Unseasonal Rains

Homegrown wine producer Sula Vineyards Ltd on Wednesday said the recent unseasonal rains in Nasik will have zero impact on its business although there was some damage to vineyards. The net impact of these rains has actually been positive in many ways as some rain-deficient districts such as Dindori and Sinnar have received a much-needed water top-up due to the rains, Sula Vineyards CEO Rajeev Samant said in a regulatory filing. "Though there was some damage to vineyards, especially where there were hailstorms, the overall impact on our wine grape procurement and upcoming harvest will be negligible, meaning zero impact on the overall business," he added. With over 25 years of experience, the company has developed a robust grape procurement model where it anticipates a few unseasonal rain events to occur every year. "We therefore always target a slightly higher grape tonnage than we need to fulfil our sales projections. The result is that if and when such unseasonal rains occur, Sula

Nearly 1 lakh hectares of land under cultivation in different parts of Maharashtra has been adversely affected due to unseasonal rains over the last few days, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said, citing preliminary assessment. Two persons have died in rain-related incidents in Nashik district in north Maharashtra, a senior official said. Affected farmers will get compensation for crop losses caused by unseasonal rains, the CM said. "Authorities have been directed to conduct 'panchnama' (survey) of the damaged crops and affected farmers should be paid adequate compensation," Shinde told reporters in his political turf of Thane on Monday. He said preliminary information suggests that nearly 1 lakh hectares of land under cultivation in Marathwada, Vidarbha and north Maharashtra regions was affected due to untimely showers. "This is the government of farmers and workers. The government will always stand behind these classes," the chief minister said. The first estimate report prepa

At least eight people were killed in lightning strikes and crops damaged in several areas of Gujarat after the state received widespread unseasonal rains accompanied by thunderstorms on Sunday, officials said. As per data compiled by the State Emergency Operation Centre, 220 of 251 talukas of Gujarat received up to 50 mm of rainfall in 10 hours since 6 am on Sunday, throwing normal life out of gear and causing damages to crops. Ahmedabad city received 15 mm of rainfall in two hours in the morning. The city received more showers in the evening, keeping people indoors on a weekend. Rains and hailstorms hit Rajkot, where locals were seen rejoicing at the scene created by the unseasonal rains. Standing crops apart, the rains also affected the ceramic industry of Morbi district in Saurashtra region as factories were forced to remain shut, officials said. Accompanied by gusty wind, lightning and thunderstorm, the untimely rains left at least eight people dead in Mehsana, Dahod, Sabarkan

The country's electricity output witnessed a marginal growth of 1.3 per cent in April-June quarter of 2023, compared to 17.1 per cent in the same period a year-ago, mainly due to unseasonal rains, government data shows. According to the latest Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data, a measure for factory output, electricity output contracted by 1.6 per cent in March and 1.1 per cent in April this year. The electricity output remained almost flat and saw a growth rate of 0.9 per cent in May and improved marginally to 4.2 per cent in June this year. The data showed that the electricity output growth remained low at 1.3 per cent in the April-June quarter of this fiscal, compared to 17.1 per cent a year ago. Industry experts said electricity output, demand and consumption were affected due to unseasonal rains, which led to fewer usage of cooling appliances like air conditioners. The data showed that the electricity output growth was robust at 12.7 per cent in January and 8.2 per ce

Results of consumer durables to be a dampener despite some green shoots, say brokerages

Another electronics retailer said on condition of anonymity that sales of summer white goods were impacted this year

Peak power demand is unlikely to touch or cross 229GW in summer this year due to unseasonal rains and the after-effects of cyclonic storm Biparjoy in the country, say industry experts. Industry experts said that the unseasonal rains have affected the demand and brought down temperatures during summer, resulting in fewer use of cooling appliances like air conditioners which guzzle power. The experts said that the peak power demand in the country is unlikely to touch or cross 229 GW level as projected by the Central Electricity Authority due to the impact of unseasonal rains and the cyclone. The power ministry in March had said that according to the Central Electricity Authority estimates the peak electricity demand was expected to be 229GW during April-June when the power demand is the highest in the country. But experts say that monsoon will be active in the entire country by July and the seasonal rains would again result in lowering the demand for power. The peak power demand met

Unseasonal rains and a relatively cool weather in recent days have brought down the power demand in the national capital, officials said on Tuesday. Compared to the corresponding days of May last year, Delhi's peak power demand this year has been lower by up to 40 per cent, a discom official said. Last year, the peak power demand in the first eight days of May ranged between 5,409 MW and 6,247 MW. During the same period this year, the maximum demand ranged between 3,644 MW and 4,634 MW, the official added. "Last May, Delhi's peak power demand crossed 6,000 MW on 20 days, 5,000 MW on 7 days, and 7,000 MW once. Even in 2019, the demand throughout the month ranged between 4,277 MW and 6,461 MW," he added. Comparing the peak demands of April in both years, the official pointed out that the city recorded a peak demand between 4,170 MW and 6,197 MW in 2022 while it tapered off in 2023, with a range of 3,388 MW to 5,422 MW. The demand crossed the 5,000 MW mark only on three occasions. In

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday assured farmers that the state government would procure every grain of paddy damaged due to unseasonal rains witnessed over the last few days. He told the farmers not to worry about paddy that got wet due to the rains. The Chief Minister made it clear that the state government would pay equal price to the damaged paddy as it is paid for normal ones during the procurement process, an official release said. Rao, who held a meeting with ministers and officials, directed the agriculture department to study what policies should be adopted in future so that 'yasangi' (summer) paddy harvesting can be completed before March in view of the unseasonal rains. He asked the department to take appropriate measures to sensitise the farmers in this direction. The Chief Minister also suggested to the farmers to postpone harvesting for another three to four days in view of rains continuing in the state, it said.

