New Delhi, August 11: Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday warned that the country was facing the biggest drought of the century as a delayed and deficient monsoon continues to adversely affect agriculture in several parts of the country.
The Finance Minister, however, assured that there was no need to panic as the government was taking adequate steps to meet the situation.
Expressing concerns over the situation, Pranab said that the severe drought will also affect the country’s economic growth, which is expected to be below 6% this year.
The warning from the Finance Minister comes at a time when as many as 161 districts have been declared drought-hit across the country.
Pranab’s warning assumes significance in the wake of a report by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) that the average monsoon rainfall has been deficient by 25% in the country for the monsoon period June 1 to August 5. The IMD report also said that the shortfall has been far higher in traditional breadbasket states like Punjab and Haryana.
–Agencies