New Delhi: "There is no point pressing panic button. Because if you keep chanting drought drought, drought and its adverse impact, it will not give me any relief," said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday.
The Finance Minister is worried. The weak monsoon is could derailing the government's plan of bringing the economy back on track.
The situation is bad. Mukherjee on Tuesday confirmed nearly a quarter of India's districts are now drought-hit. And that 20% less land has been sown than last year this time.
Yet, he's sticking to a 6% growth target. But many economists are questioning that.
The lowest growth estimates are between 5.5 to 4.7 per cent. All this depends on how badly agricultural growth is hit, not just this time but in the winter crop as well.
But a humanitarian crisis is a more immediate worry. The drought has hit the poorest of the poor.
- Food prices will rise further
- Farmers become indebted to private money lenders
- Many resort to distress sale of land, utensils -- whatever few belongings they may have left
- And there are already reports of suicides
It is raining trouble for policymakers with the monsoon -- the economic lifeline -- playing truant. The government says a contingency plan is in place.. experts say the time has come to press it into action.