The area under paddy cultivation has increased by six per cent to over 260 lakh hectares this year so far. The acreage of cotton, sugarcane, oilseeds and coarse cereals has also gone up.Paddy, the main kharif crop was grown in over 244 lakh hectares area till August 5 last year. An official statement said higher area coverage has been reported from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, West Bengal andAssam.Area under cotton rose by five per cent to over 109 lakh hectares till August 5 as against 104 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. The sowing area under sugarcane rose by six per cent to 51 lakh hectares so far this season compared to over 48 lakh hectares in the same period of the previous year.Oilseeds acerage has also gone up by three per cent to 157 lakh hectares compared to 153 lakh hectares in the period under review.