Nearly 2.13 lakh bales of Indian-grown cotton were certified under the Kasturi Cotton Bharat programme during the 2025-26 cotton marketing season.
Certified volumes have increased sharply from 47,100 bales in 2023-24. More than 10 lakh bales have now been brought under the Kasturi Cotton Bharat blockchain, creating a traceable digital trail from cotton to finished products.
The initiative, launched in 2020, is aimed at providing buyers with greater assurance on the origin and quality of Indian cotton. Its blockchain-based certification is gaining relevance as textile buyers in markets including the U.S. and Europe increasingly seek greater transparency and verifiable sourcing across supply chains.
Kasturi Cotton Bharat currently has 124 active registered users, including 33 textile mills. By 2031-32, around 132 lakh bales out of an estimated 498 lakh bales of total cotton production are projected to qualify as Kasturi Cotton.
For exporters, the certification is also creating commercial opportunities. B. Shanmugavadivel, Managing Director of SBT Apparels, noted that the company has procured 3,000 bales of long-staple Kasturi Cotton from the Cotton Corporation of India for manufacturing export garments.
According to Shanmugavadivel, Kasturi Cotton offers better quality than regular cotton, while its traceability credentials are increasingly valued by overseas buyers. Garments made using the cotton are consequently seeing stronger acceptance in export markets.
Kulin Lalbhai, Vice Chairman of Arvind Limited, said traceability has become an important part of the global textile supply chain as buyers seek greater confidence in the products they source.
He added that the Kasturi Cotton initiative has helped make traceability more accessible across the industry.
