El Nino threat to agri sector manageable due to better irrigation and reserves
New Delhi: The government on Saturday said it expects any damage to agriculture from a potential El Nino weather pattern this year to be limited, citing improved irrigation infrastructure, higher reservoir levels and better-prepared farmers than during previous such episodes.
The assurance came as Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan chaired a preparatory meeting for the Kharif crop season, which begins with the onset of the southwest monsoon in June and accounts for a substantial share of the country’s annual farm output.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), has forecast below-normal monsoon rainfall this year at around 92 per cent of the long-period average, and has flagged a risk of El Nino conditions developing during the season. A final forecast is due in late May.
“Farmers need not have any concerns,” Chouhan told the meeting, according to a ministry statement, adding that the government was moving ahead with “complete preparedness.”
“Despite the potential El Nino impact, its effect on the agriculture sector is likely to remain relatively limited compared to previous instances,” the statement added.
A critical factor behind the government’s confidence is the current state of water reserves. Reservoir storage across the country stands at 127 per cent of the normal level for this time of year, the officials said in the meeting, providing a significant buffer for irrigation needs through the growing season.
Seed stocks for both the Kharif and subsequent Rabi seasons have been secured above requirements, with emergency reserves set aside should adverse weather force farmers to replant or switch crops.
Officials at the meeting contrasted current conditions with El Nino episodes between 2000 and 2016, when crop losses were more severe because farmers relied more heavily on rainfall and had fewer tools to cope with climate shocks.
Since then, India has expanded micro-irrigation networks, introduced climate-resilient seed varieties and strengthened early-warning systems – changes the government said have materially reduced the sector’s vulnerability.
Paddy, the main Kharif crop grown across large swathes of the country, was specifically cited as showing greater stability, while contingency plans are being drawn up for crops considered more exposed to a rainfall shortfall.
Chouhan directed state governments to activate contingency plans down to the district level, and asked officials to promote drought-tolerant varieties and delayed sowing strategies as practical options for farmers if conditions worsen.
A crop-weather monitoring mechanism is already operational, the ministry said, with the Centre and states coordinating regularly to enable quick responses.
El Nino, a periodic warming of surface waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, typically disrupts monsoon patterns over South Asia and has historically been associated with weaker-than-normal rainfall in India, raising the risk of drought in rain-fed farming regions.
India is the world’s second-largest producer of rice and wheat, and farm output directly affects the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people.
Opposition plans to move fresh notice seeking removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar
Press Trust of India
New Delhi: Undeterred by the rejection of their earlier notices, opposition parties are planning a fresh move to seek the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, sources said on Saturday.
According to highly placed sources, leaders from several opposition parties are in talks, and at least five senior MPs from different parties — including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the DMK — are working on drafting a new notice to initiate removal proceedings.
It has, however, not yet been decided which House the notice would be moved in, or whether it would be introduced in both Houses as was done last time, the source added.
Buoyed by the defeat of The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 in Lok Sabha on Friday, opposition leaders are aiming to secure more MPs’ signatures on the notice and are looking at garnering at least 200, the source said.
“We want to make a statement. We first need to prove that the number last time was underestimated,” the source added.
In its earlier notices, the opposition had accused CEC Kumar of a “failure to maintain independence and constitutional fidelity” and of acting under the “thumb of the executive”.
The notices levelled sweeping charges against the CEC, alleging “proved misbehaviour” on grounds including a compromised and executive-influenced appointment, partisan functioning — such as the alleged “graded response” doctrine targeting opposition leaders — obstruction of electoral fraud investigations, and erosion of transparency through refusal to share data and materials.
They further accused him of enabling large-scale disenfranchisement via Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercises in Bihar and elsewhere, defying or delaying compliance with Supreme Court directions, and acting in alignment with the political executive, thereby undermining the independence of the Election Commission.
However, in almost similar responses, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan rejected the notices, holding that even if the allegations were assumed to be true, they did not meet the high constitutional threshold of “misbehaviour” required for removal.
They reasoned that appointment-related issues or prior government service do not constitute misconduct; differences in public statements or administrative decisions lack evidence of wilful abuse of authority; and actions like data-sharing or electoral roll revisions fall within the commission’s constitutional mandate and are subject to judicial review.
The responses also stressed that many issues cited were either speculative, politically interpretative, or sub judice, and that removal proceedings cannot be based on disagreement or perceived political consequences but require clear, specific, and provable misconduct, which, they concluded, was absent in this case.
