96% chances of monsoon to be normal or excess this year: India Meteorological Department

Ruling out the possibility of a deficient monsoon, India Meteorological Department on Thursday said 96% chances are that the rainfall this year would be normal to excess.

Releasing the second long-range forecast, IMD Director General Laxman Singh Rathore said North-West India will recieve 108% rainfall of the Long Period Average while central India and southern peninsula will recieve 113% of LPA.

The North-Eastern Region is expected to get 94% of rainfall which is "below normal". Anything less than 90% of the LPA is termed as a "deficient" monsoon and 90-96% of the LPA is rated as "below normal". Monsoon is considered "normal" if the LPA is between 96 and 104% of the LPA.

"Above normal" monsoon is between 104-110% of the LPA and anything beyond 110% is considered "excess".

Agriculture, which contributes 15% to India's GDP and employs about 60% of the country's population, is heavily dependent on the monsoon as only 40% of the cultivable area is under irrigation. Due to poor monsoon in 2015-16 crop year (July-June), 10 states have declared drought and the Centre has sanctioned about Rs 10,000 crore by way of relief to help the farmers.