Centre approves order for mandatory certification of cotton bale

Goyal stressed that branding of Indian cotton will add great value to the entire cotton value chain from farmers to end users

The government on Wednesday said it has approved the Quality Control Order for mandatory certification of cotton bales to augment the supply of good quality cotton to the textile industry.

The decision was taken at the fifth interactive meeting with the Textile Advisory Group here on Tuesday evening to review the progress of initiatives for cotton value chain.

Minister for Textiles and Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal presided over the meeting. He pointed out that the quality of Indian cotton fibre is beneficial for farmers and industry both.

He approved the Quality Control Order (QCO) for mandatory certification of cotton bales under specification No. IS12171: 2019-Cotton Bales to augment supply of good quality cotton to the textile industry, an official statement said.

The minister stressed that branding of Indian cotton will add great value to the entire cotton value chain from farmers to end users.

The Cotton Corporation of India and TEXPROCIL signed an MoU on December 15, 2022, to encourage the trade and industry to work on the principle of self-regulation by owning complete responsibility of Traceability, Certification and Branding of 'KASTURI Cotton India' with the project target period of 2022-23 to 2024-25.

"Steering Committee and Apex Committee have been constituted and the work of Traceability, Certification will begin in the current cotton season," the statement said.