NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked states to brace for deficit rainfall this season, although the weather office has stuck to its forecast of normal monsoon The suggestion came at the Centre’s first meeting on drought management held on Tuesday. The monsoon reached Kerala on June 8 — a week later than usual — and has made tardy progress since. It’s the responsibility of the states to declare drought. The Centre allocates extra funds and resources at the request of the states.”The government reviews the status of rainfall, soil moisture, sowing acreage, reservoir condition, availability of fodder and progress of monsoon. We expect the monsoon to soon advance over fertile lands of north and central India,” another official said.

Source: Economic Times June 11, 2019 18:05 UTC