Why in News?

• According to the Union Minister for Textiles Commerce and Industry, India will strive to become the largest cotton producer globally.
• He was inaugurating an annual global meeting - 81st plenary session of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) - a UN recognised body of cotton producing and consuming nations.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Cotton Sector in India
• What is the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)?
• India’s Efforts Towards Improving Cotton Productivity

Cotton Sector in India:

• Cotton is one of the most important commercial crops cultivated in India and accounts for around 25% of the total global cotton production.
  • India has the largest area under cotton cultivation and is the second largest producer (after China).
• It plays a major role in sustaining the livelihood of an estimated 6 million cotton farmers and 40-50 million people engaged in related activities such as cotton processing and trade.
• The Indian Textile Industry consumes a diverse range of fibres and yarns and the ratio of use of cotton to non - cotton fibres in India are around 60:40 whereas it is 30:70 in the rest of the world.
• Apart from being the provider of a basic necessity of life i.e., clothing which is next only to food, cotton is also one of the largest contributors to India’s net foreign exchange by way of exports.
  • The Indian textile industry is working towards achieving $250 billion by 2030, including $ 100 billion export.
• Due to its economic importance in India, it is also termed as “White-Gold”.
• Also, India will provide leadership in cotton textiles and technical textiles. Technical textiles are man-made fabric meant for a specific function and are not generally used for apparel or aesthetic appeal.

What is the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)?

• It is an association of governments of cotton producing, consuming and trading countries which acts as the international commodity body for cotton and cotton textiles.
• Founded at the International Cotton Meeting in Washington, DC in 1939, the ICAC advocates for cotton producing nations, publishes studies and technical information on the cotton industry.
• While most of the world's cotton producing nations are members, two of the ten largest producers (China and Turkmenistan) are not members of the ICAC.
• The ICAC along with private sector cotton organisations initiated the International Forum for Cotton Promotion (IFCP) in 2000.
  • The IFCP serves as a forum and clearinghouse for the exchange of proven cotton promotion techniques.
  • The IFCP facilitates domestically focused and domestically funded cotton promotion programs.

India’s Efforts Towards Improving Cotton Productivity:

• It has two advisory groups - for cotton and manmade fibre.
  • These groups have representation from the entire textile value chain and take policy decisions with inputs from sector representatives.
• PM MITRA: India has also launched PM MITRA- a Central government scheme to set up mega textile parks and promote the entire value chain.
• The National Technical Textiles Mission: It promotes research and development in technical textiles.
• The “Kasturi Cotton Bharat” brand: Which is claimed could be traceable using blockchain technology, and that it would be “carbon positive”.
• State-of-the-art testing laboratories: The Textile Ministry and the Department of Consumer Affairs would open these labs nationwide to ensure that high quality textile products are manufactured and exported from India.
• Drone-based pesticide spraying: Indian cotton farmers will benefit from the technology, adding that the use of innovation and Internet of Things will benefit Indian cotton farmers.