India`s June-September monsoon rains are likely to start withdrawing from the northwest region from October6, marking one of the most delayed retreats of the seasonal rainfall, the Indian Meteorological Department said on Thursday.
South-west monsoon rains, which are vital for India's farmers, usually arrive at the southernmost Kerala coast around June 1 and start retreating in mid-September from the north-western state of Rajasthan.
But this year cyclones delayed the retreat and most parts of the country received heavy rainfall this weekwhich damaged summer-sown crops ready for harvesting.
India received 9 per centlower rainfall than normal up to the end of August, but a third more than normal in September narrowed the deficit to 1 per cent, the IMD said.
Nearly half of India's farmland is dependent on the annual monsoon rains.
Farming accounts for nearly 15 per centof India's economy, which is the third-largest in Asiaand sustains more than half of a population of 1.3 billion.