New Delhi: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is slated to meet state agriculture ministers on Friday to chalk out plans for salvaging losses in Kharif production and discus strategy for increasing crop coverage during Rabi.
However, there seems to be no escaping the drought this season. The government has declared that almost half of India is drought-hit, with 10 of the main rice producing states badly hit by deficit monsoon.
Drought has been declared in 246 out of the 626 districts in India.
In Assam all 27 districts are drought-hit while in Himachal Pradesh, all 12 districts have had little rain this monsoon season.
All 24 districts of Jharkhand have also been declared drought-hit, and same is the case with all nine districts of Manipur.
Meanwhile, 11 districts of Nagaland are reeling under severe drought while 58 of the 71 districts in Uttar Pradesh, 26 out of 38 districts in Bihar, 20 out of 29 districts in Karnataka and 37 districts in Madhya Pradesh are drought affected.