Statistics paint rosy picture for India after severest drought in Maharashtra

Despite the severest drought in a century in Maharashtra, there is something to cheer about for the country as a whole, Marathwada included, that the weather office and statistics are painting a rosy picture in the days ahead on three fronts, the monsoons, economy and inflation. Statistics -- lies, damn lies and statistics -- one might say, but the statistics prove that after every 2 years of drought, India will have plentiful rain in the third year. Even going by the climate watchers, after 2 years of the El Nino effect, there will be plentiful rain. Both statistics and El Nino effect prove the point of plenty. India's factory output increased by 2% in February after three months of decline. Retail inflation registered a decline to 4.83% in March from 5.26% in February. Food inflation, too, showed the decline from 5.3% to 5.21% during the period. For rural India, the Consumer Price Index annual inflation fell from 6.05% to 5.7%. For Urban India, the prices rose by 3.95% till March as against 4.3% in the previous 12 months. Industrial production was up by 9.6%, mainly led by increased electricity generation. Also, mining activity explanded by 5% as compared to the previous 12 months. The coming above-normal monsoon is expected to boost productivity and alleviate rural distress.