Poor and below normal rainfalls during the current crop season may hit country economic growth, which is already under pressure on account of low demand due to the global financial crisis. Monsoon's progress for next 10 to 15 days will be crucial for agriculture, which is mainly dependent on rainfall.

The Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee too expressed concerns over scanty rainfall and said that it might reduce growth in the agriculture sector. The FM said: "The Agriculture Minister is making an assessment. We are also making an assessment. But this (scanty rainfall) is a problem and we are trying to handle it."

However, recent advisory regarding El Nino from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has put a question mark over the progress of monsoon, which has remained deficient by as much as 65% for the week ended August.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, apparently concerned over poor monsoon, has called a meeting of the Chief Secretaries of various States on Saturday, to access the situation and find a suitable solution for the food security of the country.

Indian stock market too has been affected due to monsoon uncertainty, with the Sensex dropping 2.28 per cent to 15,160.24 for the second consecutive day.