Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh on Saturday reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to transforming India’s cotton ecosystem, highlighting measures to improve farmer incomes, boost productivity, strengthen quality standards and promote sustainable cotton cultivation during the 56th Foundation Day celebrations of the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra.
The event was attended by Maharashtra Ministers Sanjay Shirsat, Sanjay Savkare and Atul Save, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Textiles, researchers, scientists, representatives of the textile industry, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and cotton farmers.
Addressing the gathering, Singh described cotton as the cornerstone of India’s rural economy, self-reliance and agricultural prosperity, and reiterated the government’s commitment to the welfare of cotton growers.
Highlighting CCI’s performance during the 2025-26 cotton season, the minister said the corporation carried out one of the largest minimum support price (MSP) procurement operations in its history by procuring more than 522 lakh quintals of seed cotton (kapas) through nearly 24 lakh farmer transactions. He said ₹41,530 crore was directly transferred into Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of farmers.
Singh also noted that the MSP for seed cotton has been increased by around 7 per cent for the 2026-27 cotton season, a move aimed at ensuring remunerative prices and strengthening income security for cotton farmers.
Referring to the recently approved Cotton Productivity Mission – Kapas Kanti, the minister said the mission, with an outlay of ₹5,659 crore over five years, seeks to enhance cotton productivity and quality, modernise cotton processing infrastructure, promote branding and traceability through Kasturi Cotton Bharat, and encourage sustainable and climate-resilient cultivation practices.
He said the Kasturi Cotton Bharat initiative reflects India’s vision of taking premium Indian cotton from “Farm to Fashion to Global Market” through internationally accepted standards of certification, traceability and sustainability.
On the occasion, the minister launched the ‘Kapas Darshan’ Bulletin, which will provide cotton farmers with timely advisories on weather, market trends, scientific cultivation practices, quality management and various government initiatives.
To promote scientific and contamination-free cotton cultivation, modern agricultural equipment, including Kapas Plucker Machines, Cotton Stalk Shredder Machines and Contamination Control Kits, was distributed to farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations.
A key highlight of the event was the signing of four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) aimed at strengthening India’s cotton ecosystem.
The Cotton Corporation of India and ICAR-CIRCOT signed an agreement for capacity building and quality improvement in the ginning and pressing sector. CCI also partnered with GIZ to improve market access for cotton farmers through the Kasturi Cotton Bharat initiative by promoting sustainability, quality assurance and traceability.
Another agreement involving CITI, ICAC and MERAGO/GEOCLARA focuses on promoting carbon credit generation through climate-smart and sustainable cotton cultivation. In addition, TEXPROCIL and Manjeet Cotton Pvt. Ltd. signed an MoU to produce and certify 30,000 cotton bales under the Kasturi Cotton Bharat programme, ensuring traceability, compliance with quality standards and the development of a premium cotton supply chain.
The celebrations began with a farmer orientation programme featuring demonstrations on the use of cotton stalk shredder machines and kapas plucker machines, contamination control practices and awareness sessions on the Cotton Productivity Mission – Kapas Kanti. A musical presentation on pink bollworm management was also organised to promote scientific crop management practices.
Speaking at the event, Joint Secretary (Fibre) in the Ministry of Textiles, Padmini Singla, said India’s cotton sector is entering a transformative phase driven by innovation, sustainability and productivity enhancement. She said the Cotton Productivity Mission would improve productivity, strengthen global competitiveness through Kasturi Cotton Bharat and promote sustainable natural fibres across the cotton value chain.
CCI Chairman and Managing Director Lalit Kumar Gupta highlighted the corporation’s 56-year journey in safeguarding the interests of cotton farmers through transparent, technology-driven and farmer-centric initiatives. He reaffirmed CCI’s commitment to ensuring remunerative prices for farmers, promoting quality cotton production and contributing to the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
