1. The south-west monsoon setting in two days earlier this year on May 30 has helped an early start to the kharif sowing season. The monsoon, despite a hiatus in between, continued to cover the country quickly. It finally covered the entire country six days ahead of schedule, says our Delhi bureau.
2. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that the country will receive above-normal rainfall in July. The north-eastern region may experience below-normal precipitation, writes Prabhudatta Mishra.
3. The monsoon has brought cheers to farmers and the government. After 38 weeks, the level in the major 150 reservoirs has improved with storage increasing in almost all the regions. The change has been brought about with the monsoon deficiency shrinking to three per cent from 19 per cent a week ago.
4. The timely monsoon will likely bring some relief to the housewife as the Government targets to increase the area under onion by 27 per cent during the kharif season. The availability of tomatoes and potatoes is also set to increase.
5. As part of its efforts to give a filip to organic production in the country, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda), the nodal agency, has come out with a draft NPOP. The proposal has some good initiatives but also lacks teeth about implementation.
6. We have a disappointing development to report. New Zealand, like its neighbour Australia, has denied India the “certification of trademark’, which is akin to geographical indication tag, for basmati rice. The Intellectual Property Office of New Zeland (IPONZ) has argued that the fragrant rice is grown outside of India and the growers have a legitimate right to use the term.
