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Corrected - India downgrades monsoon forecast, stokes fears of drought

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Reuters NEW DELHI
Last Updated : Jun 02 2015 | 1:28 PM IST

(Corrects second paragraph to say previous forecast was 93 pct, not 99 pct)

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has downgraded this year's monsoon forecast to 88 percent of the long-term average, Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday, raising fears of a drought in the country where nearly half of farmland lack irrigation facilities.

India in April forecast monsoon rains at 93 percent of the long-term average.

The forecast has an error margin of 4 percentage points.

(Reporting by Ratnajyoti Dutta; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)

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First Published: Jun 02 2015 | 1:14 PM IST

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