Meaning
Cotton is one of India’s most important commercial crops and is popularly called White Gold because of its high economic value. It is grown mainly for fibre, which is used by the textile industry.
Cotton is not only a farm crop. It is linked with farmer income, textile manufacturing, exports, employment, MSP operations, rural industry and India’s global competitiveness in textiles.
Cotton cultivation in India has a long history. It dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization, and Indian cotton textiles were historically known for their quality and craftsmanship. During colonial rule, however, India was reduced largely to a supplier of raw cotton for British textile mills.
Growing Conditions
Cotton is a subtropical crop and requires a warm, sunny and frost-free climate.
It grows best under:
• Temperature of around 21°C to 30°C
• At least 200 frost-free days
• Rainfall of around 50–100 cm
• Bright sunshine during growth
• Dry weather during harvesting
• Well-drained soil
Cotton is highly sensitive to waterlogging. Excess water during flowering or boll formation can damage the crop and reduce fibre quality.
In India, cotton is mainly a Kharif crop. Sowing starts around April-May in northern India and during the monsoon season in central and southern India.
Cotton grows well in:
• Deep alluvial soils in north India
• Black cotton soil in central India
• Red-black mixed soils in southern India
Black cotton soil is especially suitable because it has good moisture-retention capacity.
Cotton in India
India is the second-largest producer and consumer of cotton in the world, after China. It also has the largest area under cotton cultivation globally.
India contributes around 24% of global cotton output. However, despite having the largest acreage, India ranks only around 36th in productivity, showing a major yield gap.
Nearly two-thirds of India’s cotton area is rainfed, making the crop highly dependent on monsoon performance. This is why erratic rainfall, drought, floods and climate variability directly affect cotton production.
Major cotton-growing states include:
• Gujarat
• Maharashtra
• Telangana
• Andhra Pradesh
• Madhya Pradesh
• Rajasthan
• Haryana
• Punjab
• Karnataka
• Tamil Nadu
Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana are among the most important cotton-producing states. Maharashtra has a large cotton area, but much of it is rainfed, which affects productivity.
Hybrid and Bt Cotton
Hybrid cotton is produced by crossing two parent varieties with different traits. It is used to improve yield, fibre quality, pest tolerance and adaptability.
Bt cotton is a genetically modified cotton variety. It contains genes from Bacillus thuringiensis, which help the plant resist bollworm attacks.
Bt cotton was introduced in India in 2002 and became India’s first genetically modified crop approved for commercial cultivation. Initially, it helped reduce bollworm damage and improved productivity in many regions.
However, over time, the effectiveness of Bt cotton has declined in some areas due to pest resistance, especially pink bollworm resistance. This shows that biotechnology alone cannot solve cotton-sector problems permanently. It must be combined with crop rotation, refugia, integrated pest management and better seed regulation.
Importance
Cotton is central to India’s agriculture-industry-trade chain.
It sustains around 6 million farmers and supports nearly 40–50 million workers in processing, trade and textile-related activities. The cotton textile industry is the second-largest employer in India after agriculture.
Cotton is important because it supports:
• Farmer income
• Textile and garment industry
• Ginning, spinning and weaving units
• Powerloom and handloom sectors
• Export earnings
• Rural employment
• MSMEs
• Cottonseed oil and cattle-feed industries
India exported around 30 lakh bales of cotton in 2022–23, accounting for nearly 6% of the global export share.
Challenges
Cotton cultivation in India faces serious structural problems.
The first challenge is low productivity. India has the largest cotton area but lower yield compared to the global average. India’s productivity is around 480 kg/ha, while the world average is around 800 kg/ha.
The second challenge is climate vulnerability. Since most cotton area is rainfed, yields are affected by erratic rainfall, drought, floods, rising temperature and declining soil fertility.
The third challenge is pest infestation. Pink bollworm, whitefly, sucking pests and fungal infections have reduced output in many regions. India’s cotton production has fallen to a 15-year low of around 25 million bales, partly due to pest attacks and declining effectiveness of GM cotton.
The fourth challenge is high cost of cultivation. Farmers face rising costs of seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and labour. When market prices fall or imports become cheaper, small farmers face pressure.
The fifth challenge is market uncertainty. Farmers are often forced to sell below MSP due to weak procurement, poor market access and price volatility.
Major challenges include:
• Low yield
• Rainfed cultivation
• Pink bollworm resistance
• Whitefly and fungal attacks
• High input cost
• Poor access to certified seeds
• Water stress and climate risks
• Inferior fibre quality
• Weak post-harvest handling
• Price volatility and cheap imports
Government Measures
The government uses MSP, procurement, research, technology and textile-sector schemes to support cotton farmers and industry.
The Cotton Corporation of India was established in 1970 under the Ministry of Textiles. It undertakes MSP operations and helps stabilise cotton markets.
The government has also raised the MSP for cotton for the 2025–26 season and expanded procurement efforts to support farmers facing price pressure. It has also extended the 11% import duty waiver on cotton to stabilise raw material availability for the textile industry.
Important initiatives include:
• Cotton Corporation of India
• Technology Mission on Cotton, 2000
• Bt Cotton approval, 2002
• Cotton Development Programme under NFSM
• National Technical Textiles Mission, 2020
• PM MITRA Mega Textile Parks
• Cott-Ally Mobile App
• Textile Advisory Group
• Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption
• Kasturi Cotton branding initiative
Kasturi Cotton is important because it focuses on branding, quality assurance and traceability of Indian cotton. QR-code-based traceability can help improve trust among global buyers and fetch better prices.
Way Forward
India needs to improve both cotton productivity and cotton quality.
A stronger cotton strategy should focus on integrated pest management, climate-resilient varieties, high-density planting, better irrigation, mechanisation, quality control and farmer-centric market support.
Important measures include:
• Integrated Pest Management against pink bollworm and whitefly
• Approval and development of pest-resistant varieties after proper biosafety checks
• High-Density Planting System to improve productivity
• Better extension support through KVKs and CCI
• Real-time pest, weather and MSP updates through apps like Cott-Ally
• Modernisation of ginning and spinning units
• Promotion of extra-long staple cotton
• Better MSP procurement
• Crop diversification in pest-prone regions
• Branding through Kasturi Cotton
• Climate-resilient cotton cultivation
India also needs to reduce the yield gap. Increasing productivity from existing land is more sustainable than expanding cotton cultivation into ecologically stressed areas.
Relevance for India
Cotton is important because it connects agriculture with manufacturing. A crisis in cotton affects farmers, textile mills, workers, exports and consumers.
The current situation is serious because India is facing price pressure, rising imports, low domestic production and pest-related yield losses. The fall in domestic cotton production to a 15-year low shows that the sector needs structural reform, not only temporary import-duty relief.
Important factual points to remember:
• Cotton is called White Gold
• It is a Kharif commercial crop
• India is the second-largest producer and consumer of cotton after China
• India has the largest area under cotton cultivation
• India contributes around 24% of global cotton output
• Nearly two-thirds of India’s cotton area is rainfed
• India ranks low in productivity despite high acreage
• Bt cotton was introduced in India in 2002
• Bt cotton is India’s first approved GM crop
• Pink bollworm is a major pest threat
• Cotton supports around 6 million farmers and 40–50 million workers
• Cotton Corporation of India undertakes MSP operations
• Kasturi Cotton aims at branding and traceability of Indian cotton
Conclusion
Cotton is vital for India’s farmers, textile industry and exports. Its future depends on higher productivity, pest control, climate resilience, better procurement and improved fibre quality.
