{"id":86574,"date":"2026-10-10T18:37:48","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T13:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=86574"},"modified":"2026-10-10T18:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T13:08:34","slug":"world-cotton-day-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-10-2026\/world-cotton-day-2","title":{"rendered":"World Cotton Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Permanent Missions of India and Mali to the United Nations jointly organized an event on the theme \u201cCotton for Sustainability: Livelihoods, Value Addition and Partnership\u201d at the United Nations commemorating <strong>World Cotton Day.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>World Cotton Day<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed <strong>7 October<\/strong> as <strong>World Cotton Day.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The idea for World Cotton Day originated from the <strong>Cotton Four nations, Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad, and Mali <\/strong>aiming to promote cotton by-products and their markets.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They are the top cotton-producing and exporting countries in sub-Saharan Africa.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The first World Cotton Day (WCD) event was initiated in Geneva and observed on <strong>October 7, 2019.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cotton Production in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cotton accounts for around <strong>23% of global fibre production.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Due to its economic importance in India, it is also termed as \u201c<strong>White-Gold\u201d.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"bed8e5\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"602\" height=\"490\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-77.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-86576\" style=\"--dominant-color: #bed8e5; width:518px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-77.png 602w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-77-300x244.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India is the only country that cultivates all four recognized cotton species.<\/strong> These include G. Arboreum and G. Herbaceum, commonly referred to as Asian cotton.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cotton production in India is largely concentrated in <strong>9 major states,<\/strong> grouped into 3 distinct agro-ecological zones:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Northern Zone<\/strong> comprising Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Central Zone <\/strong>comprising Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Southern Zone <\/strong>comprising Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In addition to these states, cotton is also grown in <strong>Odisha and Tamil Nadu.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-dominant-color=\"b4dee8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #b4dee8;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"399\" height=\"378\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-76.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-86575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-76.png 399w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-76-300x284.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 399px) 100vw, 399px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bt Cotton: <\/strong>Bt refers to Bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally occurring soil bacterium. These genes provide resistance against bollworms, a major pest affecting cotton cultivation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It was introduced commercially in India in <strong>2002<\/strong>, Bt cotton significantly reduced bollworm infestation and lowered the need for insecticide sprays.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cotton Exports of India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In 2024-25, India accounted for <strong>3.37% of total world cotton exports, <\/strong>amounting to 541.69 lakh bales (9.21 million metric tonnes).\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In value terms, cotton exports reached US$ 11.49 billion in FY25.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The United States of America emerged as the largest destination<\/strong> for Indian cotton fabrics and made-ups exports, followed by Bangladesh.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Other important destinations included<\/strong> the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges Faced by the Sector<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Low Productivity:<\/strong> India\u2019s cotton productivity remains constrained by fragmented landholdings, inadequate irrigation, poor-quality seeds in some areas, and limited adoption of modern farming practices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Climate Change:<\/strong> Erratic monsoons, rising temperatures, droughts and unseasonal rainfall affect cotton yields and fibre quality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pest and Disease Attacks:<\/strong> Pink bollworm, whiteflies and other pests cause significant crop losses and increase farmers\u2019 expenditure on pesticides.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Quality Issues:<\/strong> Contamination during harvesting, storage and transportation, along with inconsistent fibre quality, reduces the competitiveness of Indian cotton in premium markets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Issues with Seed Technology: <\/strong>Limited availability of high-yielding, pest-resistant and climate-resilient varieties, along with concerns over the cost and effectiveness of existing seed technologies, affects productivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives to Support Cotton Sector<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthening Cotton Farmers through MSP:<\/strong> For 2026-27, the MSP for cotton was increased to Rs. 8,267 per quintal for medium-staple cotton and Rs. 8,667 per quintal for long-staple cotton. This marked an increase of Rs. 557 per quintal for both varieties.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mission for Cotton Productivity: <\/strong>A five-year Mission for Cotton Productivity was launched in 2025-26 to strengthen cotton production nationwide.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It aims to develop climate-resilient, pest-resistant, and high-yielding cotton varieties.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cotton production is targeted to increase from 297 lakh bales to 498 lakh bales by 2031.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Special Project on Cotton under National Food Security Mission: <\/strong>It focuses on large-scale demonstrations of technologies suited to different agro-ecological zones. It covers major cotton-growing states across the country.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The objective is to improve productivity, fibre quality, and farmer incomes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Kapas Kisan App: <\/strong>The mobile application has been introduced to streamline procurement under the MSP system, it enables cotton growers to complete self-registration and book procurement slots.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Branding of Indian Cotton &#8211; Kasturi Cotton Bharat: <\/strong>It seeks to enhance the value and global positioning of Indian cotton through traceability, certification, and branding.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Efforts to improve productivity, strengthen farmer incomes, modernize procurement, and enhance global competitiveness are shaping a more resilient cotton ecosystem.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As new initiatives expand quality, sustainability, and value addition, the sector is well-positioned to support livelihoods, industry, and economic growth in the years ahead.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2321122&amp;reg=48&amp;lang=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>PIB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Permanent Missions of India and Mali to the United Nations jointly organized an event on the theme \u201cCotton for Sustainability: Livelihoods, Value Addition and Partnership\u201d at the United Nations commemorating World Cotton Day. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> World Cotton Day <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 7 October as World Cotton Day. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The idea for World Cotton Day originated from the Cotton Four nations, Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad, and Mali aiming to promote cotton by-products and their markets. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-10-2026\/world-cotton-day-2 \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86574"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86578,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86574\/revisions\/86578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}