India grows a fifth of the world’s cotton, but a tiny pink moth has been fighting back for years. This article covers cotton cultivation in India, and that ongoing battle.
🕰️ Timeline
Bt Cotton and Cotton Farming Milestones
- In 2002, Bt cotton became India’s first approved commercial GM crop. It now covers over 90% of India’s cotton area.
- By 2008, scientists in Gujarat found pink bollworms surviving on Bt cotton, an early sign of resistance.
- Gujarat is India’s top cotton producer, growing 90–95 lakh bales a year, ahead of Maharashtra.
- India produces about 20% of the world’s cotton, making it the second-largest producer globally.
✊ Must Know
What Cotton Needs to Grow
- Cotton is a Kharif crop, sown around April–May and harvested between September and November.
- It needs 200 or more frost-free days, temperatures of 21–30°C, and 50–75 cm of rainfall.
- Cotton grows best in black (regur) soil, common across the Deccan Plateau.
- Major producing states include Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Karnataka.
- The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) procures raw cotton from farmers at Minimum Support Price and supplies it to the textile industry.
📘 Good to Know
Where Cotton Is Grown in India
- By 2014, pink bollworm populations had also developed resistance to a second Bt gene, Cry2Ab, deepening the pest problem.
- Resistance later spread beyond Gujarat, into Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.
- Cotton feeds India’s large textile industry, linking farm output directly to spinning, weaving, and garment exports.
Test Yourself
🌟 Great to Know
Resistance and the Bt Cotton Story
- Pink bollworm resistance shows genetic engineering isn’t a permanent fix. Pests can evolve around a single-gene defence within years, which is why refuge-crop planting strategies exist alongside Bt seeds.
- India’s 20% global share, without dominant control over cotton-processing technology, mirrors a pattern seen elsewhere. Growing a commodity doesn’t automatically mean capturing most of its value chain.
- The Cotton Corporation of India’s price-support role matters most when open-market prices crash. It shows how government can act as a buyer of last resort in volatile farm sectors.
- Cotton needs many frost-free days, which ties its safe growing zone closely to regional climate. Prolonged cold snaps or early frosts pose a genuine yield risk.
📰 Current Affairs
Recent Cotton Sector Developments
- On 22 July 2026, the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) released ₹6.67 crore under its Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism. The funds support biodiversity conservation and livelihoods across 11 cotton-growing states. (Source: PIB)
- The money came from a ₹7.62 crore benefit-sharing payment by Bayer Science & Innovation, formerly Monsanto. It covered research using 25,431 cotton varieties. (Source: PIB)
- Maharashtra received the largest share, ₹2.41 crore, followed by Gujarat (₹1.38 crore) and Telangana (₹1.06 crore). The remaining ₹0.95 crore was earmarked for the NBA itself. (Source: PIB)
- Each state’s share followed its proportion of India’s cotton-growing area, using AICRP-ICAR data. This gave the allocation a transparent, scientific basis. (Source: PIB)
- The funds will support on-farm and ex-situ conservation, People’s Biodiversity Registers, and Biodiversity Heritage Sites. They will also fund livelihood enhancement in the recipient states. (Source: PIB)
- On 24 July 2026, Parliament reviewed cotton’s longer production trend. Output has fallen from 352.48 lakh bales in 2020-21, to 290.91 lakh bales in 2025-26, as some farmers shifted to other crops. (Source: PIB)
- Cotton acreage fell too, from 132.85 to 114.84 lakh hectares over the same period. Productivity itself stayed fairly steady, between 428 and 451 kg per hectare. (Source: PIB)
- Cotton prices have climbed. International prices rose about 19%, and domestic S-6 variety prices rose about 18%, over the recent period. (Source: PIB)
- To ease supply, the government exempted an 11% import duty on raw cotton, from 1 June to 31 October 2026. Raw cotton imports have already jumped 80.26% year-on-year. (Source: PIB)
- 20 July 2026: A PIB backgrounder, “White Gold: India’s Cotton Story,” set out India’s 2025-26 cotton position. Production stood at 290.91 lakh bales (provisional); domestic consumption reached 328 lakh bales. (Source: PIB)
- India is the only country that cultivates all four recognised cotton species. It ranks first globally in cultivation area, and second in both production and consumption. (Source: PIB)
- India’s cotton area covers 114.84 lakh hectares, about 38% of the world’s total cotton area. Roughly 62% of this is rain-fed; the rest is irrigated. (Source: PIB)
- Cotton contributes nearly 19% of global fibre production. It supports about 6 million cotton farmers directly, and another 40-50 million people in related work, earning it the name “White Gold.” (Source: PIB)
- Among India’s four cotton species, G. Hirsutum (American upland cotton) makes up nearly 90% of hybrid cotton production. All of India’s Bt cotton hybrids, introduced commercially in 2002, belong to this species. (Source: PIB)
- On 7 July 2026, Vice President Radhakrishnan was briefed on the Mission for Cotton Productivity, known as Kapas Kranti. The briefing came from the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, along with senior officials from the Ministries of Agriculture and Textiles.
- The Union Cabinet had approved the Mission on 5 May 2026, with a total outlay of ₹5,659.22 crore, to run from 2026-27 to 2030-31.
- The Mission aims to raise India’s cotton lint productivity from about 441 kg/hectare, in the triennium ending 2025-26, to 755 kg/hectare by 2031. It also targets raising total output from about 300 lakh bales to 498 lakh bales.
- Eligible farmers can receive input assistance of up to ₹14,000 per hectare, to invest in quality seeds, fertilisers, irrigation, and better farming techniques.
- The Mission’s initial phase covers 140 districts across 14 major cotton-growing states, reaching an estimated 32 lakh cotton farmers.
- Its focus areas include climate-resilient and pest-resistant seed varieties, plus Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton development. Other components cover High-Density Planting Systems, mechanised harvesting support, and continued Pink Bollworm resistance management.
- Implementing agencies include the Ministries of Agriculture and Textiles, along with 10 ICAR institutes and the CSIR. The government has framed the Mission around a “Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign” vision for the sector.
- On 1 August 2026, at CCI’s 56th Foundation Day, Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh detailed cotton season 2025-26’s MSP procurement. CCI bought over 522 lakh quintals of seed cotton, from nearly 24 lakh farmer transactions. (Source: PIB)
- This procurement transferred ₹41,530 crore, directly to farmers’ Aadhaar-linked accounts. For Cotton Season 2026-27, the MSP for seed cotton has also risen, by about 7%. (Source: PIB)
- The event launched the ‘Kapas Darshan’ Bulletin, giving farmers timely weather, market, and cultivation advisories. Modern equipment, including plucker machines and contamination-control kits, was also distributed to farmers and FPOs. (Source: PIB)
- Four MoUs were signed, to strengthen India’s cotton ecosystem. One, between TEXPROCIL and a private ginner, targets 30,000 certified cotton bales under Kasturi Cotton Bharat. (Source: PIB)
📝 Previous Year Questions
Identifying Cotton From Its Growing Conditions
- The clues Subtropical nature, frost sensitivity, ~210 frost-free days, 50-100cm rainfall, and light well-drained moisture-retentive soil all point to cotton.
- Answer: (a) Cotton.
- View this question on the full 2020 paper →
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