Lower Rainfall Forecast for Maharashtra Due to El Niño
Due to the influence of El Niño, it is anticipated that rainfall in Maharashtra during the upcoming Kharif season will be approximately 12% lower than normal. During a state-level pre-Kharif review meeting held on Thursday (May 21, 2026), Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated that the state is projected to receive an average of 88% of its normal rainfall this year. While some regions may experience higher rainfall, areas such as Western Vidarbha and Marathwada are likely to face challenging conditions due to a deficit in precipitation.
The Chief Minister informed that the state government is implementing technology-based solutions to address the challenges posed by the low rainfall. Farmers will be provided with region-specific information regarding rainfall and weather conditions through mobile applications and AI-based systems. To this end, the Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
The state government also announced that the process of waiving farmers' loans will be completed before June 30. This initiative is being implemented under the "Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Shetkari Karjmafi Yojana" (Farmers' Loan Waiver Scheme), which was announced during the State Budget presentation in March 2026. Under this scheme, crop loans of up to ₹2 lakh will be waived for farmers, while farmers who have been regular in repaying their loans will receive an incentive of ₹50,000.
During the meeting, banks were also directed to increase credit disbursement within the agricultural sector. The Chief Minister urged nationalized banks to extend more crop loans to farmers and to waive the mandatory requirement of a CIBIL score for loan approval. Furthermore, Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to integrate the Bharat Forecast System (BharatFS) into its disaster management framework.
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