Bloomberg India’s southwest monsoon, which waters more than half of the country’s farmland and is crucial for economic growth, is expected to be normal this year as El Nino weather conditions are seen staying weak. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) maintained its April forecast, reiterating that rains during the June-September monsoon season will be 96 percent of the long-term average. ...

Bloomberg Malaysia is all geared to satisfy China’s craving for a pungent, football-sized thorny fruit. That’s because China’s General Administration of Customs has approved imports of frozen whole durian fruit following an agreement signed in August, according to Sim Tze Tzin, Malaysia’s deputy minister for agriculture and agro-based industry. “The durian market in China is so big but we’ve only ...

Bloomberg State-run NTPC Ltd, India’s largest coal-fired power producer, is appointing a new head of its renewables team to speed up its expansion into clean energy, according to a company official with knowledge of the plan. Mohit Bhargava, currently a chief general manager for corporate planning, will start in the new role next week, said the official, asking not to ...