Maharashtra has declared a severe drought affecting 74% of the state and 265 of 358 talukas as of May 2024.
Live storage across major dams now sits at 75.5% of capacity, a sharp decline from 88.3% in May 2023.
The worst hit is Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where reserves have collapsed to 45.4% compared with 81.7% a year ago; Nagpur, Amravati, Nashik and Konkan also report steep drops.
Maharashtra supplies 38.5% of India’s soybean output—4.85 million tonnes of the 12.6 million tonnes nationwide—and 32.8% of tur dal—1.18 million tonnes of the 3.59 million tonnes total.
Soybean, tur dal and cotton, all rain‑fed Kharif crops, are most vulnerable; a sustained water deficit could push prices higher across the country.
A farmer in Ahmednagar has already reported that irrigation canals are drying up and that crop losses could push his income below subsistence levels.
The state’s crisis is already echoing across markets, with soybean futures inching up and tur dal prices rising in Delhi, signalling potential nationwide price shocks.