Textile Ministry may get ₹1,100 crore from Cotton Productivity Mission

NEW DELHI : 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.