06 May 2026, New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the “Mission for Cotton Productivity” with a total outlay of Rs. 5,659.22 crore for the period 2026-27 to 2030-31 to address bottlenecks, declining growth, and quality concerns in India’s cotton sector.
The Mission aligns with the Government of India’s 5F vision “Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign” and focuses on enhancing cotton productivity through development of high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds resistant to diseases and pests, scaling up existing and latest crop production technologies, ensuring least contaminant cotton supply to the industry, and promoting high-quality cotton exports.
Focus on Productivity
Under the Mission, emphasis will be placed on the development of high-yielding, climate-resilient, and pest-resistant seeds along with advanced production and crop protection technologies. The government will scale up improved cotton production technologies such as High Density Planting System (HDPS), Closer Spacing (CS), Integrated Cotton Management, and promotion of Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton through state governments, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs).
The programme also focuses on improving cotton quality through capacity building and modernization of ginning and processing factories, including adoption of best processing practices. Around 2,000 ginning and processing factories are expected to be covered under the initiative.
Quality and Traceability
To ensure reliable quality assessment and global benchmarking, the Mission will strengthen cotton testing infrastructure across the country with modern, standardized, and accredited facilities. The government will also promote robust branding and traceability initiatives under Kasturi Cotton Bharat to position Indian cotton as a premium, sustainable, and globally trusted product.
A major component of the Mission includes empowering cotton farmers through digital integration of mandis, enabling transparent price discovery, direct market access, and improved realization through e-platforms.
The Mission also targets reduction of cotton trash content to below 2% while ensuring better quality cotton supply for the textile industry.
Sustainability and Targets
The initiative will promote cotton waste recycling and circular economy practices to enhance resource efficiency, reduce environmental footprint, and generate additional value streams for the industry.
The Mission also aims to diversify India’s fibre base through promotion of natural fibres such as flax, ramie, sisal, milkweed, bamboo, and banana. The government said this strategic integration of sustainable fibres will complement cotton and support environmentally sustainable textile production and innovation in line with evolving global demand patterns.
The Mission will be jointly implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Ministry of Textiles. The programme will involve 10 institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, one institute of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and 10 centres of the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Cotton operating in State Agricultural Universities across major cotton-growing states.
Initially, the Mission will focus on 140 districts across 14 states through State Agriculture Departments and ICAR for scaling up technologies and improving productivity.
The government aims to achieve production of 498 lakh bales of cotton, each weighing 170 kg lint, by 2031 while increasing lint productivity from 440 kg per hectare to 755 kg per hectare. Approximately 32 lakh farmers are expected to benefit from the initiative, which is being positioned as a major step towards self-reliance in India’s cotton sector.
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