For India's drought-hit states, on-track monsoon may be too late

JAMWADI, India (Reuters) - India may be heading for another bumper grain harvest, if the first forecast for this year's monsoon proves correct, but the rain may be too little - and too late - for southern and western states already parched by the worst drought in four decades.

Although last year's monsoon rains were, overall, just seven percent below normal, these states - including major sugar producer Maharashtra and cotton-growing Gujarat - went short, in some cases getting less than half the precipitation they needed.