Cabinet Clears Rs 1,718 Crore MSP Reimbursement To CCI For Cotton Procurement
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Narendra Modi, has approved Rs 1,718.56 crore as reimbursement to the Cotton Corporation of India for Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations carried out during the 2023–24 cotton season.
The support covers procurement undertaken between October 2023 and September 2024, when market prices fell below MSP, prompting large-scale intervention by the nodal agency.
CCI procured around 32.84 lakh bales of cotton under MSP operations, directly benefiting nearly 7.25 lakh farmers. Payments worth approximately Rs 11,712 crore were transferred to farmers’ bank accounts.
The government fixes MSP for seed cotton (kapas) based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, while CCI undertakes procurement of Fair Average Quality (FAQ) cotton without any cap whenever market prices dip below MSP.
During the 2023–24 season, cotton cultivation covered an estimated 114.47 lakh hectares, with production pegged at 325.22 lakh bales, around 25% of global output.
To facilitate procurement, CCI operated a widespread network of over 508 centres across 152 districts in 11 major cotton-growing states.
Cotton remains a critical crop for India, supporting the livelihoods of around 60 lakh farmers and millions more across allied sectors such as processing, trade and textiles.
