Govt Prepares For Cotton MSP With 550 Centres, Digital Push
With the Kharif cotton marketing season set to begin next month, the Government has unveiled an expanded and digitised framework for Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations, aimed at ensuring smooth procurement and farmer-friendly service delivery. Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh chaired a high-level review in New Delhi on September 2, assessing readiness for the upcoming season.
Singh assured that all kapas arriving under MSP norms would be procured without disruption, stressing the Government’s commitment to safeguarding farmer incomes while strengthening confidence in the cotton value chain.
For the first time, uniform norms have been prescribed for procurement centres, leading to the establishment of a record 550 centres across major cotton-growing states. Procurement will commence from October 1 in northern states, followed by October 15 in central states and October 21 in southern states.
The new season also marks a major digital push. Farmers will register through the ‘Kapas-Kisaan’ mobile app, enabling Aadhaar-based self-registration, slot booking, and direct bank transfers via NACH. CCI’s procurement and stock sale processes are now entirely paperless and faceless, with SMS-based payment alerts ensuring transparency.
To bolster ground-level support, Local Monitoring Committees will be formed at each APMC mandi, along with state and central helplines. Adequate manpower, logistics, and infrastructure will be in place ahead of procurement, officials confirmed.
