June 1 is the scheduled date for the monsoon's onset in the coastal state and it usually takes another around 28 days for the rains to reach the country's parched northern plains.

"The southwest monsoon has reached Kerala and the state has got widespread rainfall," K. Santhosh, station director at the India Meteorological Department in Kerala state capital Thiruvananthapuram, told AFP.

The state fisheries department warned Kerala fishermen to take precautions with high winds expected to whip up the waves.

Agriculture Sectretary Radha Singh said in New Delhi that the monsoon's arrival "ahead of schedule leaves us with no worries at present" and "will benefit the crop sowing season."

Any major monsoon delay affects sowing of such crops as cotton, oilseeds and rice which are planted in June and July and harvested in October and November.

Weather officials monitoring the rains' movement said the monsoon was expected to start travelling up the country's western coast and across the northeast in the next two to three days.

The rains, regarded as the agriculture sector's lifeblood, usually reach India's western financial hub of Mumbai by June 10.

The arrival of the monsoon over the Indian mainland came after it hit the Bay of Bengal Andamans archipelago last week, two days ahead of schedule.

The monsoon's early onset came despite a forecast by weather officials that this year's rains were likely to be five percent below normal.

"The long-range forecast is that this year the rains are likely to be 93 percent of the long-period average," a meteorological official said in New Delhi.

In India, a monsoon season is considered normal if the rains equal 98 percent to 102 percent of the long-period average.

Farmers watch the starting date of the monsoon and also monitor the evenness of the distribution of the rains.

While India is often in the news for its high-tech prowess and outsourcing, the advance of the rains is keenly watched as two-thirds of the country's billion-plus population earn their livelihood from agriculture.

A poor monsoon also hurts rural incomes, vital to demand in Asia's third-largest economy. Companies say there is a clear correlation between a bountiful monsoon and good corporate profits.

Agriculture accounts for about a quarter of India's gross domestic product but that figure has come down form the 1960s and 1970s when it generated over 40 percent.

Too much rain however can cause widespread heavy flooding and loss of life. Four hundred people died in Mumbai last year after nearly 100 centimetres (40 inches) of rain fell in 24 hours cutting off the city.

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