A late burst of rains in Madhya Pradesh has given soybean farmers a reason to smile after a long dry period that was threatening to ruin the crop.

If the good spell continues till the end of the monsoon season, production may unexpectedly exceed the estimates by up to 10 per cent in the state.

Even as almost half of the country (399 districts across 12 states) reeled under drought, a week of excess rainfall after three weeks of near normal rainfall across India has revived the hope of the government to recover losses in kharif crop output by further intensifying focus on next rabi crop.

With an unusual monsoon, just enough rain is not what is needed - we need a better water-management strategy.

LUCKNOW: Light to moderate rains continued in many parts of the state, thus bringing the rainfall deficit up by seven per cent in the last 10 days. The total rains in the monsoon season till August 27 were 46 per cent below normal, which stood at 39 per cent below normal on September 8.

Vidya Krishnan

The weatherman today brought in the good news: showers predicted till at least Friday, starting late Tuesday night.

SAMBALPUR: The recent rains may have given some solace to the farmers panicked by the drought-like conditions. But the worries are far from over. They are fighting the problem of wild grass and attacks by stem borer and blast pests.

New Delhi: The late revival of monsoon may just have taken the edge off the drought. There has been a sharp upturn in the area under crop cultivation since the beginning of August which bodes well for the rural economy and holds out hope for a better rabi season later this year.

Showers Expected To Continue

Frequent showers over the past few days have lifted spirits

BHUBANESWAR: Heavy rains lashed large parts of north coastal Orissa as the deep depression moved further away from Jamshedpur. The system and an active monsoon ensured heavy showers on Sunday. Some areas received close to 20 cm rains during the last 24 hours, the weather office said.

Ravish Tiwari

With only one month of the monsoon remaining, the water levels in 81 crucial reservoirs are about 27 per cent below the average of the past ten years