White gold, new dawn: India’s journey from cotton heritage to new age fibre leadership

Every year on 7 October, World Cotton Day reminds us that some of the strongest threads of a nation’s future are woven from the strength of its past. For thousands of years, India has spun and woven cotton, creating fabrics so fine that Indian muslin came to be described as “woven air”. Cotton, therefore, has never been merely a commodity for India. It is woven into our civilisation, our economy and our national journey.

Today, that legacy stands even stronger. India is the world’s second-largest cotton producer and the largest cotton-growing nation by acreage, with nearly 115.25 lakh hectares under cultivation, more than one-third of the world’s cotton acreage. India is the only country in the world to commercially cultivate all four species of cotton. Nearly six million farmers depend directly on this crop, while millions more are connected through ginning, spinning, weaving, and garmenting. Cotton remains India’s White Gold, a source of livelihoods, industrial strength and rural prosperity. It accounts for around 60 per cent of India’s textile fibre consumption, compared with about 30 per cent globally. This reflects the depth of our cotton-based textile ecosystem, but it also places a responsibility on us: to make every hectare more productive, every bale higher quality, and every farmer better rewarded.

For many years, India’s cotton sector has carried the weight of persistent challenges: low productivity, heavy dependence on rain-fed cultivation, climate and pest risks, uneven access to modern technology, and concerns over fibre quality. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the scale, ambition, and integration of the response have changed. We are approaching it as a complete value chain, from the seed and the farmer to ginning, spinning, manufacturing and global markets.

The Mission for Cotton Productivity-Kapas Kanti, with an outlay of more than 5,000 crore, reflects this approach. Its ambition is clear: to raise cotton lint productivity from 440 kg to 755 kg per hectare and production to 498 lakh bales by 2030-31. It brings together climate-resilient and high-yielding varieties, modern farming practices, farmer demonstrations, scientific research, quality improvement, testing, traceability, and sustainable fibre development

We have expanded MSP procurement to 571 centres and strengthened digital systems to make procurement more transparent and efficient. Through CotBiz (Cotton Seed & Bale Billing System) and BITS (Bale Identification and Traceability System), we are bringing greater efficiency, transparency and traceability to the cotton value chain.

Alongside this, Kasturi Cotton Bharat is giving Indian cotton a distinct identity built on quality, certification, and traceability, helping move Indian cotton beyond being merely a commodity toward becoming a quality-driven, traceable, and globally recognised Indian brand.

But the heart of our transformation is productivity. With around 60 per cent of India’s cotton grown in rain-fed areas, improving yields while building resilience is critical. We are therefore taking modern technologies, improved varieties, HDPS, better agronomic practices, and stronger extension to the field. Under conventional cultivation, farmers usually harvested only about 5-7 quintals of seed cotton per acre. With the High-Density Planting System (HDPS), using about 5.5 packets of seed and 29,000 plants per acre, yields have risen to around 12 quintals per acre. With our farmers’ active partnership, our next goal is to take this to 18 quintals of seed cotton per acre.

But more cotton must also mean better cotton. With lint recovery at around 32-33 per cent, modernising ginning is essential. During my interactions with ginners, I have emphasised quality and efficiency, with modern machinery interventions helping us move lint recovery towards 35 per cent and deliver cleaner, higher-quality Indian cotton to global markets.

India’s fibre requirement is projected to rise from around 15 MMT today to nearly 23 MMT by 2030. Cotton alone cannot meet this growing demand. The twenty-first century is now opening a new chapter, driven by the search for renewable, biodegradable and low-carbon materials. India enters this new era with a unique advantage: the natural resources and fibre diversity to develop the materials of tomorrow.

New Age Fibres: Building the Next Fibre Economy

This is where New Age Fibres become strategically important. India has known and used many of these fibres for centuries, yet their potential remained largely untapped. We are now taking our fibre agenda beyond cotton, with focused impetus on the research, development and commercialisation of New Age Fibres. Backed by a dedicated 300 crore under the Mission for Cotton Productivity, we are opening new opportunities for farmers, rural enterprises and sustainable manufacturing, and laying the foundation for India to emerge as a global leader in sustainable fibres. We are working across a diverse range, from milkweed, flax, ramie, sisal, kapok and hemp to bamboo, banana, nettle and pineapple leaf fibre.

Milkweed, traditionally known as Aak or Madar and used in offerings to Lord Shiva, is emerging as a promising New Age Fibre, with cultivation expanding to 15-16 acres and around 10,000 kg of floss/fibre extracted from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan, with potential in insulation, sustainable filling materials, textiles and extreme-cold-climate defence clothing. Sisal is finding applications in automotive interiors, geotextiles, composites, construction reinforcement and sustainable packaging, while Ramie has potential in apparel, denim blends and technical textiles. Pineapple Leaf Fibre (PALF) can turn agricultural residue into fashion textiles, leather alternatives and bio-composites, while banana fibre is used for yarn, paper, handicrafts, furnishings and technical textiles. Bamboo, flax, hemp, nettle and kapok further expand India’s sustainable fibre basket across textiles, home furnishings, insulation and technical products.

The opportunity goes far beyond individual fibres. As global demand shifts towards renewable, low-carbon, biodegradable and traceable materials, this diversity becomes a strategic economic asset for India.

India, the motherland of cotton, has carried this legacy for thousands of years. Today, we are ready to take this legacy into the future, not merely as custodians of cotton, but as leaders of the Second Fibre Revolution, driven by New Age Fibres, sustainable materials, innovation and advanced technology. Guided by Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 5F vision, from Farm to Fibre, Fibre to Factory, Factory to Fashion and Fashion to Foreign markets, we are connecting our rich heritage with the needs of a new world. As the world seeks fibres that are cleaner, greener and fit for the future, India is ready to lead this transformation and shape the next chapter of global textiles.

The writer is the Union Minister of Textiles. The views expressed are personal; Views presented are personal.