Cereals, millets most resilient

Growers are staring at lower margins due to unexpected downpour during the March harvest. However, the FCI has come to their rescue

Unseasonal rain coupled with lightning and thunderstorm lashed parts of Mumbai in the wee hours of Thursday, bringing some respite from the hot and humid weather in the city, civic officials said. In the last 24 hours, Mumbai recorded 14.8 mm rainfall, the highest precipitation so far in April, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The rainfall was a localised event and only western suburbs of the city received showers, IMD scientist Sushma Nair said. The Santacruz weather station received 14.8 mm of rainfall. This is the highest rainfall recorded in the city in April. Earlier, the all-time highest rainfall received by the city was 7.2 mm on April 22, 1974, Nair said. The Colaba weather station, which covers the island city, did not record any rainfall, she said. The city witnessed heavy showers with lightning and thunder between 1 am to 2 am, civic officials said. The Malwani fire station and Goregaon recorded 21 mm rainfall each, Borivali fire station 19 mm, HBT Traum

Unseasonal rain in the last two days damaged crops over 7,400 hectares in five districts of the western Vidarbha region in Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday. The intermittent showers affected crops in Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Washim and Buldana districts. Crops over 7,400 hectares are damaged. The damage assessment is completed on 3,243 hectares. The remaining assessment will be completed soon. As many as 7,596 farmers have been affected by the unseasonal showers, Fadnavis told reporters in Amravati district after holding review meetings. It is observed that certain villages in specific areas in the state have been frequently affected by unseasonal showers in the last few years. "We are working to find some solution to the new challenge of climate change, the deputy CM said. Fadnavis said the kin of those killed in the Akola tree fall incident would get financial assistance from the state. "The government has also decided to bear the entire med

Unseasonal rains impacting rural demand, high-interest rates on auto loans and increased costs due to new regulatory norms are making the automotive industry cautious about the growth prospects in the current fiscal. The industry --- which witnessed the first full year without any impact of COVID-19 in FY23 after a gap of two years with double-digit growth of 21 per cent in overall retail sales -- is now set to clock tapered growth in the low single-digit due to a high base, according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). As per data shared by the dealers' body, the total domestic vehicle retail sales stood at 2,21,50,222 units in FY23 against 18,3,27,326 units in FY22. Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Shashank Srivastava said the unseasonal rains in March and early April could have a dampening effect on the sentiment in the rural areas. "Because this is the harvest time and these rains are not so good (for the rural sales),"

Crops on more than 60,000 hectares of land in Marathwada in Maharashtra have been damaged due to last month's unseasonal rains and a sum of Rs 84.75 crore would be needed to give compensation to 1.22 lakh farmers, an official said on Friday. Quoting figures from the crop loss assessment survey carried out by the state government, he said Nanded saw the maximum loss with crops getting damaged on 21,579.50 hectares and affecting 36,543 farmers. "In Aurangabad, crops were destroyed on 13,535.07 hectares and 35,015 farmers were affected. In Latur, damage was on 10,367.83 hectares affecting 22,565 farmers," he said. The official said the compensation needed to be paid in Nanded was Rs 30.52 crore, Rs 22.17 crore in Aurangabad, Rs 10.56 crore in Latur, Rs 3.67 crore in Jalna, Rs 4.37 crore in Parbhani, Rs 6.04 crore in Hingol, Rs 5.99 crore in Beed and Rs 1.39 crore in Osmanabad.

Rice Fortification nationwide likely to be completed before March 2024

Downpour allows power plants to stock coal for upcoming summer months

FCI stops wheat sale through open market operations as procurement draws near

With the harvesting of wheat about to start, standing wheat crop was damaged after unseasonal rains accompanying strong winds lashed Punjab and Haryana last week

The unseasonal rainfall has put a brake on the sales of residential air conditioners, which had started to pick up early this year from mid-February as the temperature was rising. Now, in the second half of March, sales of AC have been impacted, however, makers see it as a "temporary phenomenon" and are hopeful of reaching their targets from April onwards when heat waves would start. Overall the AC industry, which had record sales of around 8.25 million units in 2022, expects to continue its double-digit growth journey this season also led by the prediction of harsh temperature and an elongated summer season. Panasonic Life Solutions India said it has witnessed a minor drop in sales due to unseasonal rains. "However, we have a long summer ahead and we are hopeful of meeting our targets if there are not too many weather disturbances like this," Panasonic Life Solutions India Business Head - Air Conditioners Group Gaurav Sah told PTI. When asked about the impact on sales after ...