Less rain may hit economy

Storm clouds of a different kind are gathering on the macro-economic horizon and they have nothing to do with surging global crude oil prices. The monsoon has played truant across large parts of India, with western and southern India reeling under the impact of deficient and scanty rainfall. As of July 23, crucial crop-growing regions like Maharashtra, north interior Karnataka and Saurashtra and Kutch in Gujarat, among others, are bearing the brunt of deficient rainfall.