The monsoon usually covers the half of the country in the first 15 days.
Monsoon rains are expected to arrive on the southern Kerala coast on May 29, country's weather office, India Meteorological Department (IMD), said in a statement on Friday.
The monsoon, the lifeline of the country's $2 trillion economy, delivers nearly 70 per cent of rains that country needs to water farms and recharge reservoirs.
Nearly half of the country's farmland, without any irrigation cover, depends on annual June-September rains to grow a number of crops.5 key things to know about the monsoon rains:1.
The India Meteorological Department declares the arrival of monsoon rains only after parameters measuring consistency of rainfall over a defined geography, intensity, cloudiness and wind speed are satisfied.2.
In mid-April, the IMD forecast a normal monsoon at 97 per cent of long period average for the country.
"Considering the Indian Ocean variabilityIndia is going to witness the third successive normal monsoon with a quantitative figure of 97 per cent plus minus 5 per cent.
India will not experience a deficient monsoon," Dr KJ Ramesh, Director General of Meteorology, IMD, had said.3.
The monsoon usually covers the half of the country in the first 15 days.
The rains reach central India's soybean areas by the third week of June and western cotton-growing areas by the first week of July.
Rains usually lash Kerala state on the south coast around June 1 and cover the whole country by mid-July.
Timely rains trigger planting of crops such as rice, soybeans and cotton.4.
Other than lifting farm and wider economic growth, a spell of good rains will keep a lid on inflation, potentially tempting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring forward general elections due in May 2019.5.
India is expected to witness a normal southwest monsoon, Skymet a private weather forecasting agency had said in early April in its forecast.
The monsoon is considered 'normal' if the average rainfall is between 96-104 per cent of LPA.
Anything less than 90 per cent of LPA is termed a "deficient" monsoon, and 90-96 per cent of LPA is considered "below normal".(With Reuters Inputs)