The International Research Institute (IRI) for Climate and Society at the University of Columbia has come out with more daring predictions on the Indian monsoon compared to those made public by India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday. The most glaring difference in perception relates to rainfall trends for northwest India. While the IMD was apologetic about the prospects for this region, the IRI predicts good rainfall here during the July-August-September and August-September-October quarters.