Expressing serious concern over India's growing dependence on cotton imports, eminent agricultural scientist and Padma Bhushan awardee Dr R.S. Paroda today called for urgent technology and policy reforms to restore the country's global competitiveness in cotton production. He described the current situation as a significant setback for Indian cotton farmers and industry, noting that while cotton producing countries worldwide have rapidly adopted newer agricultural technologies and innovations, Indian cotton farmers have been deprived of the same GM technology for more than two decades. Dr. Paroda stressed that this prolonged technological stagnation has adversely affected productivity, competitiveness, and farmers' incomes, underscoring the need for a transparent, science-based regulatory framework.
Reacting to the latest estimates released by the Cotton Association of India (CAI), Dr Paroda, Founder Chairman of the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS) and former President of both the Indian Science Congress and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, urged the Government to critically review the sector and adopt a long-term strategy centred on advanced biotechnology, science-based regulation, and innovation-led growth.
According to the latest CAI estimates, cotton imports during the 2025–26 season are projected to reach 60 lakh bales, while exports are expected to decline sharply to 15 lakh bales. At the same time, domestic consumption has been revised upward to 348 lakh bales, highlighting a widening gap between production and demand and signalling India's increasing dependence on imported cotton, raising serious concerns
"These estimates are a wake-up call," Dr Paroda said. "India's cotton sector has been steadily losing its global leadership over the last few years. Rising import dependence in a crop where India was the world's largest producer till 2014 and the second-largest exporter underscores the urgent need to embrace next-generation GM technologies through science-based regulatory reforms, and to establish a long-term policy framework that can revive both our productivity and global standing. This is especially critical at a time when our Hon'ble Prime Minister has called for self-reliance across strategic sectors. Increasing dependence on cotton imports exposes the country to unnecessary geopolitical and market risks."
Dr Paroda observed that the challenges facing the cotton sector are structural rather than cyclical, arising from a lack of enabling policy environment that fosters innovation - the very factor that drove cotton's remarkable success over the last 25 years. Noting that India's cotton sector supports nearly seven million farmers and provides raw material to one of the country's largest employment-generating industries, Dr Paroda cautioned: "We must reduce our import dependence and become Atmanirbhar once again. We have the scientific capability and technical competence to achieve this. Unfortunately, the cotton mission announced recently is silent on scaling up GM cotton, a proven technology that can significantly benefit both the farmers and Indian agriculture
Dr Paroda emphasised that India's regulatory framework must keep pace with global best practices to facilitate timely and faster adoption of scientific innovations that drive agricultural growth. He further stated that nations that have attained global leadership have consistently embraced innovation while adopting robust, forward-looking regulatory and intellectual property frameworks. India needs a critical relook to ensure a transparent, predictable, and science-based regulatory system that enables farmers to reap the benefits of technological advances with scientifically proven safe use, just as we did when Bt cotton was released under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who at that time also held the charge of Ministry of Agriculture.
