expected to be 97 per cent of a long-term average, KJ Ramesh, director general of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), said.
Other than lifting farm and wider economic growth, a wet spell will keep a lid on inflation, potentially tempting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring forward general elections due in May 2019.
The IMD defines average, or normal, rainfall as between 96 per cent and 104 per cent of a 50-year average of 89 centimetres for the entire four-month season beginning June.