JulOLR

While the total precipitation associated with the 2011 Indian Monsoon has been in the normal range for most states as classified by the Indian Met Dept, with a range between +19% and -19%, the distribution warrants a closer look.  The map below from NASA's MERRA reanalysis archive highlights the Outgoing Longwave Radiation for July (a key month for crops), indiciative of precipitation, and we can see here that while the northwest was healthy, some states in the southern subcontinent were moisture deficient. 

                                                                                                                   (source: NASA, MERRA)

The dipole present here is not uncommon, particularly in years where the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies for the Indian Ocean/Bay of Bengal are absent.