Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has emphasised the need for strengthening certification systems for organic cotton and requested the industry for active participation in the promotion of organic cotton production amongst cotton farmers.
An ESG (environmental, social and governance) Task Force in the textile sector will also be created keeping in mind India’s commitment to sustainability.
He advised forming a working group of experts, representatives from the industry, respective Ministries and other stakeholders to have a detailed plan of action to boost organic cotton production on a cluster-based approach.
The Minister was presiding over the sixth interactive meeting with the Textile Advisory Group (TAG), to review the progress of initiatives for the cotton value chain, as part of the Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam which is being conducted under the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ Initiative in Gujarat in Rajkot.
Darshana V. Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles; Rachna Shah, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles; and TAG Chairman Suresh Kotak also guided the TAG meeting.
Representatives from Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, CCI, APEDA, BIS, other senior officials from related Ministries and stakeholders from the entire cotton value chain were also present during the meeting.
The Minister noted the progress in the project on Traceability, Certification and Branding of Kasturi Cotton India and lauded the branding of Indian cotton which will add great value to the entire cotton value chain from farmers to end users.
Meetings of Steering Committee and Apex Committee have taken place and the funds for the project have been released and the work on Traceability, Certification and Branding of Kasturi India Cotton has begun.
Piyush Goyal appealed to TEXPROCIL to put in commendable efforts to brand Kasturi cotton as premium cotton in domestic and international markets.
It can be mentioned here that the final approval for the holistic plan to enhance cotton productivity by targeting the technology of HDPS, Closer Spacing and ELS with an amount of Rs. 4186.85 lakh was obtained from Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) under National Food Security Mission (NFSM).
In a separate event during the Chintan Shivir, he also encouraged industry in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu to adopt sustainable practices, leverage the immense opportunities and realise PM Narendra Modi’ s 5F vision. Textile and apparel industry representatives from Tamil Nadu were also present during this event.
