National News

Mission for Cotton Productivity

May 15 , 2026 15 hrs 0 min 130 0

The Union Cabinet approved the “Mission for Cotton Productivity” with an outlay of ₹5,659 crore for 2026–27 to 2030–31.
The mission aims to improve cotton yield, quality, farmer income, and India’s textile value chain through climate-smart and pest-resistant cotton varieties.
The programme will be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Ministry of Textiles with support from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research institutes.
The mission will initially cover 140 districts in 14 major cotton-growing States and promote modern farming methods, mechanisation, and biotechnology tools.
The government aims to increase cotton productivity from 440 kilograms per hectare to 755 kilograms per hectare and raise production to 498 lakh bales by 2031.
India is the world’s second-largest cotton producer after China, but faces challenges such as Pink Bollworm, Whitefly attacks, climate stress, low productivity, and dependence on imports of Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton.