Giriraj Singh Reviews Cotton MSP Readiness, Announces Record 550 Procurement Centres & New Digital Platform for Farmers

New Delhi- Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh chaired a high-level review meeting in New Delhi to assess preparedness for Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations for cotton during the upcoming Kharif Marketing Season 2025–26, beginning October 1, 2025. Senior officials, including Textiles Secretary Neelam Shami Rao, Joint Secretary (Fibre)  Padmini Singla, and CCI CMD  Lalit Kumar Gupta, were present.

Reiterating the government’s commitment to cotton growers,  Giriraj Singh assured that all kapas arriving under MSP will be procured without disruption. He emphasised timely, transparent, and farmer-centric service delivery, ensuring farmers get remunerative prices and confidence in the system.

For the first time, uniform norms for procurement centres have been notified, factoring in cotton cultivation area, APMC yard availability, and processing facilities. As a result, a record 550 procurement centres have been approved across major cotton-producing states.
Procurement will begin:

• October 1 in North India

• October 15 in Central India

• October 21 in South India

  

A major highlight this season is the launch of the ‘Kapas-Kisaan’ mobile app, enabling nationwide Aadhaar-based self-registration and 7-day rolling slot booking. Farmers will receive direct Aadhaar-linked payments via NACH along with SMS alerts for payment status.

Singh noted that all MSP operations—from cotton procurement to stock sales—are now faceless and paperless, in line with the Digital India vision.

To ensure smooth operations, Local Monitoring Committees (LMCs) will be set up at every APMC mandi for grievance redressal. Dedicated state-level helplines and a central CCI helpline will also remain functional during procurement. Adequate manpower, logistics, and infrastructure support will be in place before the season opens.