THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (AFP) — The first rain from India's annual monsoon, crucial to millions of farmers and the health of the overall economy, hit the southwest coast on Saturday.
The southwest monsoon sweeps the subcontinent from June to September and is an economic lifeline for the 235 million farmers in India where just 40 percent of arable land is irrigated.
"The southwest monsoon has reached Kerala and the state has got widespread rainfall," M.D. Ramachandran, director of the Indian Meteorological Department's office in Kerala state capital Thiruvananthapuram, told AFP.
The strong, sometimes violent downpours account for around 80 percent of the country's annual rainfall, vital for the farm economy of India, the world's second biggest grower of wheat and rice.
Earlier weather officials had forecast the monsoon was likely to hit the country slightly early on May 29. Normally, it is expected on June 1.
The agriculture sector employs some 60 percent of the Indian workforce and generates around a fifth of India's gross domestic product.
This year's monsoon is being keenly watched by the Congress-led government which is battling inflation running at near four-year highs of 8.1 percent.
It fears a voter backlash in the federal election looming within a year and a clutch of state elections before then.
Good rains would produce a bountiful harvest that would help ease food inflation, one of the chief concerns of voters, analysts say.
Summer crops, such as rice, sugarcane, cotton and oilseeds which are sown in July and harvested from October depend on the rains. India has suspended exports of rice, lentils and other food staples to improve domestic supplies and bring down prices.
And a bountiful monsoon means good moisture conditions for winter crops including wheat and oilseeds, which are sown in November and harvested in March.
While the share of agriculture in India's gross domestic product has slipped from around 50 percent in the 1950s to just under 20 percent, it is still crucial as it supports about 60 percent of the nation's 1.1 billion population.
A healthy monsoon puts cash in the hands of India's vast rural population, fuelling consumer demand.
Last year's rains were better than expected after official forecasts predicted the country would get 93 per cent of the normal rainfall.
But flooding described as the worst in decades brought devastation to eastern and northern India.
Millions of people lost their homes in floods and more than 2,200 people died in the states of Bihar, Assam, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere.
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