{"id":1308,"date":"2026-06-25T10:29:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T10:29:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/?p=1308"},"modified":"2026-07-02T10:32:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T10:32:26","slug":"mission-for-cotton-productivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/25\/mission-for-cotton-productivity\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission for Cotton Productivity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mission for Cotton Productivity<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s in the news?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  • The Union Cabinet has approved Rs.5659 crore for the Mission for Cotton Productivity (2026\u201327 to 2030\u201331)<\/strong> to address bottlenecks, declining growth, and quality concerns in India\u2019s cotton sector.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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    Cotton Cultivation in India:<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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    • Cotton cultivation in India dates back several millennia. Archaeological evidence suggests that cotton was grown in the Indus Valley Civilization<\/strong> as early as 2500 BCE.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Cotton is primarily grown in the tropical and subtropical regions<\/mark> <\/strong>of India, with the majority of production concentrated in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • It requires high temperature, light rainfall<\/mark> or irrigation, 210 frost-free days, well-drained soil<\/mark> <\/strong>and bright sunshine <\/strong>for its growth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Current Status:<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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      • India<\/strong> is the only country that grows all four species of cotton:<\/strong> G. Arboreum and G. Herbaceum (Asian cotton), G. Barbadense (Egyptian cotton) and G. Hirsutum (American Upland cotton).\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Although India<\/strong> is a leading producer and exporter of cotton<\/strong>, some quantity <\/strong>i.e. less than 5% of the total consumption of cotton in India is imported<\/strong> by the textile industry to meet their specific requirement.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Once hailed as \u201cwhite gold,\u201d<\/strong> cotton is facing several challenges<\/strong>, including pests, diseases, weather uncertainties, and fluctuating market prices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • While India accounts for 40% of the world\u2019s cotton area<\/strong>, productivity<\/strong> remains around 440 kg per hectare<\/strong>, much lower than 2,000 kgs per hectare in many other countries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        About the Mission<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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        • The mission is aligned with the government\u2019s \u201c5F\u201d vision\u2014Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign<\/strong>\u2014and seeks to strengthen the entire cotton value chain, from production to exports.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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          Did you know?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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          • The Indian cotton industry provides livelihood to about 60 million people in the country.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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            • Under the programme, the focus will be on developing high-yielding, climate-resilient and pest-resistant seed varieties<\/strong>, alongside the promotion of modern crop production techniques.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\n
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              • These include High Density Planting System (HDPS), closer spacing, integrated cotton management practices and promotion of Extra Long Staple (ELS) Cotton.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • To ensure reliable quality assessment<\/strong>, the mission will strengthen cotton testing infrastructure<\/strong> across the country with standardised and accredited facilities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • In addition, branding and traceability initiatives<\/strong> under Kasturi Cotton Bharat<\/strong> will be scaled up<\/strong> to position Indian cotton as a premium and globally trusted product.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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                Kasturi Cotton Bharat:<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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                • Kasturi Cotton Bharat programme is a certification and branding initiative<\/strong> of <\/strong>the Ministry of Textiles<\/strong> to establish a globally recognized brand for high-quality, sustainable cotton.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Kasturi Cotton Bharat focuses on three pillars:<\/strong> Traceability <\/strong>(using blockchain), Certification, <\/strong>and Branding <\/strong>to enhance the value of Indian cotton.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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                  • Digital integration of agricultural markets<\/strong> is another key component, aimed at enabling transparent price discovery and better returns for farmers through e-platforms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • The mission will also promote recycling of cotton waste<\/strong> and encourage circular economy <\/strong>(an economic model designed to minimize waste and maximize the efficient use of resources) practices<\/strong> within the textile sector.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • The mission targets an increase in cotton production to 498 lakh bales by 2030\u201331, <\/strong>with lint productivity<\/strong> expected to rise from 440 kg per hectare to 755 kg per hectare<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                    Implementation<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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                    • The programme will be jointly implemented<\/strong> by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare<\/strong> and the Ministry of Textiles<\/strong>, with support from institutions including the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • It will initially cover 140 districts across 14 major cotton-growing states<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      Mission for Cotton Productivity What\u2019s in the news? Cotton Cultivation in India: Current Status: About the Mission Did you know? Kasturi Cotton Bharat: Implementation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-schemes-initiatives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1308"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1312,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308\/revisions\/1312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}