Shri Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Textile, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, has launched the website for Kasturi Cotton Bharat. This initiative aims to promote Indian cotton globally by focusing on branding, traceability, and certification of Indian cotton. The website serves as a digital platform to provide information about the initiative, registration processes for ginners to produce Kasturi Cotton Bharat, and the unique processes that set Indian cotton apart.
Kasturi Cotton Bharat is a collaborative effort involving the Ministry of Textiles, the Cotton Corporation of India, trade bodies, and the industry. It operates on the principles of self-regulation and aims to enhance the competitiveness of Indian cotton in the global market while establishing a sustainable ecosystem for all stakeholders.
This initiative was announced on World Cotton Day, emphasizing the brand values associated with Indian cotton, such as whiteness, softness, purity, lustre, and the essence of India. An MoU was subsequently signed in December 2022 between the Cotton Corporation of India and TEXPROCIL to promote the Kasturi Cotton Bharat brand.
All ginners in the country are empowered to produce the Kasturi Cotton Bharat brand while adhering to a stipulated protocol. To ensure traceability, QR-based certification technology will be used at each processing stage, and a blockchain-based software platform will provide end-to-end traceability and transaction certificates. Shri Piyush Goyal highlighted the significance of this initiative in positioning Indian cotton for its quality standards and commitment to best practices in the global market. The Kasturi Cotton Bharat initiative represents India’s rich heritage and aims to showcase it to the world.