In current cotton season 2024-25, up to March 31, 2025,
Government of India, through its nodal agency, the Cotton
Corporation of India Ltd. (CCI) under Ministry of Textiles
has successfully procured 525 lakh quintals of seed cotton,
equivalent to 100 lakh bales, under Minimum Support Price
(MSP) operations. This procurement accounts for 38% of the
total cotton arrivals of 263 lakh bales and 34% of the estimated total cotton production of 294.25 lakh bales in the country.
Among the states, Telangana has recorded the highest
procurement at 40 lakh bales, followed by Maharashtra with
30 lakh bales and Gujarat with 14 lakh bales. Other states
with significant procurement include Karnataka (5 lakh
bales), Madhya Pradesh (4 lakh bales), Andhra Pradesh (4
lakh bales), and Odisha (2 lakh bales). Procurement in
Haryana, Rajasthan, and Punjab stands at 1.15 lakh bales.
In total, Rs.37,450 crore has been paid to approximately 21
lakh cotton farmers across all cotton producing states.
The MSP mechanism continues to provide remunerative
prices to cotton farmers, protecting them from distress sales
when market prices fall below the MSP. To facilitate efficient
procurement, CCI has opened 508 procurement centers
nationwide. Several digital initiatives have been
implemented, including on-spot Aadhaar authentication,
SMS notifications for payments and 100% direct payments
through the National Automated Clearing House (NACH).
The Cott-Ally mobile app, available in nine regional
languages, enables farmers to access real-time information on
MSP rates, procurement centers, and payment tracking.
Further, all cotton bales produced by CCI are traceable via
QR codes, by using Block-chain technology to ensure
transparency and accountability.