Bharat CotNet 2026 emerged as a landmark platform for advancing India’s sustainable cotton ecosystem, bringing together key stakeholders across the value chain in Bhilwara on February 17. Organised by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) and the CITI-Cotton Development and Research Association (CITI-CDRA), the conference focused on building a resilient, traceable and globally competitive cotton sector. Held in partnership with The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) and Kasturi Cotton Bharat, and supported by the Ministry of Textiles, the Government of Rajasthan and the Cotton Corporation of India, the event reinforced India’s commitment to sustainable cotton production, ELS cotton promotion, enhanced farmer incomes and stronger textile exports.
A major highlight of Bharat CotNet 2026 was the launch of two signature initiatives—Kasturi Cotton Villages and Kasturi Cotton Mitras—aimed at enhancing premium cotton production in India, with a special focus on Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton varieties. These initiatives are designed to strengthen farm-level practices, improve productivity, and elevate India’s global positioning in high-quality cotton and textile exports.
Across multiple sessions, senior policymakers and industry leaders, including Rajasthan Chief Secretary V. Srinivas and Joint Secretary (Fibre) in the Ministry of Textiles Padmini Singla, emphasised that a sustainably thriving cotton value chain ensures prosperity for farmers, responsible scaling for manufacturers, stronger export performance, and enhanced global competitiveness for India’s textiles and apparel sector.
Under the Kasturi Cotton Villages programme, select cotton-growing hubs will be adopted as model villages and developed as benchmarks for the Kasturi Cotton Bharat standard—India’s premium cotton brand. These villages will promote certified seed adoption, best agronomic and harvesting practices, and complete traceability systems. The initiative aims to establish 3–5 model villages per district across India’s cotton belt, thereby institutionalising quality and sustainability at the grassroots level.
Complementing this, the Kasturi Cotton Mitras initiative will deploy trained field facilitators to provide real-time, science-based support to farmers. Their focus will include soil regeneration through biochar, improved water management, and judicious fertiliser use to ensure every harvest meets world-class quality specifications and contamination-free standards.
Addressing the conference, Ashwin Chandran, Chairman of CITI and CITI-CDRA, stated that the strength of India’s textile industry depends on farmer prosperity. He noted that confidence and stability at the farm level directly strengthen the entire cotton-to-textile value chain. By identifying villages and empowering trained Mitras, he explained, scientific agronomy, clean picking, and contamination-free handling can become part of everyday farming practices, transforming Kasturi Cotton from a certification concept into a living ecosystem.
CITI Deputy Chairman Dinesh Nolkha highlighted that strong partnerships between government institutions and industry bodies like CITI-CDRA will be critical to ensuring that the benefits of Kasturi Cotton Villages and Mitras reach every cotton-growing village. He added that Rajasthan, with its integrated cotton-to-textile ecosystem, offers an ideal starting point, and the experience gained there can be replicated across other cotton-producing states to further strengthen India’s position in global textile markets.
Rajasthan Chief Secretary V. Srinivas underlined the urgent need to improve cotton productivity in India and assured full support from the state government to the Kasturi Cotton Villages and Mitras programmes. Industry leaders including Sangam (India) Vice Chairman Dr. S. N. Modani and TEXPROCIL Executive Director Dr. Siddhartha Rajagopal also stressed the transformative potential of these initiatives in reinforcing India’s sustainable cotton ecosystem.
In her introductory remarks, CITI Secretary General Chandrima Chatterjee reaffirmed that Kasturi Cotton Villages and Kasturi Cotton Mitras are decisive steps towards ensuring that cotton quality begins at the farm itself- laying a strong foundation for a globally competitive, traceable and sustainable Indian cotton sector.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
(Rewritten & adapted by Indian-Apparel.com News Desk)
ubscribe our WhatsApp Channel FREE to get regular updates – Click here
Enlist your name FREE in Apparel Manufacturers Directory – Click here
