New Delhi, July 22 || India's total exports of cotton textiles, including cotton yarn, cotton fabrics, made-ups, other textile yarn, fabric made-ups and raw cotton, crossed $35.642 billion during the last three years, Union Minister of Textiles Giriraj Singh informed Parliament on Tuesday.
The minister also stated that to enhance cotton productivity and quality, promote innovation and strengthen the entire textile value chain in line with the Vision 2030, a five-year 'Mission for Cotton Productivity' was announced by the Finance Minister in the Budget for 2025-26.
The Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) is the nodal department for implementing the Mission, with the Ministry of Textiles as a partner. The Mission aims to boost cotton production through strategic interventions, including research and extension activities across all cotton-growing states.
The Mission also proposes to focus on developing climate-smart, pest-resistant, and high-yielding cotton varieties, including Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton, using advanced breeding and biotechnology tools.
A special project on 'Targeting technologies to agro-ecological zones-large scale demonstration of best practices to enhance cotton productivity' has been implemented by ICAR- Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur, in eight major cotton-growing states. The total outlay of the Special Project is Rs 6,032.35 lakhs, the minister further stated.