New Delhi, Jul 8 (IANS): With a better monsoon this year, the area under kharif crop sowing has shot up by 14.1 per cent to 378.72 lakh hectares compared to 331.9 hectares during the same period last year, according to data released on Monday by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

The area under pulses sown this year has surged by 50 per cent to 36.81 lakh hectares from 23.78 lakh hectares last year. This augurs well as there has been a shortage of pulses in the country which has driven up food inflation.

The area under paddy cultivation has jumped to 59.99 lakh hectares from 50.26 lakh hectares last year.

Similarly, the area under oilseeds has also jumped to 8.31 lakh hectares from 51.97 lakh hectares last year, the figures show. The higher area under oilseeds is also a welcome development as this would lead to a decline in the edible oil import bill of the country, leading to a saving of precious foreign exchange.

Besides, the area under sugarcane has increased to 56.88 lakh hectares this year from 55.45 lakh hectares last year while the area under the soybean has more than doubled to 60.63 lakh tonnes from 28.86 lakh hectares.