Cotton plays a vital role in growth of country: Smriti Irani

Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani on Sunday said that cotton has played a vital role in the growth of the country and will continue to do so with the united efforts of all stakeholders.

"Steps should be taken to ensure that we do justice to our farmers, while on the other, we facilitate our industry," said Irani in her address to the Indian Cotton Conference (ICC), which started here today.

"Our focus has always been to ease the burden on the shoulders of farmers. Our government is working in that area very efficiently, thanks to our Prime Minister Narendra Modi," said Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Parshottam Rupala.

He said that in order to ensure the businesses sustain in the market, farmers should get adequate facilities.

The theme for this year's ICC is -- The Challenge of Change. The conference aims at discussing among other things the challenges of cotton industry and providing logical solutions to establish India as one of the leaders in the cotton industry across the globe.