Cabinet Approves Rs 1,718 Crore MSP Support To CCI For 2023–24 Cotton Season
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved Rs 1,718.56 crore as Minimum Support Price (MSP) funding for the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) for the 2023–24 season.
The funding is aimed at strengthening MSP operations, which ensure that farmers receive assured prices when market rates fall below the government-fixed MSP. These interventions help tabilize cotton prices, prevent distress sales, and safeguard farmer incomes.
Cotton plays a critical role in India’s agrarian economy, supporting around 60 lakh farmers and 4–5 crore people involved in allied sectors such as ginning, processing, and textiles.
For the 2023–24 season, cotton cultivation covered an estimated 114.47 lakh hectares, with production pegged at 325.22 lakh bales about a quarter of global output.
The Cotton Corporation of India continues to act as the central nodal agency for MSP procurement, purchasing all Fair Average Quality (FAQ) cotton without any cap whenever prices dip below MSP, thereby ensuring a reliable safety net for farmers.
To streamline operations, CCI has expanded its procurement infrastructure across 11 major cotton-growing states, setting up over 508 centres in 152 districts.
The agency has also adopted technology-driven initiatives to improve efficiency and transparency, including the Bale Identification and Traceability System (BITS) and the “Cott-Ally” mobile app, aimed at better farmer outreach and service delivery.
The move reinforces the government’s focus on farmer welfare while strengthening India’s cotton value chain.
