  Grid (1{\deg} latitude x 1{\deg} longitude) level daily rainfall data over
India from June to September for the years 1951 to 2007, generated by India
Meteorological Department, was analyzed to build monthly time series of
Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). Analysis of SPI was done to study the
spatial and temporal patterns of drought occurrence in the country. Geographic
spread of SPI derived Area under Dryness (AUD) in different years revealed the
uniqueness of 2002 drought with wide spread dryness in July. Mann-Kendal trend
analysis and moving average based trends performed on AUD indicated increasing
trend in July. The area under moderate drought frequency has increased in the
most recent decade. Ranking of years based on Drought Persistency Score (DPS)
indicated that the year 1987 was the severe-most drought year in the country.
The results of the study have revealed various aspects of drought climatology
in India. A similar analysis with the SPI of finer spatial resolution and
relating it to crop production would be useful in quantifying the impact of
drought in economic terms.
