Krishna River experienced the heaviest flood since 1903, when it had 10.30 lakh cusecs of flood waters. Heavy rains and floods over the past week have wreaked havoc in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and left 2.5 million people homeless. The flooding, described by officials as the worst in many decades in south India, has killed some 280 people.

Over 50 villages in Andhra Pradesh on either side of river Krishna were inundated as a record 11 lakh cusecs of water reached Prakasam Barrage today even as week-long rains showed signs of abating in north Karnataka but the death toll mounted to 194. At least five million people are crammed in temporary government shelters. Flood waters swamped millions of acres of cropland, including sugarcane plantations, prompting worries of a fall in sugar output in Karnataka, the country's third-biggest producer. Yahoo News 061009

Rescue workers also moved more than 200,000 people living close to the river. An alert had been sounded in about 100 villages situated along the Krishna.

People in the Diviseema area of Krishna district, especially in Hamsaladeevi village, lying in the estuary, are living in the grip of fear.

Corruption is rampant in the highway construction sector: WB :

About 40% of all road construction contracts in India experience cost overruns of anywhere between 25% and 50%. The sector is plagued by Corruption, poor governance and implementation, a lack of skilled human resources and non-adherence to dispute resolution mechanisms. This is why Indian road projects are always running behind schedule, according to a World Bank report on the sector.

While corruption is rampant in the highway construction sector it has now also been highlighted by the World Bank. Observing the need for transparency and competition in the bidding process, the study has suggested institutionalising e-procurement methods. This would ensure that players are selected on a free and fair basis.

On an average for national highway projects, it takes 50% more time than scheduled to hand over encumbrance-free land to the contractors, Another significant reason for delays in implementing road projects according to the World Bank report is the absence of a dispute resolution mechanism. About $ 90 billion worth of investments in the sector is locked up disputes. FE 061009

Irrigation is the key for drought proofing Agriculture: FICCI :

The chamber highlights the need to bring in more of the farming area under irrigation. FICCI highlights this step as the only long term solution. The chamber recommends developing small sections on the long river linking system.

Rains this year are below normal to the extent of 20 per cent, the worst in 37 years. 44 per cent of the country’s 626 districts are drought stricken and kharif output is expected to dip by 15 per cent. The impact on the economy is evident with GDP projections being 5.2 – 5.8 per cent compared to the current 6.4 per cent. Agricultural GDP is expected to dip into the negative and be anywhere between -2 to -4 per cent. Loss in food-grain output owing to drought has been projected at higher than 16 million tons. Buffer stocks are 285 lakh tons of wheat and 160 lakh tons of rice, well above the minimum buffer norm of 110 lakh tons of wheat and 52 lakh tons for rice.

Declining Bank Credit to Agriculture-March 08 :

*The share of agriculture in gross bank credit declined marginally to 11.3 per cent from 11.8 per cent in 2007.

*The share of credit to industry increased to 38.4 per cent in 2008 from 38.1 per cent in 2007.

The industry sector, with 40.5 per cent share in the incremental credit in 2007, continued to capture the major share in 2008 at 39.7 per cent.

*The agriculture sector got about 9.4 per cent of the incremental credit in 2008 compared to 13.3 in 2007.

*The number of small borrowal accounts (with credit limit up to Rs 2 lakh) contributed 88.4 per cent of total number of accounts as against 89.3 per cent in 2007, while the share of outstanding credit of small borrowal accounts was 13.7 per cent as compared to 14.4 in 2007.

*The share of credit with credit limit above Rs. 25 crore increased to 35.6 per cent in 2008 from 33.0 per cent in the previous year. Source: BSR 2008

Relative Share of Borrowing of Cultivator Households from Different Sources

Source of credit	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991	2002
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Non-institutional	92.7	81.3	68.3	36.8	30.6	38.9
Of which Money lenders	69.7	49.2	36.1	16.1	17.5	26.8
Institutional	7.3	18.7	31.7	63.2	66.3	61.6
Of which coops	3.3	2.6	22.0	29.8	23.6	30.2
Com. Banks	0.9	0.6	2.4	28.5	35.2	26.3
Others	-	-	-	-	3.1	-
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100

Source: All India Debt and Investment Survey and NSSO.

The share in credit by Banks has decreased from 66% in 1991 compared to a share of 66% in 2002. Dependence on money lenders increased from 18% to 275 during the same period which is not a healthy sign..

Exports during the April-August period of the current fiscal dropped 31 per cent to $64.12 billion from $92.95 billion in the same period last year. - PTI

The percentage of projects running behind schedule has come down to 48.11 per cent in March 2009 from 57.73 per cent in March 1997. The percentage of projects posting cost overruns, however, has steeply declined from around 45 per cent in March 1997 to 13.45 per cent in March 2009. BS 011009

Grains once produced must be stored until consumed and some developing countries report stored grain losses of up to 50 per cent.
Clean structures and surroundings; low moisture content; maintaining cool conditions; regular inspection; prevention of infestation; and timely remedial action will ensure grains are well preserved and losses are reduced, if not eliminated.