The Indian government has decided that the proposed Cotton Productivity Mission will have a 10-year tenure instead of the initially planned five years, following a suggestion from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) that the earlier timeframe would be insufficient, according to sources. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), which is leading the initiative, is awaiting further inputs from the Department of Agriculture to finalise the mission, first announced in the 2025–26 Budget.
Despite the delay in rollout, the Ministry of Textiles is reportedly pressing for Mission funding to be used for the modernisation of ginning factories, even though this proposal was earlier rejected by both the Department of Expenditure and NITI Aayog, sources said.
The original plan to allocate around Rs. 5,000 crore (US $ 560 million) for the Mission — including roughly Rs. 4,000 crore (US $ 448 million) for the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare — may now require upward revision depending on the extended implementation period.
As the proposal is still awaiting clearance from the Expenditure Finance Commission, both ICAR and the Ministry of Textiles had previously presented their plans to the Department of Expenditure. The department is understood to have stated that the Textiles Ministry’s proposals did not align with the Budget announcement.
The Ministry of Textiles has argued that it should retain a role in the Mission, noting that it was initially involved as an implementing agency alongside ICAR and has already conducted related webinars. It has maintained that lint quality is influenced by post-harvest operations such as contamination control, scientific handling, bale preparation, ginning, pressing and certification, areas in which participation from the textile industry is necessary.
Sources indicated that ICAR may be advised to submit the proposal directly to the PMO without waiting for further inter-ministerial feedback, and that a high-level meeting involving all relevant departments may be convened to resolve outstanding issues.
India’s cotton production declined to 29.72 million bales (170 kg each) in 2024–25, compared with 32.52 million bales the previous year. While the government has not yet issued its estimate for 2025–26, the Cotton Association of India has projected output at 30.5 million bales, down from 31.2 million bales in 2024–25.
