| The meeting, which was attended by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Finance Minister P Chidambaram, also reviewed the prices of foodgrain in the wake of yesterday's rise in the prices of diesel and petrol. |
| Singh held detailed discussions on the foodgrain situation and the measures needed to ensure its adequate availability for the public distribution system and food for work programme. |
| Food ministry officials maintain that the availability of wheat for the TPDS and welfare schemes including food-for-work are sufficient to tackle any situation. |
| At yesterday's crop weather watch meeting, agriculture ministry officials advised farmers to adopt a policy of "wait and watch" till the July rainfall set in. |
| Meteorological experts, present at the meeting, said a favourable monsoon pressure was building up due to heat waves in neighbouring Pakistan and India's eastern states like Bihar and Orissa. |
| Officials at the meeting reiterated that there was no reason for alarm over kharif production, as the current situation was akin to that in 2003 when monsoon was satisfactory despite delayed arrival. |
| Farmers should not panic as the favourable pressures are building for onset of south-west monsoon, senior officials of agriculture ministry said after the meeting which is held every week. |
| The kharif sowing season is progressing on the expected lines and availability of fertilisers is sufficient enough to meet the demand, they said. |
| The heat waves would create favourable pressures in these regions and would attract south-west monsoon towards them. |
| Till the week ended June 20, south-west monsoon has further advanced to entire north-east region, parts of West Bengal and Sikkim, and parts of Konkan region, central Maharashtra and north interior Karnataka. |
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