After yielding a 5% surplus till date, the south-west monsoon has begun its withdrawal for the season. While most of the country received normal-to-excess showers, including flooding in AP and Telangana, five of the 36 meteorological subdivisions experienced deficient rainfall. Despite a slow start, rainfall picked up pace helping farmers with sowing. Overall farm productivity is expected to be higher, which should help tame the year-long rising trend in food inflation. SHAMBHAVI ANAND takes stock:
