Shri Piyush Goyal Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, while delivering the Keynote address at the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the ‘Confederation of Indian Textile Industry- Cotton Development and Research Association’ (CITI- CDRA) in New Delhi, informed that under the new Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreements with Australia and UAE, export of Indian textiles, Handlooms, Footwears etc. to these countries would now face zero duty and expressed confidence that soon Europe, Canada, UK and GCC countries would also welcome Indian textile exports at zero duty.
Referring to the theme of the event, ‘Kapas ki Adhik Upaj, Shudh Upaj’, Shri Goyal spoke of the AI technology that is enabling farmers in Australia to control spraying operations, as cotton crop is sensitive to spraying through data-driven decision making and how a modern Australian cotton growers is not just a farmers but also a drone pilots, data analysts and agri-scientists. He said that we must augment the capacity of Indian farmers who are already very talented and capable, to make them experts in allied areas as well.
Indian Textile sector accounts for about 10% (approximately USD 43 billion) of India’s total merchandise exports. India is the largest producer of Cotton with 23% of global production, sustaining 65 lakh people directly and indirectly and has an expected potential to achieve USD 100 billion dollars in exports by 2030.
He applauded CITI-CDRA for working towards developing a robust cotton ecosystem by directly engaging about 90,000 cotton farmers. The Vice President of India, Shri. M. Venkaiah Naidu was the chief guest at the celebration.