Question

Explain the importance of monsoon.

Answer 1

A good monsoon is important for the entire country for these reasons:

1. A good monsoon brings economic prosperity for the whole country and boosts the Indian economy as agriculture contributes around 16 percent of its total Gross domestic product (GDP).
2. High temperatures and heavy rainfall in the summer months are important for different types of Kharif crops. The winter rain supplemented by irrigation is important for rabi crops.
3. Normal rainfall is important for adequate agricultural production in order to maintain food prices. Food prices depend upon the agricultural output. In the absence of a good monsoon, the entire nation may be destabilized because of food inflation.
4. Several dams, reservoirs, rivers, and canals in India are rain-fed and depend upon the monsoon rains.
5. Other economic activities like forestry and fishing are also influenced directly by the amount of rainfall.
6. Monsoon rain gives us respite from the high and intolerable summer heat and brings back life to the living earth.
7. Monsoon also has a role to play in the social-cultural unity of India. People of India, particularly the farmers, eagerly wait for the monsoon rains. We know that the monsoon winds provide water for various agricultural activities. The agricultural calendar, and the social-cultural life of the people including their festivities, revolve around the monsoon phenomena and in a way binds the people of India together. Different harvest festivals in our country such as Bihu in Assam, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Onam in Kerala, and Lohri in Punjab are celebrated to mark a good harvest. If the rainfall is good, the entire country celebrates and if the monsoon fails, it brings famines and a year of sorrow for everyone.