Centre made obligatory for certification to order cotton bales

In order to increase the supply of high-quality cotton to the textile industry, the government has adopted the Quality Control Order (QCO), which requires cotton bales to be certified.

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On Wednesday, the government announced that it had adopted the Quality Control Order, which makes cotton bales need to be certified in order to increase the supply of high-quality cotton to the textile industry.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification, which is a requirement for cotton bales sold in India is intended to ensure that imported cotton is of a minimum quality and that it does not violate any regulations. While there won’t be any issues with imports, which can match any quality specification, the action will ensure that indigenous cotton quality improves.

Union minister of Textile and Trade & Industry Piyush Goyal gave his approval to the QCO for cotton bales, which was created in collaboration with the BIS.

It has been decided to implement a historic strategy to increase cotton productivity by utilising the HDPS (High Density Planting System), tighter spacing, and ELS (Extra-Long Stapler) technologies.

“It is based on a public private partnership with a cluster-based and value-chain approach. The Central Institute for cotton research (CICR) under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has prepared this pilot plan to implemented from 2023-24”.

According to Goyal, branding Indian cotton will significantly benefit everyone along the cotton value chain, from farmers and ginners to cotton users and consumers.

The Cotton Corporation of India and TEXPROCIL agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on December 15, 2022, with the goal of encouraging business and industry to adhere to the self-regulatory principle by taking full ownership of the traceability, certification, and branding of “KASTURI Cotton India” during the project’s 2022–2024–25 target period.

“Steering Committee and Apex Committee have been constituted and the work of Traceability, Certification will begin in the current cotton season,” according to the statement.