MUMBAI, - A monsoon in India is expected to bring below-average rainfall to the country's western, central and southern regions over the next fortnight, threatening newly planted cotton, soybean, corn and pulse crops, two senior weather officials said.
The monsoon delivers about 70% of India's annual rains to replenish crucial water sources in the nearly $4 trillion economy, where nearly half of farmland lacks irrigation and about half the population earns its livelihood from agriculture.
