Area sown under rabi crops increases to 558.8 lakh hectares

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The total area sown during the ongoing rabi crop season so far has touched 558.8 lakh hectares, up from 556.6 lakh hectares in the same period of the previous year, an official statement said on Monday. The area covered under wheat has increased to 293.11 lakh hectares (ha) compared to 284.17 lakh ha during the corresponding period of last year. The total area under pulses has been reported at 123.27 lakh ha while 38.75 lakh ha area has been sown under Shri Anna (millets) & coarse cereals and 91.60 lakh ha area coverage under oilseeds has been reported.

The increase in the total sown area is expected to increase the production of essential food goods and would help bring down inflation in the economy. Looking ahead, food inflation is expected to ease while the growth outlook for the economy is "cautiously optimistic" for the coming months as the agricultural sector is likely to benefit from favourable monsoon conditions, increased minimum support prices and adequate supply of inputs, according to the Finance Ministry’s monthly economic review last month.

Then RBI Governor, Shaktikanta Das said earlier this month that "India’s growth story is still intact and inflation is on the declining path". The RBI Governor was also optimistic about the outlook for the economy, observing that "the balance between inflation and growth is well poised". The slack in speed observed in the Indian economy during the second quarter of 2024-25 is behind us as private consumption is back to being the driver of domestic demand with festival spending lighting up real activity in Q3, according to the RBI’s monthly bulletin for November.

The report points out that rural India is emerging as a gold mine for e-commerce companies in this festival season; this is expected to gather further momentum with the sharp increase in kharif output and optimism around rabi production emboldening a record food grains target for 2024-25.