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News: Cabinet approves “Mission for Cotton Productivity” for Self-Sufficiency in Cotton and Competitiveness in Global Textile Markets by 2030-31.
About Mission for Cotton Productivity
- Mission for Cotton Productivity is an initiative to address bottlenecks, declining growth, and quality concerns in India’s cotton sector.
- It aligns with the 5F vision (Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign) of the Government.
- Aim: It aims to equip farmers with cutting-edge scientific and technological support, enabling higher productivity, superior fibre quality, and improved resilience against climatic and pest-related challenges.
- Implementation agency: It will be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Ministry of Textiles.
- Other institutions involved: It involves 10 institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), one institute of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and 10 centres of All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRPs) on Cotton operating in different State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) of major cotton growing states.
- Duration: The duration of the Mission is from 2026–27 to 2030–31.
- Budget outlay: It has an outlay of Rs. 5659.22 crore for Self-Sufficiency in Cotton and boosting global competitiveness.
- Major Focus Areas:
- It focuses on the development of High-Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds that are resistant to diseases and pests.
- It promotes climate-resilient seeds, pest-resistant seeds, and advanced production and protection technologies to improve cotton productivity.
- It aims to scale up improved cotton production technologies such as High Density Planting System (HDPS), Closer Spacing (CS), Integrated Cotton Management, and the cultivation of Extra Long Staple (ELS) Cotton through State Governments, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs).
- It seeks to improve cotton quality through capacity building, modernisation of ginning and processing factories, and adoption of best processing practices.
- It also focuses on strengthening cotton testing infrastructure by establishing modern facilities, standardised systems, accredited testing centres, and global benchmarking standards.
- It promotes Kasturi Cotton Bharat for branding, traceability, and certification in order to position Indian cotton as a premium and sustainable product in global markets.
- It empowers farmers through digital integration of mandis, promotes cotton waste recycling and reduction in environmental footprint across the cotton value chain.
- It focuses on the diversification of India’s fibre base by promoting natural fibres such as flax, ramie, sisal, milkweed, bamboo, and banana.
- Coverage: Initially, 140 districts will be focused in 14 States through State Department of Agriculture and ICAR for upscaling the technologies and 2000 ginning/ processing factories.
- Target: It envisages to:
- Accomplish the production of 498 lakh bales (170 kg lint each) of cotton by enhancing lint productivity from 440 kg/ha to 755 kg/ha by 2031.
- Approximately 32 lakh farmers will benefitted.
- Promotion of Kasturi Cotton Bharat for traceability and certification
- Targeting trash reduction <2%
- Promotion of natural fibres like flax, ramie, sisal, milkweed, bamboo and banana.
