India, July 8 -- With the monsoon arriving in India, it is important to remember its critical importance to the country in terms of its impact on the economy and the lives of people. As to the first, it was as early as 1925 that the Royal Commission on Indian Agriculture described India's economy as a gamble on the monsoon. Earlier, Viceroy Lord Curzon had said the same thing. According to the Economic Survey 2017-18, the country's net irrigated area came to 34.5 per cent of the net sown area of 141.4 million hectares. Agricultural incomes fall when the monsoon is deficient or irregular, the latter making for unseasonal rainfall. According to the article, 'Monsoon calling' by Vinson Kurian in The Hindu BusinessLine in April 2015, since Fe...