Centre's cotton procurement from farmers exceeds 99.4 lakh bales this season
The Centre has procured 99.41 lakh bales of cotton at minimum support price (MSP) directly from farmers till March 25 this year, out of a total arrival of 260.11 lakh bales in the market, Parliament was told on Tuesday.
Similarly, the government spent Rs 11,712 crore under MSP operations to procure cotton from farmers during the cotton season 2023-24. Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) supported farmers and procured 32.84 lakh bales under MSP operations, benefiting about 7.25 lakh cotton farmers across all cotton producing states.
The government provides MSP to ensure remunerative prices to cotton farmers and protects them from distress selling in any event of prices of fair average quality (FAQ) cotton falling below the MSP. The Minister said that Government procurement can prevent prices from falling below the MSP level.
Further, for global branding of Indian textiles, the Government has registered Kasturi Cotton as the Brand Trademark of India, to give a unique identity to premium quality Indian cotton, the Minister said.
Support to cotton farmers plays a vital role in promoting the growth of India's textile exports.
Listing the Government's efforts to boost textile exports, the Minister said that the global mega textile event Bharat Tex 2025 was successfully organised by Textile Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) in February this year and supported by the Ministry of Textiles, showcasing India's potential as a major textile manufacturing hub covering the entire value chain from raw materials to finished products. The event highlighted the diversity and richness of Indian textiles, emphasizing the industry's manufacturing strength, global competitiveness, as well as its commitment to sustainability and circularity.
To popularise Indian textiles in global markets and promote Indian textiles, the government is also implementing various initiatives such as PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks Scheme, which aims to create a modern, integrated, world-class textile infrastructure; Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme focusing on Man-made Fibre (MMF) Fabrics, MMF Apparel and Technical Textiles to promote large-scale manufacturing and enhance competitiveness; National Technical Textiles Mission focusing on research innovation and development, promotion and market development; SAMARTH - Scheme for Capacity Building in Textiles Sector which aims to provide demand driven, placement oriented skilling programmes, the minister said.
