Lok Sabha Question No. 3344 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-09
Subject: Development of Cotton Sector
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Ratansinh Magansinh Rathod, Hasmukhbhai Somabhai Patel

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3344 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2023

## DEVELOPMENT OF COTTON SECTOR

## 3344. SHRI RATANSINH MAGANSINH RATHOD: SHRI PATEL HASMUKHBHAI SOMABHAI:

## Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री

be pleased to state :

- (a) whether the Government is taking steps for development of Cotton Sector;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the details of facilities provided by the Government to the cotton sector?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER

## वस्त्र राज् य मंत्री ( श्रीमती दर्शना जरदोर् )

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES (SMT. DARSHANA JARDOSH)

(a) to (c): Government has taken several measures for development of  cotton sector and various facilities are provided by Government . Some of the major steps and facilities are indicated below:-

- (i) Department  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  is  implementing  cotton  development programme under National Food Security Mission (NFSM) in 15 major cotton growing states viz .,  Assam,  Andhra  Pradesh,  Gujarat,  Haryana,  Karnataka,  Madhya  Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh & West Bengal from 2014-15 with the aim to increase production and productivity. The assistance is being provided to the farmers on various types of demonstrations, trials on high  density  planting  system,  distribution  of  plant  protection  chemicals  &  bio  agents, national  &  state  level  trainings.  Under  the  scheme,  an  amount  of  Rs.  15.11  crores  as central share has been allocated to States during 2022-23.
- (ii) To  safeguard  economic  interest  of  cotton  farmers  and  ensure  adequate  availability  of cotton to the textile industry Govt. of India introduced a formula of 1.5 times of cost of production (A2+FL) for declaring MSP from 2018-19. For cotton season 2022-23, MSP of Fair Average Quality (FAQ) grade cotton had increased by about 6 % which has further been increased by 9% to 10% for ensuing cotton season 2023-24.
- (iii) To safeguard the cotton farmers from distress sales, Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) is appointed as a Central Nodal agency for undertaking MSP operations when prices of Fair Average Quality grade seed cotton (kapas) fall below the MSP rates.
- (iv) Brand  name  for  Indian  cotton  as  'Kasturi  Cotton  India'  was  launched  on  7th  October 2020.  MoU  signed  between  CCI  on  behalf  of  Govt.  of  India  and  TEXPROCIL  for Traceability, Certification and Branding of KASTURI Cotton India with Corpus fund of 30  crores  by  joint  contribution  of  Industry  and  MoT  over  a  period  of  3  years  during 2022-23 to 2024-25.
- (v) Ministry  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  has  sanctioned  a  special  project  on  cotton titled 'Targeting technologies to agro-ecological zones-large scale demonstrations of best practices to enhance cotton productivity' with a budget outlay of Rs. 41.87 crores under NFSM during 2023-24.  This projects targets technologies such as High Density Planting System (HDPS), closer spacing and production technology for ELS cotton focusing on a cluster-based and value chain approach in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to farmers.
- (vi) Ministry of Textiles constituted Textile Advisory Group (TAG) on 25th May 2022 as an informal body which facilitates inter-Ministerial coordination and represents stakeholders from  the  entire cotton value chain to  deliberate  &  recommend  on  the  issues  of productivity, prices, branding, etc.
- (vii) Cott-Ally mobile app has been developed for farmers to increase awareness about MSP rates, nearest procurement centers, payment tracking, best farm practices etc.
- (viii) Government  ensures  availability  of  Cotton  to  Textile  Industry  through  a  mechanism namely  Committee  on  Cotton  Promotion  and  Consumption  (COCPC).    COCPC  keeps constant  watch  and  reviews  cotton  scenario  in  the  country  and  aptly  advises  the Government generally on matters pertaining to production and consumption of cotton.

****