South-west monsoon makes debut over Andaman Sea

NEW DELHI: South-west monsoon today made a debut in the Andaman Sea and parts of Bay of Bengal, setting the stage for the four-month rainfall season crucial for India's agriculture-based economy.

"Southwest monsoon has set in over some parts of south Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea," India Meteorological Department (IMD) said here.

It said conditions were favourable for further advance of monsoon over some more parts of Bay of Bengal during next 2-3 days.

Monsoon is expected to bring its first showers to Kerala on June 3 - a slight delay attributed to the cyclone activity over the Bay of Bengal.

After arriving over Kerala, monsoon moves gradually to cover the entire country by mid-July.

India is expecting normal monsoon rains this year with overall rainfall expected to be 98 per cent of the long period average.

Monsoon is crucial for the kharif crops such as rice, soyabean, cotton and maize because almost 60 per cent of the farm land in the country is rainfed.