Textile ministry set to get over 20% of Cotton Productivity Mission funds
The Ministry of Textiles is set to receive over one-fifth of the proposed ₹6,000 crore outlay for the Cotton Productivity Mission, even as the scheme awaits Cabinet approval nearly 11 months after its announcement.
The Ministry of Textiles is said to have prevailed over other ministries to secure more than one-fifth of the total expenditure of about ₹6,000 crore proposed for the Cotton Productivity Mission, which is yet to receive Cabinet approval after being announced nearly 11 months ago.
“Though name is productivity mission, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) will not get even 10 per cent of the total funding and will have all the responsibility to achieve target, starting from preparing the cabinet note of the Mission,” said a former leading scientist of ICAR’s cotton research centre in Nagpur.
He suggested a Basmati-type intervention to popularise varieties, for which the textile ministry should serve as a bridge between ICAR and user industries, rather than seeking funds. Above all, the farmers need to be assured through action, not words, that the imported cotton brought into the country is above the rates they receive in the domestic market, he said, pointing out the current duty-free import allowed until December 31.
Proposed allocation split
Earlier, the textile ministry’s suggestion to spend the Mission funds on modernising factories was opposed by the Department of Expenditure and Niti Aayog, sources said. But the expenditure finance commission has agreed to allow the textile ministry to spend up to ₹1,100 crore (or 22 per cent), the sources said.
The Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare is likely to get the maximum share of over ₹4,000 crore (or 69 per cent), while ICAR is likely to get less than ₹600 crore (or 9 per cent) from the Mission for implementation over a five-year period.
In her Budget speech for 2025-26, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said: “For the benefit of lakhs of cotton-growing farmers, I am pleased to announce a ‘Mission for Cotton Productivity’. This 5-year mission will facilitate significant improvements in productivity and sustainability of cotton farming, and promote extra-long staple cotton varieties. The best support in science and technology will be provided to farmers.
“Aligned with our integrated 5F (farm, fibre, factory, fashion and foreign) vision for the textile sector, this will help in increasing incomes of the farmers, and ensure a steady supply of quality cotton for rejuvenating India’s traditional textile sector.”
Productivity challenge persists
India’s cotton production in 2025-26, for the third year in a row, dropped to 29.22 million bales (of 170 kg each) from 29.72 million bales in 2024-25. The cotton acreage too shrank by 2 million hectares in the last four years, while the all-India average yield is still less than 5 quintal per hectare, as against the world average of 9 quintal per hectare and 10 quintal in the US.
Published on December 26, 2025
